Teacher, Frederick Martin, to Give Speech at Rindge Historical Society

As reported in an earlier blog post, The Meeting School received recognition for the historic buildings and farmland on its campus - following three years of research by the schools U.S. History classes. As you might know, the school is located on historic Thomas Farm, whose buildings include the colonial-era Lieutenant Nathaniel Thomas homestead, built in 1771 by his first cousin Captain Philip Thomas; the 1839 George Thomas house, and the c. 1850 Greek Revival barn. The New Hampshire State Historic Resources Council listed the Thomas Farm on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places at its April meeting, and described the older Thomas house as "a significant example of Georgian style." In their notification letter, the state Survey Coordinator wrote, "The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources would like to congratulate the school on the listing of the Thomas Farm (now The Meeting School) to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places. We very much appreciate your stewardship and commitment to preserving an important part of New Hampshire's heritage."

Students in Frederick's History classes dug into archives at the Rindge Historical Society, the Cheshire County Historical Society and the Registry of Deeds in Keene, and even the State Archives in Concord, seeking documents that would explain the ups and downs of the Thomas Farm's growth and changes. They assembled legal, probate, and census records, and most of all, decoded the physical evidence around them in the school's buildings and landscape.

Frederick will give a lecture and slide presentation about the history of the Thomas Farm, and some of the detective work that his classes did, at the annual meeting of the Rindge Historical Society on Saturday, November 8th, from 10:00 to 1:00