June 12, 1804: Alarmed by the frequency of escapes from local prisons, Gov. John Gilman makes the first substantive proposal for a state prison in Concord. It will be more than eight years before the prison opens on North State and Tremont streets.
June 12, 2001: About 40 educators, health care workers, environmentalists and others march from Allenstown to Concord to mark the 10th anniversary of the Claremont school funding lawsuit.
June 13, 1859: A huge fire on the southwest corner of Main and Pleasant streets in Concord consumes a bakery, several stores and the South Congregational Church. When it becomes certain that the fire will destroy the granite-and-wood Greek Revival church, the Rev. Henry Parker gives one final pull to the church bell rope, and the bell is heard above the crackle of flames.
June 13, 1983: A 92-year-old covered truss bridge, fondly called Old Red by residents of Pembroke, collapses in a fierce storm.
“It was bypassed by a modern bridge and wasn't in use,” says Jim Garvin of the New Hampshire Historical Society. “But it was of interest to a few local people. It's been sitting there like kind of a relic.”
June 14, 1962: Astronaut Alan Shepard of Derry is in Concord for the unveiling of his portrait at the State House. After a week of speeches and banquets, he says, he is glad the picture shows him in a space suit so people will know that “at least once in a while I do work.”
June 15, 1799: The Concord Musical Society is incorporated “to encourage and promote the practice of sacred musick in Concord.”
June 15, 1987: Rep. Pat Schroeder of Colorado stops in Concord in search of support for a possible presidential run in 1988. “I think America is man enough to back a woman” – but not just because she is one, Schroeder says. She will later decide not to run.
June 15, 2000: Concord Police Chief Bill Halacy submits his resignation, just two years after taking over the department.
“The position is so totally consuming,” he says. “I'm feeling like I'm missing out on a lot of the rest of my life.”
June 15, 2002: Concord High School junior Rachel Umberger wins the national title for the 800 meters. She runs it in 2 minutes, 9.67 seconds, a personal best.
June 17, 2000: The Class of 2000 says thank you to Concord High School Assistant Principal Michael Garrett, who has announced his retirement after 40 years at the school. In his honor, a path of granite steps between the school bus circle and the main entrance is christened “Garrett Way.”
June 18, 1853: A group of Concord citizens meets and raises money for a street sprinkler to keep the dust down on Main Street.
