Sept. 22, 1849: Asked to change Concord from a town to a city, local voters say no, by a vote of 637 against and 183 in favor. Four years later, they’ll change their mind.
Sept. 22, 1991: Refurbished and restored through a community effort, the City Auditorium re-opens with a gala variety show.
Sept. 22, 2000: Defense lawyers for state Supreme Court Chief Justice David Brock take the offensive in the cross-examination of former justice Stephen Thayer. On the fifth day of testimony in Brock’s Senate impeachment trial, his lawyers attempt to portray Thayer as a dishonest, ruined man bent on taking his former colleague down with him.
Sept. 23, 2000: James Skinner, a state prison inmate who was acquitted of a murder charge stemming from a brawl with another inmate, has asked a judge to eliminate the arrest from his record, the Monitor reports. Under state law, anyone whose arrest results in a not-guilty verdict may ask a judge to expunge the arrest from his record. Even if his request is granted, Skinner will remain in prison for a Massachusetts murder he was convicted of committing.
Sept. 24, 1816: A few months after the Legislature confirms Concord as the state capital, the cornerstone of the State House is laid. To now, New Hampshire is the only state in the union without a capitol.
Sept. 24, 1957: In a referendum, Concord voters decide to abandon manager-council government for a strong elected mayor. The margin is so thin – nine votes – that opponents demand a recount. The margin will shrink to five votes – 2,979 to 2,974, but the result stands. To a call for further investigation of the vote, Mayor Herbert Rainie responds: “The people of Concord have spoken and we must accept their decision.” Almost exactly 10 years later, the city will impeach the mayor and revert to manager-council government.
Sept. 24, 2001: Although the Health Services Planning and Review Board rejected Concord Hospital’s $7.8 million radiation treatment project last month, board members decide to reconsider the application.
Sept. 24, 2002: After months of nonpublic meetings on the matter, Concord officials say that the city will make an offer this week on the Allied Leather Tannery in Penacook, the Monitor reports.
Sept. 25, 2003: In Concord, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announces that New Hampshire will build a new emergency management center, thanks to a $9.1 million grant.
Sept. 26, 1845: The New Hampshire Courier of Concord tells readers it’s willing to take payment in forms other than cash: Those of our subscribers who are in arrears to us for the Courier and wish to pay in wood are reminded that cold weather is at hand and a few cords would be very acceptable about this time.”
Sept. 26, 1906: Whitney Barrett, a police officer, chases down 30-year-old Julia Chadwick and, despite her pleas for help, manages to shoot and kill her in a trolley in Penacook. He then turns the gun on himself. Though married with two children, Barrett had been infatuated with Chadwick.
Sept. 27, 1824: The Rev. Nathaniel Bouton is invited to become Concord’s Congregationalist minister. Three months later he will accept a calling from the church. Bouton will hold the position for four decades.
Sept. 27, 1967: Disclosing a closely held secret, Gov. John King tells the Executive Council that the new $1.2 million state Supreme Court will be built on a bluff overlooking the Merrimack River on Concord Heights. Once the building is completed, the court will move there from its present quarters at Park and North State streets.
Sept. 27, 1985: The state braces for Hurricane Gloria, a huge storm on the path of the Hurricane of ‘38. Schools let out at noon. Most businesses close. Trailer parks are evacuated. Gov. John H. Sununu declares a state of emergency. The only thing missing is Gloria. Monitor reporter David Olinger writes for the next day’s paper: “New Hampshire residents went home early from the emergency shelters, knowing they had braced for the storm of the century and sat through a rainstorm.”
Sept. 27, 2002: Democratic strategist James Carville speaks at a fund-raising dinner for the New Hampshire Democratic Party at the Bektash Shriners’ Temple in Concord.
Sept. 28, 1929: Susan McLane is born. She will serve as state senator from Concord after also representing the city in the House. She will run unsuccessfully for Congress, just losing out in a primary to Judd Gregg.
Sept. 28, 1971: The New Hampshire House kills a measure that would have allowed students to vote in the state’s presidential primary and general elections in their college communities. Attorney General Warren Rudman opposed the measure, maintaining that students’ legal residence is that of their parents.
