May 31, 1856: Edward H. Rollins, Concord politico, leads a mass meeting at Phenix Hall to condemn terrorism in Kansas and the caning of Sen. Charles Sumner on the floor of the U.S. Senate. It is among the first gatherings in the city of a new party, the Republicans.
May 31, 1873: The city council appropriates $12,000 to build a new bridge over the Contoocook River in Penacook.
May 31, 1932: The Schoonmaker Chair Co. goes out of business, ending contract labor at New Hampshire State Prison.
June 1, 1852: Convening in Baltimore, the Democrats nominate Franklin Pierce for president. In Concord, a cannon on Sand Hill (Centre Street at Merrimack Street) booms 282 times, once for each vote Pierce received.
June 1, 1865: As part of memorial services held nationwide for President Lincoln, a black funeral car is drawn by six white horses at the head of a procession down Main Street to the State House. Downtown buildings present a great display of “draperies and habiliments of mourning.”
June 1, 1913: John Kimball dies in Concord at age 92. He was a largely self-educated millwright and railroad mechanic who rose to become Concord’s mayor in the 1870s. He chaired the committee to build a new state prison and was a principal benefactor of the town library in Boscawen, his home early in life.
June 1, 2003: 141 students from 40 states and 17 counties graduate from St. Paul’s School in Concord.
June 2, 1784: New Hampshire adopts a new constitution. The title “governor,” too reminiscent of British colonial rule, is changed to “president.” To celebrate the event, a parade marches up Main Street in Concord to the Old North Church.
June 2, 1819: The State House opens in Concord. The legislative session will be notable for halting the practice of state subsidy for the Congregationalist Church.
June 2, 2000: Souther’s Market, one of Concord’s original groceries, closes after more than 50 years in business.
June 3, 1895: A burglar or burglars clean out the State House safe, taking $6,000.
June 4, 1819: A great parade of Concord citizens, soldiers, musicians and legislators escorts new Gov. Samuel Bell, on horseback, from Boscawen to the new State House. The procession is greeted with “bells, the thunder of artillery, and the gratulations of the thousands,” the Patriot reports. “The day was remarkably fine.”
June 4, 1973: Gov. Mel Thomson establishes a box at the Concord post office where residents are asked to report criminal activities. Senate Vice President Harry Spanos is apoplectic. “What this latest effort does is to make us a state of informers, not unlike some of the totalitarian states of the past and present,” he says.
June 4, 2001: The Concord School Board approves a policy prohibiting students on sports teams or in clubs from attending gatherings where other students are using alcohol or drugs. If students are caught – regardless of whether they were drinking or getting high – they, along with a parent or guardian, will have to meet with a school counselor to discuss the risks associated with alcohol and drug abuse.
June 4, 2003: Philip Dick, Kevin Gil and Christopher McNeil cut holes in razor wire fences and escape from the North State Street prison in Concord.
June 5, 1845: John Parker Hale and Franklin Pierce debate slavery before an overflow crowd at the Old North Meeting House in Concord. After one antislavery speech from Hale, a veteran known as Old John Virgin blurts out: “Give it to ‘em, Jack. Drive the poor vipers into their dens, and make ‘em pull their holes in after them.” In response to a pro-Southern argument from Pierce, Hale proclaims: “I refuse to bow down and worship slavery.” The site of the debate is the former Walker School.
June 5, 1989: Concord’s CAT buses roll for the first time. Rides are free for the first week. It’s the first public transportation available in Concord in 11 years.
June 5, 2003: Just 29 hours after they cut holes in razor wire fences to escape from the North State Street prison in Concord, Philip Dick, Kevin Gil and Christopher McNeil are caught at a campground in Plymouth, Mass.
June 6, 1861: Harriet Patience Dame, a 46-year-old Concord nurse, enlists as hospital matron of the Second New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry Regiment. She will keep the job for the duration of the war without a day’s illness or absence.
June 6, 1878: The Rev. Nathaniel Bouton dies at age 79. He was Concord’s Congregationalist minister for 40 years and the state historian for 11. In 1856, he published a history of Concord.
June 6, 1944: At 3:55 on this Tuesday morning, Captain Leo F. Blodgett of the Concord Fire Department sets off Concord’s downtown fire alarm, sounding two “eights.” This is the signal that the Allied invasion of Europe has begun. All over Concord, lights blink on as residents rise to turn on their radios. Gov. Robert O. Blood declares that this is a day for prayer and hope, not for celebration. Special church services throughout the state are widely attended.
June 6, 2001: Concord High graduate Matt Tupman hits the first home run in Concord Quarry Dogs history, a blast over the centerfield wall at Keene’s Alumni Field. The team improves its record to 3-0 for the season.
June 6, 2003: Bishop Brady High School in Concord graduates 101 seniors. Laconia High School graduates 163.
