Click on caption to view illustrations:

1. A Junior Spirit of '76
2. The Colonial Fireplace
   
3. Source of Heat & Light
   
4. In early colonial times a drummer beckoned the citizens to worship. Later, churches had bells.
   
5. This scene from the late 1700's shows the congregation of a large church.
   
6. Church was an important part of the lives of these people.

   The worshippers at this small village church of the early 1700's keep their weapons close at hand in case Indians should attack during the Sunday morning services.

   • The rich had curtained beds to keep out drafts.
     
   • Fine furniture included grandfather clocks and Windsor chairs, luxuries only the wealthiest men in Hampton could afford.
     
   • How Soap Was Made
     
   • Father: Jack of all trades
     
   • Mother: Washing the family clothes
     
   • Candlemaking
     
   • Whittling wooden bowls or toys
     
   • Turkey in the cornfield
     
   • A typical Colonial kitchen
     
   • The patriot
     
   • Feeding the cows in winter
     

     Even in the coldest weather, dad had to care for the cows. Without them, there would be no meat, milk or butter.

     • Preparing the meals in the kitchen
       

       Mother always had food to prepare. Pots are steaming over the fire as the men pause for a puff at their pipes and a tankard of ale.

       • Shearing the sheep.
         
       • Spinning and weaving were two of the most important tasks of the colonial housewife.
         
       • Cloth made at home was known as "homespun", made on a loom and much of it was linsey-woolsey.
         
       • Stitching of the woven cloth was done with coarse thread and a needle which often was made of bone.
         
       • This mother is wearing a gray or grown wool dress with a falling band of linen around the neck and a long, white Holland style apron.
         
       • Home entertainment consisted of playing the violin, piano, or other musical instruments.
         
       • Large, fluffy, powdered wigs were worn by all men who could afford them for more than 100 years.
         
       • First umbrellas came to America from Europe in 1770s. First users were criticised for defying the will of God who made the rain.
         
       • Surveyors were in much demand during theColonial era.
         
       • The blacksmith was important to every community. He shod horses and made hoops, kettles, hinges, chains and other items.
         
       • This sketch calls to mind Hampton's Col. Christopher Toppan, a Hampton merchant.
         
       • Farming was the most common occupation of Hampton men of the 1700's.
         
       • Harvesting the grain was one of the duties of the farmers in Hampton during the 1700's.
         
       • During the planting and harvesting seasons, the men worked from dawn till dusk
         
       • Sailing ships built of oak and pine were once constructed at Hampton.
         
       • The tallest trees were marked to be saved for ship masts of British Navy vessels.
         
       • The fastest way to travel on land was by horseback in the 1700's.
         
       • The first stagecoach passed through Hampton on Monday, April 20, 1761.
         
       • Stagecoach passengers and people traveling by horseback were put up overnight in taverns or inns, such as the Hotel Whittier in Hampton.
         
       • Two hundred years ago a 16-ton sloop could make a round trip to Boston in less than a week.
         
       • Several of the beautiful masted schooners were owned by Hampton merchants and traders.
         
       • Large rowboats were often seen on the Hampton River.
         
       • The alphabet carved on a wide board with a handle was called a "hornbook."
         
       • "Reading, Writing & 'Rithmatic .... talk to the tune of the hickory stick."
         
       • Boys often chopped, stacked and carried wood for the fireplace.
         
       • A favorite pastime of the Towle c;hildren and their friends was rolling hoops.
         
       • The children of this family, probably played tag, marbles, leap-frog, hopscotch, blindman's buff and hop, skip and jump.
         
       • Mary Towle was looking forwad to tomorrow's quilting bee at their Sanborn cousins' large home in Hampton village.
         
       • About all Sarah could talk about this fall was the new doll she wanted for Christmas that came from France.
         
       • The first newspaper was published in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1690 by Benjamin Harris.