Willard Richardson was an artist, a farmer, and a storyteller. He was born in 1917 in Harrisville’s Eastview neighborhood, in a house that had been in his family for generations. Willard’s grandfather was Moses Eaton Jr., one of the most famous stencilers in 19th century New England, and the house Willard lived in is now known as the Moses Eaton House.

If you’ve been wandering around the village recently, you may have heard the tink, tink, tink sound of brick wall repairs being made by HHI staffers Fred O’Connor and Kat O’Brien. Harrisville's first brick building was constructed in 1819. Restoring this material after damage caused by weathering and decay takes expert knowledge and skill.

Before the tiny white building by the General Store was moved to its current location, it served as Harrisville’s first tramp house. With the introduction of railroads paired with economic hard times, transient paupers, or tramps, became an issue across New Hampshire. Tramps became so numerous that many towns built small, simple buildings called tramp houses.

Harrisville owes its existence to its water resources and the dams built to control the waterpower of its streams. A new online guide called the Dams of Harrisville, New Hampshire details the history of these 15 dams. Read it here.