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Suncook Valley Sun Historical Archive

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Front Page News

July 25, 2012

Rare Historical Site Featured In Linen-Making Demonstration

Gina Gerhard will demonstrate the process of flax retting, the making of linen from flax, on Saturday, July 28th, 11 am to 4 pm, at the site of a unique flax-retting pond on Meeting House Road in Gilmanton, sponsored by the Gilmanton Land Trust and Gilmanton Historical Society.

The Gilmanton Land Trust and the Gilmanton Historical Society invite you to participate in the process of flax retting--creating linen-- as it was done in Gilmanton 200 years ago.   The demonstration, by expert Gina Gerhard, will occur between 11 am and 4 pm on Saturday, July 28, at the site of an ancient flax retting pond on Meeting House Road in Gilmanton.

Come spend part of a summer day in a beautiful location in Gilmanton. You’ll see the flax retting pond that was constructed and used in the early 1800s - a unique feature that may be the only one remaining in New Hampshire! During the day, you can work with Gina Gerhard to understand the many steps in the process of making flax into linen. The site, on Meeting House Road in Gilmanton,  is on one of the parcels to be preserved in the Gilmanton’s Greatest Views: for Everyone, Forever campaign. With an extensive hay field, forested area, a small barn, and frontage on Meeting House Pond, the property has high conservation and historic appeal.   Tours of the property, with fields, woods and frontage on Meeting House Pond, will be offered throughout the day.
To reach the site from the west, at the junction of Meeting House Road and Route 107, on Frisky Hill, go easterly on Meeting House Road for about 1.1 miles and watch for the barn on the left.

From the east, take Meeting House Road off Route 140; at the junction of Meeting House Road and Stone Road, go westerly on Meeting House Road for about ½ miles and watch for the barn on the right. No RSVP is needed.  

For more information, check the website at www.gilmantonlandtrust.org or contact John Dickey at [email protected]; by phone at 267-6098.