[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 97 (Thursday, June 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7203-S7204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE TOWN OF JEFFERSON, NH, AS IT CELEBRATES ITS BICENTENNIAL

 Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
town of Jefferson, NH, on their 200th Anniversary. Jefferson is 
celebrating their 200th birthday all throughout the year, and the 
town's citizens will highlight these festivities with a Grand Parade 
and numerous other activities on July 6. This small New Hampshire town 
has a significant heritage to celebrate on their bicentennial.
  The history of Jefferson began in 1765 with a land grant from George 
III to John Goffe and 75 others. Although Goffe and his friends failed 
to meet the conditions of the grant and retain the land, they left the 
area with the name Dartmouth, which would eventually become Jefferson. 
The land was eventually granted to Col. Joseph Whipple, a man of great 
vision who saw the potential and appreciated the beauty of the 
Singrawac Valley. Located midway along the slopes of Mount Starr King 
in the Pliny Range, Jefferson has breathtaking views of both the 
Presidential Range and Cherry Mountain.
  Colonel Whipple was instrumental in Jefferson's development, as the 
man responsible for giving the town its distinguished name. He was both 
a personal friend to Thomas Jefferson and an ardent Jeffersonian 
Democrat. In addition, he was the brother of William Whipple, one of 
New Hampshire's three signers of the Declaration of Independence. In 
honor of this great man the town received the name Jefferson in 1796, 4 
years before Thomas Jefferson was elected President of the United 
States. Later in 1796 an act of the New Hampshire legislature 
incorporated the town of Jefferson, beginning its proud history.
  The early settlers of this untamed country were independent and self-
sufficient folk, characteristics that have endured in the people of 
this region. They began as a farming community working for the town's 
founder Colonel Whipple. They were paid with half of a hundred acre lot 
and had the option to buy the other half. With their independent spirit 
and determination they built a strong and lasting community that makes 
their descendants proud. When the town was first settled, the nearest 
mill was forty miles away, yet the town residents made the trip with 
bushels of corn in tow.
  Thomas Starr King was an important figure in the town's history and 
lent his name to the mountain Jefferson proudly rests upon. It was he 
who encouraged Benjamin Plaisted to build a hotel for tourists in this 
northern region. He wanted to see a place created where people could 
contemplate the ever changing beauty of the majestic mountains. The 
Waumbeck, meaning White Rock, was built in 1860 with its name and 
location chosen by Mr. King. At the height of the late 1800's, the area 
around Jefferson boasted a large community of inns and hotels. Deborah 
Vicker was also an important figure in Jefferson's history. She was 
originally a housemaid of Col. Whipple who, with typical Jefferson 
independence, later became a well respected doctor in the region.
  Today, the town of Jefferson prides itself on its quality of life and 
community spirit, a tradition that has manifested itself throughout the 
town's history. In 1885, a disastrous rock slide on the mountain 
destroyed a nearly completed home and in 1928, fire destroyed the 
Waumbeck Hotel. Although the era of the grand hotels of the 19th 
century is gone, the people of Jefferson continue to enjoy their 
majestic view of the Singrawac Valley and the surrounding mountains. 
The great Jefferson community spirit manifested itself again in 1988, 
when a series of fires in the area threatened the town and drew 
national attention as the community pulled together. This town of 
nearly

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1,000 residents boasts not only magnificent surroundings, but a 
community of friendly, caring neighbors as well.
  I congratulate the town of Jefferson on this historic milestone and 
wish them a happy bicentennial celebration. I send them my best wishes 
for continued success and a prosperous year as they mark their 200th 
birthday. Happy Birthday Jefferson.

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