[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 18, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S2972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              300TH ANNIVERSARY OF STRATHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE

 Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, the town of Stratham in New 
Hampshire is celebrating its 300th anniversary this year. Today 
Stratham is a classic New England community, proud of its family-
friendly quality of life and looking forward to its annual town fair in 
June. The culmination of this year's fair will be the 300th anniversary 
dinner dance at Stratham Hill Park on June 25, celebrating the 
establishment of the township of Stratham in 1716.
  Of course, the human history of what is now Stratham, located between 
the Great Bay and Exeter in southeastern New Hampshire, goes back many 
centuries prior to the arrival of the first English explorers and 
settlers. The land was originally inhabited by the Pennacook Tribe, 
Algonquian-speaking Native Americans, who were among the first to 
encounter European colonists in what is today New England.
  In 1640, an Englishman named Thomas Wiggin established the first 
settlement in what was then called Squamscott Patent, and through the 
remainder of the 1600s, people continued to arrive in the settlement. 
By the early 1700s, residents petitioned George Vaughn, Lieutenant 
Governor of the Province of New Hampshire, to incorporate a new town. 
On March 20, 1716, he granted their request and ordered that 
``Squamscott Patent land be a township by the name of Stratham, and 
that there be a meeting house built for public worship of God with all 
convenient speed.'' The town was given authority under King George I to 
elect selectmen, hold town meetings, collect taxes, build a meeting 
house and hire a ``learned and orthodox minister.'' At the initial 
gathering of town leaders, they appointed a committee of five to take 
care of building a meeting house, which would be used both for church 
services and meetings of the selectmen. Stratham Community Church now 
stands on the site of that original meeting house.
  As a resident of the Seacoast, I regularly visit Stratham. It is 
hometown and headquarters to corporate giants Lindt chocolate and 
Timberland footwear, whose products include the Stratham Heights line 
of women's high-fashion boots. The town also takes pride in its smaller 
stores, cafes, and restaurants, places where people know your name and 
where the small businessowners are right there every day. But 
Stratham's greatest assets are its citizens, who are unfailingly 
gracious and friendly.
  Of course, the big event in Stratham is its annual town fair, one of 
the oldest in the Granite State. The fair got its start in 1966, when 
Stratham held a giant party to celebrate its 250th anniversary. A half 
century later, that party has evolved into a sprawling fair that draws 
visitors from across southeastern New Hampshire, nearly tripling 
Stratham's usual population of 7,250. This year, as I said, the fair's 
gala dinner dance at Stratham Hill Park will be the culmination of the 
town's 300th anniversary celebrations.
  Stratham's motto is ``inspired by the past, committed to the 
future.'' The town does indeed have a long and rich history, and it has 
entered the 21st century as a forward-thinking community with a vibrant 
economy. Even as Stratham grows, it has preserved its small town charm, 
hospitality, and lifestyle.
  I congratulate all the folks in Stratham on this landmark 300th 
anniversary. I wish everyone a wonderful celebration in June.

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