[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 7, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              250TH ANNIVERSARY OF MADBURY, NEW HAMPSHIRE

 Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, the town of Madbury, NH, is 
celebrating its 250th anniversary this year. Madbury is a classic New 
England community, proud of its rich history, its tradition of direct 
town meeting democracy, and its family-friendly quality of life. 
Admittedly, I am not an entirely objective observer, as Madbury has 
been my home for nearly four decades. It is where I raised my family 
and have so many dear friends, and it is where I first got involved in 
local politics, serving on the town's zoning board. The roughly 1,800 
residents of Madbury look forward to a nearly yearlong celebration of 
the anniversary, beginning with a special observance at our annual town 
meeting on March 13.
  Of course, the human history of what is now Madbury--located today in 
Strafford County in southeast New Hampshire--goes back many centuries 
prior to the arrival of the first English explorers and settlers. In 
the 17th century, the Native American Chief Moharimet convened counsels 
in this area, and today our elementary school is named in his honor.
  Madbury was originally a part of the settlements of Dover and Durham 
called Barbadoes, named after the West Indies island of Barbados, where 
local settlers sent lumber in exchange for sugar and molasses. It was 
named for the English town of Modbury, the ancestral home of Sir 
Francis Champernowne, who immigrated to what is now Madbury in the 
1640s. Madbury was incorporated as a parish in 1755 and as a town in 
1768.
  One of our early residents was Major John Demerritt, who in 1774 
joined with other New Hampshire patriots in storming the King's Fort 
William and Mary in New Castle, seizing its armory of weapons and 
gunpower. The ``Powder Major,'' as he came to be known, stored a 
portion of this armory at his farm, which still sits on Cherry Lane. It 
was later used by revolutionaries at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
  Our Madbury town flag--thought to be the first town flag in New 
England--features an ax, a plow, and a rose. The ax represents 
forestry, which first attracted settlers to Madbury to supply 
shipbuilders at Dover, Durham, and Portsmouth. The plow symbolizes our 
agricultural past. The rose symbolizes the former Elliot rose nursery, 
which in the mid-20th century boasted the longest greenhouse in the 
world at 1,400 feet in length.
  Madbury is proud of its long and rich history, and we entered the 
21st century as a forward-thinking community with a vibrant economy. 
Though surrounded by industrial areas, Madbury has remained largely 
rural in character, proud of its small town charm, hospitality, and 
lifestyle.
  I look forward to celebrations of Madbury's 250th anniversary later 
this year, including a parade and other festivities on Madbury Day in 
June and a Revolutionary War reenactment in the fall. I salute my 
fellow residents of Madbury on this landmark anniversary of our beloved 
town.

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