[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12985]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ALSTEAD, NEW HAMPSHIRE

 Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I wish to to commemorate the 
250th anniversary of the town of Alstead, NH.
  Alstead was first chartered by Massachusetts Governor Jonathan 
Belcher as one of nine forts established in 1735 to protect 
southwestern New Hampshire from attack. Once New Hampshire was decreed 
its own province, New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth granted the 
land, then called Newton, in 1752. The area was finally incorporated in 
1763 and renamed Alstead in honor of Johann Heinrich Alsted, a German 
professor and encyclopedist, whose works were popular at Harvard 
College. Alstead was a predominantly agricultural community, but its 
waterways also provided sufficient power to run a number of small 
mills, including New Hampshire's first paper mill, built in 1793.
  Alstead boasts a quintessentially New Hampshire history with the 
exception of a small misstep in 1781 when the town voted to join the 
State of Vermont. Alstead was not alone in this wavering allegiance 
after the Revolutionary War, but I am very pleased to report that 
residents came to their senses the following year and rejoined the 
Granite State.
  Two hundred and fifty years later, Alstead's views of Feuer State 
Park and Warren Pond serve as a beautiful backdrop to the community's 
rich history and small town charm. From August to October, Alstead will 
celebrate their sestercentennial with historical plays and tours, 
parades, lectures and exhibits.
  I congratulate Alstead on this milestone in their history and thank 
this community for its great contributions to our State.

                          ____________________