I’ll let you in on a little secret, but you have to promise to keep it to yourselves, OK? When I was at school I was the worst speller, and I mean I was terrible. Looking back, I’m sure that my English teachers probably had a few nightmares over the papers I turned in. Thankfully over the (many) years since I left school, I’ve gotten a little better.
However I have nothing on the clerk in Concord who many years ago literally changed the spelling of a parish. For a few years, the then Parish of Somersworth was spelled Summersworth until it was able to be corrected. This is actually the reason that the Summersworth Historical Society and Museum spells its name this way, as it was thought by many to be the original spelling.
Whichever way you spell it, Somersworth actually means the same thing, “Summer Town” because back in its early days, that’s exactly what it was.
Another little-known fact and one that often trips up people who are tracing their family ancestry is Somersworth was not always known as Somersworth. Instead for many years, it was known as Great Falls. It’s not uncommon to find letters from around the late-1800s to the early-1900s to be postmarked from Great Falls. When the Parish of Somersworth was first incorporated in 1754, it included what we now know as Rollinsford. The area we know as Somersworth would not be recognized in its own right for many more years.
In 1823, a Quaker from Dover spotted the potential of the falls that at the time fell around 150 feet and were known locally as Great Falls. He saw the potential for a textile mill and so it was from the township of Great Falls that Somersworth would be born in 1826, when the first of six mills would be built along the banks of the Salmon Falls River. Great Falls, however, is not a unique name (there are several in the world) so personally I’m glad we went back to Somersworth. It’s something that makes us truly unique.
Anyone who has lived in the city for many years will be familiar with the old names that were given to the various neighborhoods within the city. “The Hill” is still used today, but so many of the others have been lost to time. “Little Canada” could be found on Buffumsville Road. ”The Brickyard“ was in the area of First, Second and Third streets. ”Smokey Hollow“ was on Main Street, just as it is today. Sadly, as time passes, many of these names will be lost in the annals of history, but for now ask any Somersworth senior which neighborhood they lived in, and they will likely be happy to tell you a tale or two of neighborhoods gone by.
Today, Somersworth is one of 13 cities in the state and qualifies as a city purely based on the way it is governed. It became a city in 1893 and is considered one of the smallest cities in the state with a population of about 12,000. Nowadays we are known as “The Welcoming City” and have a proud history of immigration.
For example, we have one of the largest Indonesian populations anywhere in the Northeast outside of Manhattan at the present time, and we can also boast of two Indonesian restaurants. Bali Sate House and Tasya’s Kitchen are both located on High Street and they will soon be joined by another. This one will be located on Main Street in the building that once housed The Loud Pipes Saloon, a name that itself invokes memories for many a Hilltopper. Stay tuned as I get more details on this.
So there you have it, there is actually plenty in a name and things are not always as they seem. Thankfully spelling mistakes can be easily corrected and life goes on.
That’s it for this week, but I will be back. In the meantime, stay safe and above all be kind to each other as we are all in this together.
This article first appeared in Fosters Daily Democrat on August 17th, 2020