Join us for these upcoming free Tiny Store events at the Harrisville General Store—the Apple Hill String Quartet, a wine tasting, and writer Rebecca Kaiser Gibson in conversation with Poet Tin Fogdall.

Join visiting MacDowell fellow and author Julie Buntin, then author and educator Susie Spikol, at events in the new Tiny Store Series at the Harrisville General Store.

Let’s talk about historic preservation – the heart of Historic Harrisville’s mission-driven work. Generally speaking, the term "historic preservation" includes four possible “treatments” for historic properties. Rehabilitation and preservation are actively used in Harrisville, while restoration and reconstruction are less common.

Historic Harrisville aims to maintain the essential character of Harrisville as a village where people live and work. We believe it is critical that we make every effort to ensure that those who work (and want to work) in Harrisville can live here.

Primarily a historic preservation organization, many people don’t know that Historic Harrisville is actively engaged in land conservation. We own land for conservation purposes and hold conservation easements on land owned by others.

The Harrisville General Store offers a wide variety of items year-round, from the ordinary to the unique. Read some “favorite things” from the store employees, Historic Harrisville, town employees, and store regulars.

Sustainability is a hot topic, both in terms of the environment and organizational longevity. HHI’s work in green energy helps us to be sustainable in both senses. By maximizing efficiency and using renewable energy resources, we not only help the environment, but we also reduce our operating costs.

At HHI, our commitment to preserving Harrisville extends to safeguarding, educating, and interpreting Harrisville’s rich history through the Historic Harrisville Archives, a treasure trove of documents, photographs, recordings, and artifacts.

Do you ever wonder why Harrisville is such a special place? Historic Harrisville has played a pivotal role in our town’s evolution into the community we know and love today. As HHI turned 50 years old in 2021, we focused on telling the story of our organization’s history–why and how we were founded, what our guiding principles are, and how we have grown over time.

Conveniently located at the Harrisville General Store, our new Book Nook offers an eclectic mix of fiction, non-fiction, and kids’ books for sale. Expertly curated by editor and Harrisville resident, John Knight, you’ll find a variety of subject matter ranging from local history and culture to art, nature, and science. Read an interview with John here.

The public is invited to join us at 10 a.m. in the Granite Mill on April 22, 2023 for our annual meeting and the premiere screening of Ned Porter’s new documentary about Historic Harrisville, Red Brick Village. The screening will be followed by a free community lunch.

In honor of our 50-year anniversary, we are raising $50,000 to publish a limited-edition book celebrating the first five decades of Historic Harrisville. Learn more about the project and its authors Elizabeth Durfee Hengen and Robert Russell here.

We were disappointed not to be able to hold our Fall Incorporator's meeting in October. Instead, we prepared a presentation that reviews some of the highlights from this summer and fall and share it here.

This summer the clatter of Model Ts, steam locomotives, and horse-drawn carriages could once again be heard in Harrisville. Listen to L.A. Dierker’s new composition Harrisville Soundscape, which was commissioned by Historic Harrisville for both the town’s sesquicentennial and the organization’s 50th anniversary.

To celebrate our 50th anniversary, Historic Harrisville is hosting a full day of events on Saturday, August 28, 2021. There will be tours, open studios, exhibits, speakers, a hike, a special book, a commemorative champagne toast, and more. All members of the community are invited to attend.

Sadly, it doesn't feel like we're quite ready to get 100+ of our friends and neighbors together in one room for our annual incorporators meeting. Instead, we are conducting our annual business remotely. Click here to learn more about our accomplishments in 2020 and, if you are an Historic Harrisville incorporator, to cast your vote for our 2021-2022 Board of Trustees.

Harrisville owes its existence to its water resources and the dams built to control the waterpower of its streams. A new online guide called the Dams of Harrisville, New Hampshire details the history of these 15 dams. Read it here.

2020 has been a challenging and memorable year. Though we had to cancel our annual meetings due to the pandemic, HHI has been busy! In this video Executive Director Erin Hammerstedt and Store Manager Sam Rule give us an update on all that they have accomplished in the second half of 2020.

In 1881 Charles Asa Blake, of Jaffrey, bought the Union Hotel at the western entrance to Harrisville village, which had been a place of lodging since the late 1860s. Blake reopened it as “Nubaunsit House.”

In the fall of 2010, Historic Harrisville marked the 40th anniversary of the closing of Cheshire Mills. I couldn’t make the meeting but I heard a lot of people who worked in the mill talked about their experiences there. Though I never worked in the mill, it was a big part of my life growing up in town.