On the Road North of Boston: New Hampshire Taverns and Turnpikes, 1700-1900 by Donna-Belle Garvin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read a version of this book with two authors (Donna and James Garvin) and a different cover design. This is a very thorough and we'll illustrated account of New Hampshire roads taverns and travelers, though more of a reference book than a page turner. A few interesting characters appear such as the thief and womanizer Henry Tufts who published an autobiography of his nefarious exploits in 1807. The book contains lots of rich local detail on the early roads of NH, which is what I was specifically researching. Conclusion: The development of River Road in Lyme, where I live, was funded by a decision of the public legislature of the colony in 1752 as part of a larger project connecting Fort number 4 (south of Claremont) and the rich farmland of Coos county. I find it interesting that Boston Mass, not Portsmouth NH, has for centuries been the major port and mercantile city for NH commerce, because it has been more easily accessible than NH's coast for centuries, by river, then road, then railroad, then interstate highway because the local geography simply makes east west travel more onerous than north south.

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