New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources

New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources
Name	New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources
Formed	1974
Preceding1	New Hampshire State Historic Sites Commission
Jurisdiction	State of New Hampshire
Headquarters	Concord, New Hampshire
Parent agency	New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources is the state bureau charged with identification, preservation, and interpretation of New Hampshire's cultural heritage. It operates within the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and collaborates with federal entities such as the National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Division engages with institutions including the New Hampshire Historical Society, University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, Saint Anselm College, and local historical societies across Manchester, New Hampshire, Concord, New Hampshire, and Keene, New Hampshire.

History

The agency traces roots to early 20th-century efforts by the New Hampshire Historical Society and municipal bodies in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Nashua, New Hampshire, and Rye, New Hampshire that responded to preservation concerns after events like the demolition controversies similar to those in Boston, Massachusetts and the legislative impulses seen after the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Formal statewide oversight emerged when the state legislature created precursor entities aligned with the goals of the Historic Sites Act of 1935 and later integrated practices from the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record. The modern Division consolidated functions during reorganizations paralleling other state agencies such as the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and adopted standards promoted by the Secretary of the Interior. Influential projects have included surveys of Stonewall Farm, documentation of sites linked to figures like Daniel Webster, Franklin Pierce, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Greenleaf Whittier, and battlefield commemoration comparable to Fort Ticonderoga preservation models.

Organization and Governance

The Division operates under the administrative umbrella of the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and is governed by policy frameworks influenced by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and state statutes enacted by the New Hampshire General Court. Its internal units mirror federal and peer state structures such as the State Historic Preservation Office model used by agencies in Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Leadership interfaces regularly with the Governor of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire State Museum, the New Hampshire State Library, and municipal officials from cities including Concord, Manchester, Portsmouth, and Laconia. Advisory boards and commissions include representatives from the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, academic partners like Keene State College and Plymouth State University, and practitioner groups such as the American Institute of Architects New Hampshire chapter and the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Programs and Services

The Division administers programs modeled on the National Register of Historic Places nomination process, the Certified Local Government program, and the Historic Preservation Fund grant processes akin to those overseen by the National Park Service. It offers technical guidance for projects involving materials and methods found in structures associated with Colonial America contexts, Federal architecture, Greek Revival architecture, and vernacular resources tied to industries like textiles in Lowell, Massachusetts-scale mills and granite quarrying analogs present in Haverhill, Massachusetts and Woodstock, Vermont. Services include architectural surveys referencing styles similar to works by Samuel McIntire, archaeological oversight comparable to projects at Plymouth Colony-era sites, cemetery preservation resources paralleling the work of Find A Grave stakeholders, and disaster response coordination informed by case studies from Hurricane Katrina recovery and Northeast blackout of 2003 heritage impacts.

Historic Preservation and Site Management

Site stewardship responsibilities encompass state historic sites, archaeological collections, and landscape contexts like those preserved at properties resembling Strawbery Banke Museum and rural historic districts analogous to those in Amherst, New Hampshire and Windham, New Hampshire. The Division manages compliance with federal statutes such as Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and conservation best practices promoted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Association for Preservation Technology International. It partners with conservation entities such as the Society for American Archaeology, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and private stewards including trusts modeled on the Trust for Public Land to maintain integrity of sites related to personalities like Horace Greeley, Ethan Allen, Benjamin Franklin, and movements comparable to Transcendentalism.

Grants and Funding

Funding streams include allocations from the National Historic Preservation Fund, state appropriations passed by the New Hampshire General Court, and pass-through grants administered in coordination with the National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and philanthropic organizations such as the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Division awards competitive grants to municipal governments, tribal entities including Abenaki groups, nonprofit organizations such as the Preservation Trust of Vermont-style entities, and universities for projects like rehabilitation work following Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and archaeological investigations guided by professional archaeologist standards.

Education, Outreach, and Publications

Educational initiatives include school curricula collaborations with New Hampshire Department of Education, teacher workshops echoing programs from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, public lectures featuring scholars from Dartmouth College, University of New Hampshire, and Colby-Sawyer College, and community events aligning with heritage tourism promoted by Visit New Hampshire and regional initiatives like the Seacoast Science Center partnerships. The Division produces publications, technical bulletins, and survey reports comparable to series from the New Hampshire Historical Society and the Society for Industrial Archeology, and maintains inventories like the State Register of Historic Places that parallel the National Register database. Outreach uses partnerships with media outlets such as the Concord Monitor, Portsmouth Herald, Manchester Union Leader, and broadcasters modeled on New Hampshire Public Radio to disseminate research on sites associated with figures like John Stark, Daniel Webster, Matthew Thornton, and Benjamin Pierce.

Category:State historic preservation offices of the United States