Town Hall Clock - Alton, NH - Town Clocks on Waymarking.com

From the town web site

(visit link)

The current Town Hall was constructed in 1894 at a cost of $15,098. The brick edifice with its tower brings the building height to eighty-five feet high. At the top is the Thomas E. Howard clock which has hands more than three feet long on all four sides. The clock has strikes every hour on the hour. The Fire Whistle is also contained within the Tower.

First settled in the middle 1770’s, the early settlers were successful after eight petitions to the Court to change the name to Alton in 1796, and in March of 1797 the Incorporation Ceremony took place. Three Selectmen were elected to oversee the business of the Town. The 1790 census showed 445 residents in Town.

In 1847 rail lines were established and trains began bringing passengers and freight to Alton and Alton Bay. The railroad was in existence until 1935. The railroad connected to the Lakeport Line and several stations and stops existed on the way to Laconia. Some of these smaller stations are now private homes.

By 1860, the Alton community had stores and industries of almost every description. Entrepreneurs and businesses flourished. Boarding houses and farms were prevalent. At the beginning of the 20th century, twenty-five one-room school houses existed throughout Alton. The most famous industry was the invention and manufacturing of the corkscrew by the Rockwell Clough Company established in 1875. By 1903 the company was producing over thirty million of these items world wide. In 1863 the Adventist Campground held their first camp meeting in Alton Bay.

Tourism has long been the leading business for Alton since the middle 1800’s. Most visitors come to the Lake. Lake Winnipesaukee had many spelling issues, but in 1937 the NH General Court legalized the spelling as Winnipesaukee, Translated carefully the name means “Deep Water in a High Place”. The Lake is 504 feet above sea level. Many islands on the lake exist within the Town’s boundaries. There are other smaller bodies of water in Alton none so popular as the “Big Lake”.

Our Downtown area is comprised of a cemetery, banks, restaurants, realtors, financial institutions, the Gilman Library the Community Church, Police Station, Town Hall, a medical clinic, food markets, hardware and building supply stores and Alton Town Hall. A larger and newer Cemetery is located on Route 28S, and there are many others located throughout Town.

Alton Bay has a more seasonal ambience, with a Chamber of Commerce, the Christian Conference Center, restaurants, marinas, post office, realtors and craft shops, municipal swimming facilities,. parks and campgrounds. Every season, The M/S Mt. Washington comes into port picking up passengers at the site of the former Railroad Station. The station now serves as a Community Center.

Status: Working Display: Mounted Year built: 01/01/1894 Web link to additional info: Not listed

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