For nearly a decade, Lyndeborough residents and historical society members Jessie Salisbury, Stephanie Roper and Scott Roper have been in the process of rewriting town history and publishing an updated version by digging up old newspaper articles, historical photos and excerpts. After spending years trying to piece the puzzle together, contributors say the 300-page updated town history from 1890 to 2022 called “A History of Lyndeborough” is finished and is planned to be published by summer 2023. 

According to President of the Lyndeborough Historical Society Stephanie Roper, past residents have published two versions of town history, one in 1906 and one in 1957.

However, the previous versions contained major gaps in Lyndeborough history. According to Salisbury, the previous versions left out an unsolved murder case in 1926 where three men were found not guilty of killing Lyndeborough resident Everett Cram. Additionally, Salisbury recalled one time in town history where the annual police budget was a mere $5. 

Roper stated her inspiration to complete an updated version came from her desire to preserve Lyndeborough’s history and culture, good and bad, for future generations to enjoy.

“The first was published in 1906 but didn't carry much information after the 1870s, since it was all in the collective memories of the residents at the turn of the century. Then the updated history in 1957 pretty much covered how the town looked at that point. That left us with a great deal of time that hadn't been covered. We felt that if we didn't write it down, many of the stories would be lost,” stated Roper. 

For Salisbury, who has been a resident of Lyndeborough since 1947, the process of finding sources was one of the biggest challenges in the process. Salisbury said many people in the town did not live through Lyndeborough’s historical events like she did. 

“We didn’t have anybody to talk to, it was really a matter of digging,” said Salisbury. “It was definitely a learning experience.”

After nearly a decade of in-depth researching and writing, Roper stated she’s very excited to see her hard work published come summer 2023. 

“The three of us put a lot of time and effort into it, all volunteer, to help the community and show what an interesting and special place Lyndeborough is and always has been,” stated Roper.

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