Please join us one Wednesday each month at 10:30 a.m. for a guided group tour at the Millyard Museum. Each 45-minute tour will cover a specific topic from Manchester’s rich history. Each tour will include time for questions with your tour guide. Museum admission is included with tour; please feel free to visit the entire Millyard Museum at your leisure.

MHA Members FREE!
AARP Members $3
General Public $8

Wednesday March 11, 2020 10:30 a.m.
“Abenaki and Archaeology: Digging up Manchester’s’ Past”
The presence of the Merrimack River is the most important reason for the early settlement of this area, first by the Paleo-Indians, then by the Native Americans, called the Abenaki.
The Manchester Historic Association has nearly 20,000 artifacts recovered from local Native American sites. This is one of the most important archaeological collections of Native American materials in New England. This collection represents every phase in the habitation timeline of the Merrimack Valley since the first known peoples arrived more than 11,000 years ago. You will see here some fine examples of stone artifacts, some quite ancient, as well as pottery sherds and a more recent item made of quillwork and birch bark.

Wednesday April 8, 2020  10:30 a.m.
“John Stark’s Derryfield: Manchester and the American Revolution”
The story of the city of Manchester started in the 1720s when the first European settlers came to the area – these were the Scots-Irish and the English. During the 1740s English settlers came to the area and in 1751 incorporated it as the town of Derryfield. Among its residents, John Stark, who became New Hampshire’s greatest hero of the Revolutionary War. He gained recognition for his coolness during the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, and in 1777 led the New England troops to victory at the Battle of Bennington against General Johnny Burgoyne’s Hessian Troops. After the war, Stark retired to his Derryfield home, enjoying the role of honored patriarch to his large and prosperous family. He was active in local affairs, hosting town meetings at his house and helping to build the local schoolhouse.

Wednesday May 13, 2020  10:30 a.m.
“Industrious Manchester: The Rise and Fall of Amoskeag”
The Amoskeag Millyard is a monument to New England’s manufacturing heritage. The size and scale of the millyard was unprecedented in the United States. Many thousands of people worked at the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. At its peak just before WWI, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company employed more than 17,000 workers -- well over half of the city’s work force. The closing of the Amoskeag mills in 1935 was a major blow to the city, from which it took years to recover. However, local business leaders had some success attracting small industries to the millyard. By the 1950s, more than 125 small businesses were operating out of the millyard, thanks to the efforts of Amoskeag Industries. Specialty textile operations, such as Pandora, Chicopee Mills and Waumbec also had facilities.

Wednesday June 10, 2020  10:30 a.m.
“Muster Up! A history of Firefighting in Manchester”
On September 15, 1859, Manchester hosted a firemen’s muster that featured contests among volunteer fire brigades. The Torrent No. 5, now situated in the Millyard Museum, participated in the contest. Fireman competed for titles, glory and jobs. They reveled in the evening and competed during the day, until the Steam powered fire engine changed the industry forever.

Join us for the opening of an exciting new exhibit and learn about both the history and future of Manchester's ponds.

Although ponds may not be the first thing one thinks about in Manchester, the Queen City has several ponds that have played an important role in the area’s history.  More recently, the Manchester Urban Ponds Restoration Program, established in 2000, has led cleanup efforts to help return the city’s ponds to their historic uses. This exhibit looks at the history of several of Manchester’s urban ponds, including Crystal Lake, Dorrs Pond, Maxwell Pond, Nutts Pond, Pine Island Pond, and Stevens Pond and celebrates the accomplishments of the Urban Ponds Restoration Program over the last 20 years.