Mill Town Messenger | April 2021

Overview

The newsletter “Mill Town Messenger” from the Newport Historical Society reflects on extreme weather and community resilience, juxtaposing personal memories of hurricanes with historical accounts, notably George H. Edgell’s detailed 1938 hurricane diary. It highlights local responses to disaster, tree-felling efforts, and the Turkey Pond sawmill story where women processed vast storm-downed timber.

The issue also addresses contemporary pandemic-era activities: soliciting Newporters’ COVID-19 recollections for archival preservation, reporting museum operational pauses, ongoing genealogy support, and membership information. Guidance on donations, contact details, and calls for board volunteers underline efforts to sustain local historical stewardship during disruptions.

You can read the online version of the newsletter here.

This quarterly newsletter is generally published in January, April, July and October.

Main Points

• Hurricane of 1938 Impact: The 1938 hurricane caused catastrophic damage in Newport, NH, including massive flooding, destruction of roads, downed telephone and electric lines, and the loss of half the trees on the town Common, with significant property and lumber losses estimated in the millions of board feet.
• Personal Accounts: George H. Edgell’s diary provides a detailed, day-by-day account of the hurricane’s effects, including personal struggles with transportation, property damage, and the community’s response to disaster.
• Women’s Role in Recovery: With many men away at war, women staffed the Turkey Pond Sawmill in Concord, NH, processing millions of board feet of downed timber from the hurricane, a notable effort documented in a book available at the Historical Society.
• Microbursts and Weather Surprises: Residents new to New England were surprised by severe weather phenomena like microbursts, but events like Hurricane Irene and the 1938 hurricane proved that major storms do reach the region.
• Pandemic Documentation Effort: The Newport Historical Society is actively collecting local residents’ stories and experiences from the Covid-19 pandemic to preserve for future generations, inviting submissions in various formats from adults and children.
• Museum Closure and Activities: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Newport Historical Society Museum remains closed to the general public, with only special visits by appointment, but continues behind-the-scenes work such as organizing artifacts and supporting genealogy requests.
• Historical Society Membership and Donations: Memberships, donations, and renewals are encouraged by mail, with several membership levels and donation options available to support museum operations and activities.
• Community Resilience: Both historical disasters—the 1938 hurricane and the Covid-19 pandemic—highlight Newport’s ongoing efforts to document, remember, and learn from local experiences to strengthen community resilience for the future.

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