246 years ago today, Hillsborough County royal Sheriff Benjamin Whiting and Deputy John Quigley rode up to South Weare, NH from Hollis, to issue a warrant for the arrest of Ebenezer Mudgett and others, for the crime of cutting trees greater than 12 inches diameter on their own property. They stayed the night at a local tavern/inn.
Tomorrow, April 14th, is the anniversary of the morning where Mudgett and co-conspirators entered Quimby’s Tavern and roughed-up the sheriff and his deputy, sending a message that the citizens would not stand having their valued property taken by the government. This event is said to have inspired the Boston Tea Party, a year-and-a-half later.
A millstone monument sits the original tavern site, where an Avon store sits today. Feel free to stop by there sometime and pay your respects, standing on a spot where true patriots put their livelihoods and lives on the line for the right to live free.
The monument sits at: 733 S Stark Hwy, Weare, NH 03281 (Google maps: 43.052214, -71.705417)
Read more about this historic event here and here.
Also, Weare resident, Connie Evans, wrote this fine book about Mudgett and the conditions leading up to the event.
