At first glance, this modest clapboard building on Main Street may not demand your attention, but it has hosted more than two centuries of Walpole’s working life. Along with the former print shop just to the north across High Street, it is among the oldest surviving business buildings in town, a distinction earned not through grandeur but through constant use.
The story begins in the 1790s, when Amasa Allen assembled this lot in pieces, establishing a store here by at least 1792. Almost immediately, the site became part of Walpole’s early commercial strip. By 1794, John Carlisle (1768-1833) was making boots and shoes nearby, and in 1822 the property passed to William Mitchell (1788-1881), a saddler whose shop and barber’s chair would become a local legend.
Mitchell’s barbershop is remembered thanks to Judge Josiah Grahme Bellows (1841-1906), who recounted a hair-raising episode involving Major J. Britton (1817-1896), a later storekeeper here (as recounted in Martha M. Frizzell’s History of Walpole, New Hampshire). Half-shaved and realizing Mitchell was alarmingly drunk, Britton attempted to flee, only to be “held by the nose” and forced to sit until the shave was complete. The same Major Britton later achieved unintended fame as a jury foreman who announced in open court, “We think Judge Vose was about right,” before being sent back to convert that opinion into an actual written verdict.
Through the 19th century, the building remained a hub of everyday enterprise:
- Boot and shoemakers (again, in 1873),
- A furniture store (opened by Charles A. Howard in 1874),
- A barber shop (Henry E. Hewey, 1887),
- And later, markets, including the long-running partnership of B. Frank Webster and Matthew Gorham, followed by Slade’s Market in the early 1900s.
In the mid-20th century, Alexander MacDonald (1909-1984) enlarged the store (1953), adapting it for modern commerce. Earlier still, Harvey Ball (1818-1902) operated a jewelry and clock business here, repairing old timepieces before going on to greater success as a photographer.
Today, the building continues its long tradition of local craft and trade. It is home to Walpole Artisans Cooperative, celebrating handmade work by regional artists, and a florist called In the Company of Flowers. After more than 230 years, this unassuming structure remains what it has always been: a place where Walpole works, shops and carries on.
Aaron Howland House 