Named the Harriet Kidder Memorial Hearse House, this building was built in 1995 to display the horse-drawn hearse formerly owned by the Town of Wilmot. It was built by William F. Kidder, Sr. and Bud Lauridsen with labor and materials donated by many other New London residents to house the Wilmot hearse. Funds for the construction were donated to the Society by family and friends in memory of Petie (Harriet) Kidder upon her death.

The building is a copy of the hearse house in Fremont, NH, built sometime in the late 1700s and originally located adjacent to the Freemont meetinghouse. All of the lumber was donated by Durgin & Crowell to the specifications of the Fremont building. The company used a handsaw to duplicate the 18th century sawing procedure.

The hearse itself had been purchased from Wilmot by Mr. Kidder and Seth Lamson for $10. It had been stored in a church horse shed and was in rather poor condition. It was later donated by Mr. Kidder to the Historical Society.

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Watch the Fourth Grade visit (:52 long, limited / no audio)

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