Somersworth, NH's Name Game and the Famous Somersworth Hotel - Day before Demolished!

 In Somersworth, New Hampshire, an old hotel that thrived about 100 years ago was slated to be razed so we went to see it and get pictures before it was demolished on March 12th, 2024. Today's blog contains the Weird Name Game of the town of Somersworth, the hotel history and our photos of what it looked like last week before it was torn down. 

 

(Photo: The Somersworth Hotel on Elm Street, Somersworth, NH. Credit: R.G.)

The old hotel was located at 67 Elm St. is in the city's historic district, about 2 blocks from the famous textile mills that made the town famous. The town, formerly known as Great Falls, New Hampshire was renamed Somersworth So, I'll back track here to give you some information about the area.

(Photo: Downtown Somersworth, NH now. Credit: Pinterest)
SOMERSWORTH- THE TOWN WITH SEVERAL NAMES - Somersworth, NH is on the eastern border of the state, and the Salmon Falls River divides New Hampshire from Maine to the east. Berwick, Maine was settled in the 1630's along the Salmon Falls River. It wasn't until more than 70 years later that Somersworth came about. BUT, Somersworth had several names. Originally part of Dover, NH around 1700, it was named as the "Sligo" area after the town in Ireland. Then It was organized in 1729 as the parish of "Summersworth" which means "summer town." . It was incorporated in 1754 by Governor Benning Wentworth, and until 1849 included Rollinsford, NH (which then separated).

ODD MISTAKE NAMES TOWN - A clerical error at incorporation contracted the name to "Somersworth". It was incorporated as a city in 1893, before which it was also known as "Great Falls".because that was the name of the textile mill.

MILLS AND TRAINS : . The town was nicknamed Great Falls because a textile mill used the Salmon Falls river’s swift current to power the mills. . Many of the housing structures of Great Falls, at that time, were brick tenement-style houses built by the mill owners to house workers. Great Falls began attracting tourists in the 1870's when the train between Great Falls and Conway began making regular tour excursions to the scenic White Mountains. In 1893, Great Falls was re-incorporated as Somersworth.Trains still run through Somersworth, but they are all freight trains.

THE HISTORIC SOMERSWORTH HOTEL - The hotel opened around 1930. It was located at 67 Elm Street and was popular in its heyday. According to Fosters Daily Democrat newspaper, In 1958, it had a name change for a bit, being called the Bancroft Hotel, probably a new owner. At the time it was listed as the home of the Kiwanis and Lions Club." Rooms were rented by the day, week or month. There was a cocktail lounge and it dining room, that became a place for wedding receptions