Customer Reviews

Indian Stream Republic: Settling a New England Frontier, 1785-1842 (Library of New England)

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Daniel Doan was a man who loved the land, particularly the land of New Hampshire. He spent a great deal of his life hiking the woods and mountains in this State.His thoroughly researched and highly readable book demonstrates both his New Hampshire education (Dartmouth)and his respect for the hardy people who settled here. It covers the period from 1785, when trappers built the first cabins along the Connecticut River in what is now Pittsburg,NH, until 1842, when the Webster-Ashburton Treaty finally established the border as we know it today. During this period, Mr. Doan makes us familiar with many of the principal players in the process that led to New Hampshire simply annexing this disputed territory by force. It is a very good read, but it leaves us with some unanswered questions, such as,"What happened to the Canadian settlers that simply moved north when the militia marched in?" and "What happened to Luther Parker and his family that caused him to hastily depart the territory for Wisconsin?"
I would recommend reading the treaty that was negotiated for us by Daniel Webster, at least the parts relating to the New England-Canadian border. It is available on the internet thanks to a Yale University graduate study program, and helps the reader to relate the border to the topography of northern New Hampshire. And many thanks to Ruth Doan MacDougall, who published her father's book shortly after he died. The book had gone unpublished for 30 years.

This book has gotten us going to "Indian Stream Republic" repeatedly exploring! Great outdoors and history!