What Did A #FarmingtonNH 1897 Memorial Day Booklet Look Like?

With Memorial Day just ahead and the town Memorial Day Parade soon to happen, I thought readers might be interested in seeing a Memorial Day booklet from 1897 from the Museum of Farmington History. View the full booklet here.



A May 31, 1897 Farmington, NH, Memorial Day Order of Exercises booklet. The booklet is four pages, printed in ink on paper.

The front page is ornately decorated with two borders one on the exterior edge, a block geometric floral and one framing an image in the center of the page, a simple triangle geometric repeat. The image in the center is a Grand Army of the Republic medal, hanging from a thirteen star American flag, placed equidistant over their field, topped by a bald eagle sitting atop two overlapping cannons and cannon balls. The Grand Army of the Republic was a national fraternal organization. It was composed of veterans of the Union Army, Union Navy, Marines and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service.

It details the activities for Memorial Day on the second and third pages starting with a march at 1:30 PM on Main Street, followed by exercises at the cemetery & monument. Evening exercises were to start at 8 PM. At all places they included prayer, addresses, song, and bands playing.

The last page is devoted to honoring deceased soldiers and sailors and gives a list for those at the cemetery. Special sections specifically list those fallen in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. it also points out those in "outside yards" on Ten Rod Road, and the Hodgdon, Bunker, and Stevens yards.


There are four other Memorial Day booklets that may be viewed in the online Museum of Farmington History at https://farmingtonnhhistory.omeka.net . Just conduct a search for "Memorial Day" from the search bar.

Kyle Leach, Curator
Farmington Historical Society
Museum of Farmington History
http://farmingtonnhhistory.omeka.net



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