Tilton, New Hampshire celebrates 150th Anniversary

Tilton, NH - Custom Anniversary Ornament

The town of Tilton, New Hampshire commissioned Hampshire Pewter to make a commemorative ornament celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tilton’s establishment in 1869. We collaborated with Tilton and together, we came up with a unique design featuring a few of the town’s landmarks. The front of the ornament features the Tilton Memorial Arch, also referred to as Tilton’s Folly. It is a 55-foot tall arch built in 1882, by Charles Tilton. The structure is located on Elm Street in Northfield, NH, atop a hill overlooking the town of Tilton. The back of the ornament depicts a statue as well as the old Tilton railroad station. The statue is called Timetable Mabel and shows a beautiful lady atop an arch that says “Tilton” across it. The statue is made of Italian marble and used to stand in front of the railroad station. Now she lives near the entrance to Tilton Island Park.

Tilton is a small town on the Winnipesaukee River in Belknap County, New Hampshire. It was originally part of the town of Sanbornton and known as Bridge Village. It was settled in 1762 and separated to become its own town called “Tilton” in 1869. This began with a petition in 1850, presented to the NH General Court, proposing the division of the town. A decade later, two meetings were held regarding the plan but nothing materialized yet. It wasn’t until May 18, 1869 that the division was approved by a vote of 150 to 105. It was then authorized by Governor Onslow Stearns on June 30, 1869 and the town was given the name Tilton for Nathaniel Tilton, one of the original settlers and grandfather to Charles E. Tilton, owner of textile mills and the town’s wealthiest man.

Charles E. Tilton was fixed on making his hometown the most beautiful place in the U.S. He used his wealth to pave streets, build the Town Hall, build two bridges, and he also decorated the town with many statues. He is credited with building the Arch as a tribute to his ancestors. Thankfully, some of the statues have remained intact and still adorn the beautiful town. For more information on the town of Tilton, NH, please visit http://www.tiltonnh.org/content/history.html.

Here is some feedback we got from Tilton via email. We are always happy to get any feedback from our clients, but this especially made our day!

          "We just picked up the ornaments, oh my gosh they are so much better than I
           expected thank you thank you!"

If you are interested in having a custom piece made for your company, town, church or other organization, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 866.282.7384. For more examples of our custom work, click here!