This Week in Concord History

Dec. 27, 1975: The New York Times reports that more than half the cells at the state prison in Concord are damaged beyond use by inmates angered over the refusal of officials to release a dozen prisoners from solitary confinement for their Christmas meal. Three people are injured in the four-hour disturbance and about 100 inmates are transferred to new locations.

Dec. 27, 1985: At the Ramada Inn on Main Street in Concord, Christa McAuliffe gives her last press conference before setting out for Florida and final preparations for the launch of the Challenger.

Dec. 27, 2001: When it opened in 1967, Havenwood-Heritage Heights was one of the first modern retirement communities in the state. But times have continued to change, and now the center is planning a $40 million expansion so it can change along with them, the Monitor reports.

Dec. 27, 2002: Andrew McCrae's lawyer tells a judge he will fight efforts to return McCrae to California, where the college sophomore has admitted to killing a police officer Nov. 19. McCrae, who legally changed his name from Andrew Mickel, was arrested Nov. 26 in a Concord hotel room after insisting on being allowed to tell a reporter why he had ambushed and shot Officer David Mobilio three times. He said he was protesting police brutality and corporate irresponsibility.

Dec. 28, 1835: William Chandler is born in Concord. He will go on to become a U.S. senator and secretary of the Navy. He will found the Rumford Press and revitalize a struggling Monitor.

Dec. 28, 2001: The Olympic torch comes to Concord on its way to Salt Lake City and makes a quick stop at the State House for a 15-minute ceremony. Former Olympians, Concord student athletes and what seems like thousands of people come out to see the flame.

Dec. 29, 1933: The low temperature in Concord is 21 below zero. That's what it was yesterday. And that's what it will be again tomorrow.

Dec. 29, 1975: Gov. Meldrim Thomson gives state prison officials until Feb. 1 to increase efficiency and order at the prison in Concord, after a Christmas Day rampage by inmates that resulted in $250,000 in damage. Thomson says Warden Raymond Helgemoe is “a nice enough fellow” but “wholly inadequate to the tough requirements of state prison administration.”

Dec. 29, 1999: The governor's office receives a written threat that a bomb will explode during First Night activities somewhere in the state. The state police believe the threat comes from the same person who planted two bombs in Concord the year before. First Night festivities will be curtailed, but there will be no explosion.

Dec. 29, 2000: More than 50 Concord residents have called the city to complain that their water tastes or smells bad, the Monitor reports. The culprit: golden brown algae. The city's water treatment system kills it, but the process releases an apparently harmless chemical that has an odor and taste best described as musty.

Dec. 30, 1926: Allen and Amoret Hollis deed Concord the land for “a playground and athletic facility for the citizens of the City of Concord.”

They also donate a plaque for what will be known as Memorial Field, in honor of the city's dead from the World War. Among those who died during the war were the Hollises' son, Allen Jr., and nephew, Henry Hollis Jr.

Dec. 31, 1866: Fire burns the roof and destroys machinery at the Penacook Mill. Though it is so cold that the firemen's clothing freezes, a horse-drawn steam fire engine speeds at 30 mph from Concord and saves much of the mill building. The mill's 250 employees are thus out of work only briefly.

Dec. 31, 1984: Concord holds its first “First Night” celebration.

Dec.31, 1984: Bernhard Goetz turns himself in to the Concord police, confessing that it was he who shot four teenagers in a New York subway nine days earlier. Police Chief David Walchak is at a loss as to why Goetz came to New Hampshire. Between the shootings and his surrender, Goetz spent several days in the state, staying in motels at North Sutton, Keene and Sunapee.

Jan. 1, 1819: The Phenix Hotel, built by Abel Hutchins, opens on Main Street in Concord as “a house of entertainment.”

Jan. 1, 2000: About 50 people from the state and the private sector huddle in an emergency operation center in Concord, ready to respond to whatever havoc the dreaded Y2K computer glitch may bring. To their relief, the rollover of the calendar passes without incident.

Jan. 2, 1784: The Legislature grants Concord official townhood.

Jan. 2, 1901: A cabal of legislators, lobbyists and B&M Railroad men begins meetings at the Eagle Hotel to elect a new U.S. senator. Seven days later they will get their wish when the Legislature votes to oust two-term Sen. William Chandler, a critic of powerful railroad interests, in favor of former part-time judge Henry Burnham. “The word went out,” the senator's biographer wrote, “that Chandler had been run over by the railroad.” Direct election of U.S. senators is still 12 years away.

Jan. 2, 2000: Bill Bradley uses a campaign appearance in Concord to stress the positive tone of his campaign. “I don't want (people) to vote against Al Gore,” he tells those gathered at the Elks Club, “I want them to vote for Bill Bradley.”

Author: The Concord Insider

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