We first discovered Sandwich, as does most everyone, during its annual October
Fair when the town is awash with people. But that lasts only three days and the
Sandwich we found this year was the sleepy village on the edge of the Lakes Region
that its residents adore. The population doubles in summer from 1,200, but Sandwich
is no small town – 100 acres, most of it rolling hills and deep woods and, so
far, all but unspoiled.
There are two places to eat downtown, one in a former hotel, another in the only
grocery store. Besides the tennis courts, with both stone wall and fences, and
the fairgrounds, also surrounded by a steel fence, there is not much to see. Once
you’ve visited "The Industries" craft shop, taken a book from the library, toured
an excellent historical society and seen the town hall – then it’s back to bike
rides and your jigsaw puzzle and a hidden array of walking trails. That’s the
way people like it.
There are two lovely white churches downtown. And you’ll find a reconstructed
Revolutionary era "town pound". There is, of course, Squam Lake near by, and the
bustle of Ossippee. This is a town that boomed early and had faded by the Civil
War, only to be revived by tourists coming to the Lakes in the mid-20th century. Some fascinating old buildings survive and others stand nearly in ruins,
including a shingled windmill near what looks like an ante-bellum plantation.
And each has its fence. Always a fence, in a town that has aged better than most
and – knock on wood – avoided the creeping sprawl now swallowing much of New Hampshire.
It’s the perfect place to write a novel in – or about. And judging by the number
of out-of-state license plates, that’s exactly what some people are doing
All photos by J. Dennis Robinson




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