The Bartlett House
The town of Bristol, New Hampshire is full of history. This town is a well-preserved pre-Civil War community. The residents are proud to share their town’s history as a part of where they are today. History can help us make connections between the present and the past. For example, families from the community during the 19th century and have influenced the town a century later. To learn how a town was born and grew into a successful place for people to live for centuries can be truly mesmerizing. Many people do not have this opportunity, and making history more accessible to the public is a goal toward which everyone should be working.
There were many families that have lived in the town of Bristol since the nineteenth century. One of those families is the Bartlett family. The patriarch of this family is Levi Bartlett. Levi Bartlett was born in 1807 and lived until 1868. Mr. Bartlett was a businessman and helped bring prosperity to the town. He was a major investor in the construction of many buildings. Many other families in the town worked with Mr. Bartlett to create businesses that led to the town’s success. Mr. Bartlett built the family home that still stands in Bristol today. This house still stands as a symbol of the antebellum period.
The Bartlett house is a statement piece on the town square. It stands two-and-a- half stories tall. This building is in close to original condition, and the brickwork takes you back to the 19th century. The square that surrounds the Bartlett house became a natural commercial district. Of the houses built on the square in the early nineteenth century, “only the Bartlett house remains”. Levi Bartlett built a house for his family, but he did not know that it would still stand today representing the years of his life.
Levi Bartlett was born in the early 1800s. His father, Ichabod C. Bartlett, bought a store in 1802 that was located in downtown Bristol. Ichabod was also involved in real estate and was an incorporator during the 1810s and 1820s. He then proceeded to open up a firm in the town of Bristol, which became I. C. and L. Bartlett in 1827, when Levi Bartlett joined his father. This father and son team worked together until 1834. Levi Bartlett worked closely with his father and observed the way to grow a business, allowing Levi to acquire the skills he would need to be successful with his own business opportunities in Bristol.
Lily Hamel, Plymouth State University, 2020
References:
Musgrove, Richard W. History of the Town of Bristol, Grafton County, New Hampshire in Two Volumes. La Vergne, TN: Kessinger Publishing.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory Form