Searching for the Exeter Natural History Society
by Barbara Rimkunas
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, August 16, 2019.
At one time Exeter was home to a natural history museum and an organization that supported it called the Exeter Natural History Society. Both existed for roughly 10 years, but the collections, as sometimes happens with collections, proved difficult to disperse.
The Exeter Natural History Society was founded about 1872 by the town’s new Unitarian minister, Rev. Benjamin F. McDaniel. Born in Philadelphia, McDaniel was still a young man in his late 20s when he arrived in Exeter. A bookish man, he was a bit sickly. His pastorate was noted for his need to take long trips to warmer climates for recuperative purposes. If his lungs were weak, his curiosity was not. He collected samples of “insects, rocks and objects” and later said, “It was my ambition to make this the nucleus of a permanent museum and library of natural history.” To achieve this, he began meeting with like-minded people in town. He befriended Amos Tuck, an Exeter politician and wealthy philanthropist. Tuck’s family helped with the collection and donated many books.
The Society met during the winter months at the member’s homes. McDaniel described it as an organization where “many friends generously contributed of their stores and relics.” The meetings were a mix of book discussions, travelogues, and municipal planning. The February 21st, 1879 meeting featured a “talk on the glaciers of the Alps, giving attention more particularly to the Mer de Glace at Chamonnix. The original forms, and the rate of movement and geological importance of these glaciers were described. Illustrations were drawn from the works of Prof. Tyndall.” Of course, it was convenient that McDaniel had recently visited the Alps.
In January of 1877, the entire meeting was given over to the problem of local drainage. Without a sewer system, Exeter (like most places) suffered during mud season and waste water was an odiferous problem, particularly in summer. They began the meeting by discussing the topography of the town. “John J. Bell described the original topography of the town, and showed how the natural drainage had been changed by the extension of the village and the changes of level in the streets. Kimmins Brook, once adequate for the drainage of a large district, cannot now be so used without detriment to property abutting on it.” Major roadways could only accommodate surface drainage and “no system of house drainage can be carried out until the town has a water supply, and this is only a remote possibility.” A public water system seemed unimaginably expensive at that time.
Along with glaciers and drainage, the society heard about the Azore Islands (to which McDaniel had fled several months earlier when his health demanded). “He gave an interesting description of some of the craters and hot springs, as also of the trees and fruits of the Islands, the customs, dress of the inhabitants, etc.” Other meetings were begun with examinations of new specimens brought in by members. “A cross-gray fox, belonging to C.N. Colbath, was exhibited. This was a very fine animal, but owing to the loss of the skull, could not be mounted by the society.” Most likely, Colbath had killed the fox himself.
In 1882, McDaniel could no longer serve his parish or his natural history society. His health was failing and even his collecting trips were not easing his misery. With reluctance, he stepped down and moved to San Diego. Without his enthusiasm, the Exeter Natural History Society lagged.
One member, Exeter High School principal Albion Burbank, never quite let the organization go. The collections were kept in the old town house (today’s Exeter Senior Center on Court Street), which was also the home of the public library and occasional high school classes. As the need for space grew, the natural history collection was moved to the old Spring Street schoolhouse, where Albion Burbank told the Exeter News-Letter, “they cannot readily be inspected and are exposed to injury.” That school building was about to be sold to Phillips Exeter Academy in 1911 and what remained of the collection needed to be moved again. Albion Burbank wanted them to be housed in the newly planned Tuck High School.
Most of the books had already been donated to the Exeter Public Library, which had moved into new quarters in 1893. The remaining collection, described as “valuable minerals, stuffed birds and other natural history specimens, curios etc.” still needed a home. Burbank reorganized the Natural History Society and called a meeting in January of 1912. To everyone’s surprise, Benjamin McDaniel, who was still alive and living in Dorchester, Massachusetts, had heard about the dilemma and sent a letter to the Exeter News-Letter in support of sending the collection to the new high school. “Among all the other worthy additions to Exeter’s educational resources,” he wrote, “this little museum should find a fitting place, earnest, faithful friends and a constant increase.”
The final meeting of the Exeter Natural History Society was held on January 12th, 1912 to decide the fate of the specimens and curios. Four members of the society, determined by the reading of the treasurer’s records when the society had last met in the 1880s, met and, “after informal discussion it was voted that during the summer vacation the collections should be inspected and all of value given in trust to the school district” where some of the artifacts linger to this day. They are reminders of a small group of curious people who formed a society – never incorporated – to share their passion for nature.
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org
Image: Exeter High School Principal Albion Burbank, 1839-1921, was a member of the Exeter Natural History Society and worked to save the collections after the group disbanded.
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, August 16, 2019.
At one time Exeter was home to a natural history museum and an organization that supported it called the Exeter Natural History Society. Both existed for roughly 10 years, but the collections, as sometimes happens with collections, proved difficult to disperse.
The Exeter Natural History Society was founded about 1872 by the town’s new Unitarian minister, Rev. Benjamin F. McDaniel. Born in Philadelphia, McDaniel was still a young man in his late 20s when he arrived in Exeter. A bookish man, he was a bit sickly. His pastorate was noted for his need to take long trips to warmer climates for recuperative purposes. If his lungs were weak, his curiosity was not. He collected samples of “insects, rocks and objects” and later said, “It was my ambition to make this the nucleus of a permanent museum and library of natural history.” To achieve this, he began meeting with like-minded people in town. He befriended Amos Tuck, an Exeter politician and wealthy philanthropist. Tuck’s family helped with the collection and donated many books.
The Society met during the winter months at the member’s homes. McDaniel described it as an organization where “many friends generously contributed of their stores and relics.” The meetings were a mix of book discussions, travelogues, and municipal planning. The February 21st, 1879 meeting featured a “talk on the glaciers of the Alps, giving attention more particularly to the Mer de Glace at Chamonnix. The original forms, and the rate of movement and geological importance of these glaciers were described. Illustrations were drawn from the works of Prof. Tyndall.” Of course, it was convenient that McDaniel had recently visited the Alps.
In January of 1877, the entire meeting was given over to the problem of local drainage. Without a sewer system, Exeter (like most places) suffered during mud season and waste water was an odiferous problem, particularly in summer. They began the meeting by discussing the topography of the town. “John J. Bell described the original topography of the town, and showed how the natural drainage had been changed by the extension of the village and the changes of level in the streets. Kimmins Brook, once adequate for the drainage of a large district, cannot now be so used without detriment to property abutting on it.” Major roadways could only accommodate surface drainage and “no system of house drainage can be carried out until the town has a water supply, and this is only a remote possibility.” A public water system seemed unimaginably expensive at that time.
Along with glaciers and drainage, the society heard about the Azore Islands (to which McDaniel had fled several months earlier when his health demanded). “He gave an interesting description of some of the craters and hot springs, as also of the trees and fruits of the Islands, the customs, dress of the inhabitants, etc.” Other meetings were begun with examinations of new specimens brought in by members. “A cross-gray fox, belonging to C.N. Colbath, was exhibited. This was a very fine animal, but owing to the loss of the skull, could not be mounted by the society.” Most likely, Colbath had killed the fox himself.
In 1882, McDaniel could no longer serve his parish or his natural history society. His health was failing and even his collecting trips were not easing his misery. With reluctance, he stepped down and moved to San Diego. Without his enthusiasm, the Exeter Natural History Society lagged.
Most of the books had already been donated to the Exeter Public Library, which had moved into new quarters in 1893. The remaining collection, described as “valuable minerals, stuffed birds and other natural history specimens, curios etc.” still needed a home. Burbank reorganized the Natural History Society and called a meeting in January of 1912. To everyone’s surprise, Benjamin McDaniel, who was still alive and living in Dorchester, Massachusetts, had heard about the dilemma and sent a letter to the Exeter News-Letter in support of sending the collection to the new high school. “Among all the other worthy additions to Exeter’s educational resources,” he wrote, “this little museum should find a fitting place, earnest, faithful friends and a constant increase.”
The final meeting of the Exeter Natural History Society was held on January 12th, 1912 to decide the fate of the specimens and curios. Four members of the society, determined by the reading of the treasurer’s records when the society had last met in the 1880s, met and, “after informal discussion it was voted that during the summer vacation the collections should be inspected and all of value given in trust to the school district” where some of the artifacts linger to this day. They are reminders of a small group of curious people who formed a society – never incorporated – to share their passion for nature.
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org
Image: Exeter High School Principal Albion Burbank, 1839-1921, was a member of the Exeter Natural History Society and worked to save the collections after the group disbanded.
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