By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | December 5, 2018
Senator Robert C. “Bob” Smith, of New Hampshire, gave the following Milton bicentennial tribute speech in the US Senate, on Wednesday, March 13, 2002.
TRIBUTE TO THE TOWN OF MILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mr. Smith of New Hampshire. Madam President, I rise today to pay tribute to the citizens of Milton, New Hampshire, on the occasion of the Town’s bicentennial celebration.
The Town of Milton, located in Strafford County, has a rich history in the State of New Hampshire. A petition was submitted in 1794 by the citizens of Rochester to be incorporated as a separate town. On June 11, 1802, the Town of Milton was incorporated.
Milton is located on Milton Three Ponds, an area blessed with an abundance of waterpower which was utilized by different industries including several sawmills and a woolen mill, Miltonia Mills which specialized in fine wool blankets that were used by Admiral Peary on exploratory expeditions. A distillery and five icehouses which supplied ice to Boston, Massachusetts were also located in Milton.
Construction of homes began in Milton during the early 1800’s and the first rural schools, Plummer’s Ridge School #1 and Nute Ridge School #2 were built. Both school buildings remain standing in Milton today. In 1853 [SIC], Lewis Worster Nute, a native of Milton, provided financial support in his will to build a school and library in Milton and a chapel in West Milton.
Today, the Town of Milton, situated in southeastern New Hampshire, has a population of approximately four thousand residents. Teneriffe Mountain overlooks Milton Three Ponds which connects to the Salmon Falls River, offering spectacular scenery year round.
Milton’s municipal government consists of an elected three member Board of Selectmen and numerous other boards and committees. The town’s representatives in the New Hampshire legislature include: Representatives Nancy Johnson and Rodney Woodill and State Senator Carl Johnson. The Town has an excellent on-call Fire Department and Ambulance Corps, along with a well-staffed Police Department and a summer marine patrol.
Each year the townspeople of Milton nominate a “Citizen of the Year.” In 2002, the Fire, Police and Ambulance Corps will be honored as the true heroes in Milton, New Hampshire.
I congratulate the citizens of Milton, New Hampshire, as they celebrate the Town’s bicentennial anniversary and wish them continued success and prosperity in the years to come. It is truly and honor and a privilege to represent the people of the Town of Milton in the United States Senate.
See also Milton’s Centennial.
References:
Government Printing Office. (2002). Congressional Record, V, 148, Pt. 3, March 11 to April 10, 2002. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=McyywrWTLVIC&pg=PA3081
Wikipedia. (2018, October 15). Bob Smith (New Hampshire Politician). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Smith_(New_Hampshire_politician)
Milton Observer 