New England: a handbook for travellers. A guide to the chief cities and popular resorts of New England, and to its scenery and historic attractions: with the western and northern borders, from New York to Quebec

Front matter

Wm. Head & Sons,

f 13 FANEUIL HALL SQUARE, B08T0N.

FINE GUNS,SH00TING I FISHING TACKLE

Preface

The chief object of the Handbook for New England is to supply the place of a guide in a land where professional guides cannot he found, and to assist the traveller in gaining the greatest possible amount of pleasure and information while passing through the most ancient and interesting district of Anglo- Saxon America. New England has hitherto been but casually treated in books which cover wider sections of country ; special localities within its borders have been described with more or less fidelity in local guide-books ; but the present volume is the first which has been devoted to its treatment according to the most approved principles of the European works of similar purpose and character. The Handbook is designed to enable travellers to visit all or any of the notable places in New England, with economy of money, time, and temper, by giving lists of the hotels with their prices, descriptions of the various routes by land and water, and maps and plans of the principal cities. The letter-press contains epitomes of the histories of the old coast and border towns, statements of the principal scenic attractions, descriptions of the art and architecture of the cities, biographical sketches in connection with the birthplaces of eminent men, and statistics of the chief industries of the included States. The half-forgotten but worthy and heroic records of the early colonial era and the French and Indian wars have received special attention in connection with the localities rendered classic in those remote days, while numerous Indian legends will be found in various places. The operations of the Wars of the Revolution and of 1812 (so far as they affected this section of the Republic) have been carefully studied and localized, and the rise of the great modern manufacturing cities has been traced

PREFACE.

and recorded. The famous summer-resorts — among the mountains and by the sea — with which New England abounds, and which are thronged by visitors from all parts of the country, have been described at length in these pages.

The plan and structure of the book, its system of treatment and forms of abbreviation, have been derived from the European Handbooks of Karl Baedeker. The typography, binding, and system of city plans also resemble those of Baedeker, and hence the grand desiderata of compactness and portability, which have made his works the most popular in Europe, have also been attained in the present volume. Nearly all the facts concerning the routes, hotels, and scenic attractions have been framed or verified from the Editor’s personal experience, after fifteen months of almost incessant travelling for this express purpose. But infallibility is impossible in a work of this nature, especially amid the rapid changes which are ever going on in America, and hence the Editor would be grateful for any bond fide corrections or suggestions with which either travellers or residents may favor him. He would also thankfully acknowledge his indebtedness to the gentlemen who have revised the book in advance of publication.

The maps and plans of cities have been prepared with the greatest care, and will doubtless prove of material service to all who may trust to their directions. They are based on the system of lettered and numbered squares, with figures corresponding to similar figures attached to lists of the chief public buildings, hotels, churches, and notable objects. The most trustworthy time-tables are found in “ Snow’s Pathfinder Bail way Guide,” with map, published weekly at Boston (price 15 c.). The hotels indicated by asterisks are those which are believed by the Editor to be the most comfortable and elegant.

Contents

PAGE

I. Language 1

II. Money and Travelling Expenses 1