Horsesheds
The Horsesheds are a public space and are open year-round for people to visit them, 8am to dusk. If, however, a person or persons wish to use them for gathering or other purposes, permission must be sought by contacting the VIS.
Hours
Daily, 8am to dusk
Built in 1810 by twelve parishioners of the Congregational Meeting House, they were restored in 1949-54 by a committee of interested citizens.
When built in 1808 the sheds, meant for sheltering carriages and horses during the often very long church services, numbered twelve. Three were removed and today nine survive. Becoming decrepit and unsightly, the Horsesheds were nearly torn down in 1949; there was actually a town meeting vote to do so.
The Village Improvement Society mobilized, a committee was formed, and by 1953 the sheds had been restored. The names of the original lessees (999 year leases) appear above the stalls.
History of Horsesheds
A brief history: In 1810, the Town granted 999-year leases on the Town-owned land to the public-minded citizens who built the sheds to serve the Meetinghouse and the church – on the condition that the sheds were kept in repair. By 1949, the sheds were in disrepair and demolition was considered. Public outcry resulted in the Town Meeting creating a “Committee for Restoration of the Old Meeting House Horse Sheds.”
The 1949 Town Meeting voted that the committee “shall receive such funds as may be forthcoming by private subscription for the reconstruction and maintenance of all the horse sheds near the Old Town House in Jaffrey Center as a historical monument; said committee may authorize … such reconstruction and maintenance…” Owners (lessors) of Horseshed leases agreed to lease to the Committee (lessees) their interest in the Horsesheds at a cost of one dollar for 20 years with the “covenant … that the horse shed … will be restored and maintained as an historical monument.”
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