This is what is known about the Hobby Nook building at Camp Takodah in Richmond, New Hampshire. The building was moved to the Cheshire County YMCA camp in the spring of 1922, from either Royalston or Warwick, using a team of horses to deliver the building to its current location, according to Graeme Noseworthy, president and chief volunteer officer of Takodah YMCA. “If you look at a map, Royalston makes more sense, but it could have come from either town,” Noseworthy said.
“I am on a hunt to prove whether the building came from Royalston or Warwick. Royalston makes more sense but there are buildings in Warwick that look like it. There are buildings in Warwick that look like the Hobby Nook — they match.”
The building is square-shaped with a rectangular building sticking off the side. “The square-shaped building was the part that was moved from Royalston or Warwick,” Graeme continued. “We had a carpenter look at the wood and the interior of the structure and he estimated it to be 125 years old. We know we didn’t get it brand new. The town had it for 25 years before they gave it to us.” The building originally served as a dance hall before it was moved to the camp.
“The theory is the building was acquired by Oscar Elwell, (co-director of the camp with his wife, Frances, from 1921-1971) who was a wonderful philanthropist, and a Free Mason in Keene,” Noseworthy said. “Oscar was good at getting people to support the camp … He was really well connected to the Cheshire community,” he continued. Elwell was a graduate of Springfield College, in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is believed a local town was disposing of the building and Elwell acquired it. “We know that in the early 1920s we grew through giving (donations). Later, we grew through buying,” Noseworthy stated.
When Oscar retired in 1971, he wrote an entire thumbnail history of the camp, year by year. Prior to this history, the camp’s past was documented in various binders, notes and on lists. The camp has two copies of this history, one that states the Hobby Nook building came from Royalston. The other history states that the Hobby Nook building came from Warwick.
Noseworthy is hoping someone in Royalston or Warwick might remember the dance hall, building history or moving of the building. “I believe somewhere, it is recorded in Town Meeting records or a diary, when the dance hall was moved,” Noseworthy stated.
The camp is currently in the process of devising a Master Plan for the camp for the next 10 to 20 years. “It has been determined that the Hobby Nook will be preserved at all costs — that’s why we want to find out exactly where it came from. We would like to document the (original) site, even if something else is built there now. We would not only like to know where the building came from, but the story attached to it.”
Any readers who may have information on the history of the Hobby Nook building can contact Noseworthy at jgnoseworthy@gmail.com.
Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on history with a particular interest in the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.