Peterborough Travel Guide

Peterborough, settled in 1749, is no quaint colonial town gathered primly around a village green. Instead, it has the feel of a once-prosperous commercial center, where the hum of industry provided stability. That hum is a lot quieter now, but Peterborough hasn't been left behind the times -- or, if it has, it is making book on that fact. This is still a beautiful town, with diverse architecture, set in a valley at the confluence of the Contoocook and Nubanusit rivers. Improbably, the town and its surroundings have even carved out a fresh niche for themselves as centers of publishing and technology.

In the literary universe, Peterborough remains everlastingly famous for having inspired the playwright Thornton Wilder to write Our Town, said by some to be the most frequently staged play in American history. It's also home to the noted MacDowell Colony, founded in 1907 to provide a retreat for artists, musicians, and writers to tap their creative talents without the distractions of cooking or attending to errands. It's hard to find a writer of note who hasn't spent some time at MacDowell -- in fact, Wilder was staying here on a retreat when he derived inspiration from local towns and townspeople for much of Our Town. The colony isn't open to the public, however; writers compete for the honor of working there.

What you can see is a New England town that has successfully pulled off the economic transition into a modern era, without sacrificing its soul. That's a neat trick that much of backroads New England hasn't quite figured out how to perform yet.