LYNDEBOROUGH – July 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War and several area towns have begun planning observances.

On Friday, Feb. 23, the Heritage Commission considered the idea, and what, if anything, the town should do.

It was noted that the town does not have a memorial for that war, although they do for other conflicts. Records show that about 200 Lyndeborough men served at some point during the Revolution, although that figure includes men from sections of the original Salem-Canada Grant that are now included in Greenfield and Wilton.

It was also noted that some of those veterans are in unmarked graves. The Cemetery trustees are attempting to confirm and provide some kind of marker for several in the South Cemetery. The town has nine cemeteries and there are Revolutionary War veterans in several of them.

Selectman Mark Chamberlain suggested that the Monuments Committee be reactivated. That committee determined where the World War I and World War II/Korea monuments would be placed when they were moved from in front of the library when it was enlarged.

A memorial for Vietnam and other wars since has been added.

When the monuments, as well as the Hartshorn Memorial Cannon, were in place on the Village Common, the committee was dissolved and replaced by a volunteer group called the Common Committee. That group plants flowers around the flagpole, monuments, and several signs.

The Common is cared for by the DPW and overseen by the Heritage Committee which has installed a historical marker and plans for another commemorating the former railroad station.

A fence was recently placed around what remains of the station foundation to protect the line of bricks.

The placing of the monuments on the Common was part of a general refurbishing of the area, clearing brush to enlarge it along the eastern side and the railroad tracks. The Common was rededicated on Memorial Day 2014, the 100th anniversary of the creation of the common in front of the former railroad station by the newly formed Village Improvement Society..

The Heritage Commission was in general agreement that a memorial should be established.

An announcement of the plan will be brought up at Town Meeting on March 16 and volunteers asked for.

The committee would decide what kind of memorial would be appropriate, where it should be placed, and how it would be paid for.

Anyone interested in the project may contact the town office.