Concord  

 Sundial: 300
State/Province:  New Hampshire Country:  USA
Dial Type:  Horizontal Dial Condition:  Good
  Latitude and Longitude: 43° 12.431' N  71° 32.241' W
Location:
  • 107 North Main Street
    Adjacent to New Hampshire Statehouse
    Concord
 
Description:
  • A 16 inch diameter cast bronze horizontal dial with 7 inch high cast and machined bronze gnomon. Dial face shows hour, half-hour and quarter-hour lines and Roman hour numerals 5 AM to 7 PM. The hour lines are corrected for longitude but no EOT correction is shown.

    Raised text on dial face inscribes, "For God and Country to Honor Our Fathers The Grand Army of The Republic Originally Dedicated April 9, 1942 We Live In Deeds, Not Years"

    The dial sits atop a 38 inch high pedestal of Barre granite with a polished column and "hammered" top and base.

    The dial was originally placed and dedicated in this location by The Grand Army of The Republic (GAR) on April 9, 1942, the anniversary of the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

    The cast dial is a reproduction of what is known of the original lost during the 2000-2010 period. A committee led by Peter Whelpton of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (legal heir to the GAR) restored the dial to commemorate the Union soldiers and sailors who fought to preserve the nation. Several sources of funding were use and many people helped to design, fabricate, assemble, and install the current version, which was dedicated 19 November 2013 on 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address.

    John Hallworth of Cocheco Wood Pattern Works of Somersworth, NH reproduced what was known of the original dial design. Peter Cassidy of Cassidy Brothers Forge of Rowley, MA assisted in the design of the face of the sundial, including adjusting the design for the exact latitude and longitude of the site and mapped out the hour lines to carefully correct for the deviation from the 75th meridian and to set the gnomon for the latitude, also adjusting gnomon thickness to the hour lines affected. Peter Maximillian Otto of Concord (NH) Photo Engraving Co made the casting molds from the pattern produced by John Hallworth. Chris Leuteritz of the Patriot Foundry in Franklin, NH cast the new sundial in bronze to match the old one. John McBey of the McBey Machine Shop in Franklin attached the gnomon. Jeff Burnap of Manchester, NH re-assembled the Sundial, the pedestal, and the capstone.

    Unfortunately, a prank broke off the top part of the pedestal shortly before installation of the reproduction dial and the repair misaligned the top, causing the dial to be incorrectly aligned to true north, perhaps as much as 30 degrees off. An effort will be made to realign the sundial.
 
General Information:Inscription:
  • Owner: State of New Hampshire
  • On pedestal, "G.A. R. 1867-1942 ERECTED BY THE ALLIED ORDER"
  • Designer: Grand Army of the Republic//John Hallworth
  • Builder: Cassidy Brothers Forge, Rowley MA
  • Construction Date: April 9, 1942; restored November 19, 2013
 

Last Revised: July 2014; May