TILTON/NORTHFIELD NH

TILTON/NORTHFIELD NH

Savina Hartwell Memorial Bandstand

Tilton Island Park

Built - 1993

Tilton is located in the NH lakes region in an area that has seen a fast growing community of stores and shopping areas as has its neighbors Laconia and Gilford. The reason for this is its great draw to the area for both summer and winter sports enthusiasts. Over the years, the popularity of the area has grown immensely along with restaurants, stores, hotels and inns due to the influx of visitors to the many lakes and mountains that abound in the region. Tilton's close proximity to 1-93 has also been a contributing factor in the boom of business and popularity to the area.
Tilton and Northfield has their bandstand built on Tilton Island Park which is accessible over a pedestrian bridge only, thus the structure had to be pre-built and hand-carried over the bridge then re-assembled in the small park in June of 1993. The island was, until May 2002, owned by the two towns and is on a river. Permission to build the bandstand had to be approved by both of the towns and the state of New Hampshire.
The structure is a 6-sided hexagon gazebo which also has interior seating allowing it to serve as a favorite casual gathering place also and is the second bandstand in the region with the first one being a Victorian Summer House built in 1860 but destroyed by a fire in the 1930s.
After the death of his wife, Savina, Alan Hartwell, who was a resident of Northfield, decided he wished to honor her memory in some way. Savina was a famous local jazz singer who always felt that it would have been nice to have a band concert on the town's Old Home Day.
The bandstand was built by an Amish company in Pennsylvania and assembled on the island by Superior Fence Company of Tilton. The structure has an elaborate roof, with a short open clerestory separating the lower slopes and upper slopes of its eight sides, and a small crowning octagonal cupola with arched openings. Mr. Hartwell was also instrumental in donating lighting, benches and a small decorative bridge to the park. Thus the bandstand and summer concerts turned into a very effective tribut to the memory of Savina Hartwell.

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY:
Alan Harwell, Concert Manager
Mary Ohlgren, Librarian
David Ruell, President of
Ashland NH Historical Society