The Stone Church
Some say that The Stone Church, the venerable club in downtown Newmarket, New Hampshire, is on the cultural summit of Zion Hill. And its history is surely as colorful as the vibrant murals that decorate its exterior walls, including ones of Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia and Frank Zappa. Oh, if these stones could talk!
Constructed in 1832, the building first served as a Universalist meeting house, setting into motion a dynamic lifetime of providing a hub in which people from all faiths and walks of life could congregate and share their ideas. It turned into a Unitarian meeting house 20 years later and the first Roman Catholic church in Newmarket in 1865. After that, the building shuffled through various secular personalities, including a roller-skating rink, a playhouse and a VFW hall before morphing into a shoe factory in the 1950s. In 1968, a fire ravaged the building, as evidenced by the charred beams in the main room and ballroom that are still visible today. As the story goes, firefighters were reluctant to break the cut-glass windows of the church in order to vent the fire, much to the dismay of the fire chief.
ROCK CLUB BEGINNINGS, CAPACITY, PREVIOUS/CURRENT OWNERSHIP
In 1970, University of New Hampshire students John Williamson and Rod Philbrick and their friend Arnie Taylor bought the property, planning to open coffeehouse but quickly realizing they couldn’t possibly sell enough coffee to pay the bills. They decided to sell beer instead, but none of the three were old enough to serve booze, so Philbrick’s mother got a liquor license in her name.
Inspired by a “forever Woodstock” mentality, the trio set about creating a rock club that would keep music alive in the community. Soon The Stone Church was nationally known and later owners – Ellie O’Connell and Rick Hurd (1980-1993), Paul LeBrun and Steve Capron (1993-2003), John Pasquale, Paul Nessle, Pater Hamelin and Chris Hislop (2003-2008) and Susie and Adam Schroadter (2008-2017) – carried the torch to build upon its remarkable reputation. With a capacity of about 200, the venue is now kept alive by Mike and Cheryl Hoffman, who continue to host local, regional and national acts across multiple musical genres.
RELIVING/CREATING MEMORIES, HISTORICAL/CULTURAL ARTIFACTS
Visitors to The Stone Church often come to relive their memories of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s and many speak fondly of when the room was heated by a wood stove and customers brought their dogs inside to see and hear the music. For some, the recollections are but a vague, happy haze, a sign of the era in which they grew up. Current students from UNH and various other institutions of higher learning come to create new memories, putting their fingerprints on this historic local landmark.
Patrons can learn about the area’s history from the dozens of historical and cultural artifacts strewn about The Stone Church’s interior, including hand-painted signs from local farmers’ markets, leftover union propaganda from the Newmarket mills, anti-Vietnam sentiments scrawled up on the venue’s walls, condom and earplug machines containing long-expired products, decades-old empty liquor bottles, roller-skate scuff marks, a decades-old piano and other instruments in various states of disrepair and numerous old fliers that tell the tale of the spirited, 180-year old community meeting house. Yeah, these stones have absorbed a lot of good vibes. Some say you can feel the spirit!
NOTABLE APPEARANCES
Among the thousands of artists who’ve grace The Stone Church’s stage are Phish, Richie Havens, Country Joe McDonald, Suzanne Vega, Joan Osbourne, Shawn Colvin, Donna Godchaux, Bill Morrissey, Luther “Guitar Jr.” Johnson, Susan Tedeschi, Brandi Carlile, Jonathan Edwards, Darryl Trucks, Patty Larkin, Pinetop Perkins, NRBQ, Bela Fleck, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Guster, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Adam Ezra, Aztec Two–Step, The North Mississippi Allstars, Johnny Winter, JGB (formerly The Jerry Garcia Band), Matt “Guitar” Murphy and Johnny A.
(by Matt Hoffman)
