Birthplace of Josiah Bartlett

In the center of Amesbury is the large statue of Josiah Bartlett, and even though he went on to live in other towns and states, this town has the distinction of being the place of his birth. Though his birth house is no longer here, there is this small stone memorial that grounds him to this town.

The sense of pride and ownership of a person who has achieved more than others is often why we remember them. Following such a person’s life, oftentimes every place they went will be commemorated with a memorial or plaque. Here in Amesbury, we remember the place where Josiah Barlette took his first breath,  

Often these makers sit with quiet simplicity. Here there is no grand building or colonial home to tour, just this modest stone placed in the landscape as a reminder that history often begins in very ordinary places. Before Bartlett became a physician, revolutionary leader, signer of the Declaration of Independence and governor of New Hampshire, he was simply a child born into a small New England town.  

These types of memorials connect national history to local geography. They remind us that the figures whose names fill textbooks once walked these same streets and began life in towns that still carry their memory centuries later. In Amesbury, the story of Josiah Bartlerr is not distant but more personal. He is someone whose life began here.