The Stone Church facts for kids

The Stone Church is a cool place in Newmarket, New Hampshire, where you can enjoy live music. It has been open since 1970. At the Stone Church, you can find tasty local food and drinks, listen to local bands, and even see famous musicians who are touring the country. You can find this special building at 5 Granite Street, on top of Zion Hill in Newmarket. It even has parking and a charging spot for electric cars!

A Building with Many Lives

The Stone Church building has a really interesting history! It was built way back in 1832. Before it became a music spot, it was used for many different things.

From Church to Factory

When it was first built, the building was a church for people who worked in the mills of Newmarket. Back then, Newmarket had a huge factory with more weaving machines (called looms) than almost any other building in the world!

First, it was a meeting house for a group called Universalists. About 20 years later, it became a meeting house for Unitarians. Then, in 1865, the Catholic community bought it and used it as their church for many years, until around the year 1900.

After being a church, the building changed jobs many times! It was used as a hall for a group called the VFW (which stands for Veterans of Foreign Wars), a fun roller-skating rink, and even a factory that made parts for shoes, called the Newmarket Heel Company. Sadly, that shoe factory had a big fire in 1968.

Becoming a Music Venue

In 1970, three friends – Rod Philbrick, John Williamson (who went to the University of New Hampshire), and Arnet Taylor – bought the building after the fire. They had a great idea: they decided to turn it into a place for live music!

Since then, the Stone Church has been a home for many amazing musicians. Both local bands and famous touring acts have played there. Some of the well-known bands and artists who have performed at the Stone Church include Phish, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, Parliament, Patty Larkin, Béla Fleck, David Grisman Quintet, Joan Osborne, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Radiators, Guster, moe., John Butler Trio, John Scofield, Soulive, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Local favorites like Percy Hill, Say Zuzu, Scissorfight, Thanks to Gravity, Bill Morrissey, and Truffle] have also rocked the stage!

Images for kids

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  Inside the Stone Church

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  A window at the Stone Church

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  The Stone Church building