How the Brownies brought fame to Manchester & The Amoskeag Ledge

    On the morning of Saturday, January 18th, I attended a delightful presentation at Manchester’s Millyard Museum. As I’ve written here before, the Millyard Museum is without a doubt one of Manchester’s hidden gems. If you have even the slightest bit of curiosity about our remarkable city, why it grew up where it did, and when it did, then the Millyard Museum is an absolute must.

    This morning’s presentation was given by well-known local broadcaster Ed Brouder, who is a Trustee and Past President of the Manchester Historic Association. Ed spoke for about an hour about a local social club that, though it no longer exists, was quite remarkable in its day. This club put on local shows that drew thousands to watch, including reporters & photographers from all around the world. Stories about this club appeared in newspapers around Europe – kind of amazing for little old Manchester.

    Several swimmers pose in front of a diving platform at the Amoskeag Ledge. Photo/MHA

    I’m talking about the Brownies, of course. The Brownies were a club dedicated to swimming, and in particular to swimming outdoors. To qualify as a member you had to swim outdoors every single day for 365 consecutive days. Yikes! And after that, if you were so inclined, you could become a Super Brownie by swimming outdoors every single day for 730 consecutive days.

    Of course, swimming outdoors on a nice summer day is hardly remarkable. But on New Year’s Eve? That may be newsworthy. 

    When you have to saw a hole in the ice to have a place to dive, that may be newsworthy.

    When you dive into that hole from over 100 feet above and need spotters to make sure you don’t hit the ice, that may be newsworthy. 

    When a gang in their swimsuits lie down in the snow for a photo, that picture may be newsworthy.

    The informal home of the Brownies was a local swimming hole called the Amoskeag Ledge (or just “the Ledge.”) It was a pit left behind after a former granite quarry had filled with water. At least one side of the quarry was a shear granite wall that led straight down to deep water from a height of about 80 feet above the water’s surface, making a perfect diving spot. The tree at the top allowed people to gain a little additional height for their dives. When the tree was no longer suitable, enthusiastic Brownies built a tower to get even higher, reaching 129 feet.

    John Clayton wrote eloquently about The Ledge and other past local swimming holes in the InkLink here. You can even see a picture of the tower atop the cliff.

    Overall it is a fascinating story. Luckily, Manchester Public TV was there to record the whole thing. You can view the entire presentation, one hour and 25 minutes, at this link.

    Millyard Museum/file photo

    And by all means, when you get some free time visit the Millyard Museum:

    The Millyard Museum
    200 Bedford Street
    Manchester, NH 03101
    (603) 622-7531
    e-mail: history@manchesterhistoric.org
    OPEN YEAR ROUND Tue-Sat 10-4


    Subscribe to receive your free daily eNews + a note from the Ink Link publisher.

    We don’t spam!