Fiddler's Rock

By Rich Hart

Abigail Hart on Fiddlers Rock

An old dance story is said to have taken place in a corner of Amherst, along route 13 between Milford and Mont Vernon, NH. The story concerns a large, actually a huge, rock, now hidden in the woods behind some new houses. The rock is about 10 feet high and 30 feet wide. That's Abigail Hart on top of the rock in the picture on the right. The owners of the property call it Fiddler's Rock. Their family has owned the rock and the surrounding property for many years. They initially told me the story and pointed me to the paragraph below in Secomb's History of Amherst.

The story begins at a dance that occurred in Amherst 200 years or more ago. It is described in The History of the Town of Amherst, June 1728 to March 1882, by Daniel F. Secomb, published in Concord, NH, 1883:

Wolves abounded and were a source of some trouble to the early settlers. On one occasion a young man, from the west part of town, who was returning from some merrymaking on the plain, [The green in the center of town was known as 'the plain' in the early years of the town.] where he had furnished the music, found that a pack of these animals was following him. As they were coming uncomfortably near, he climbed a large rock, near the roadside, where he was out of their reach, and spent the remainder of the night. To while away the time he played on his fiddle to his yelping audience, who assembled around the rock, and remained there until daylight, when they left him to pursue his journey.

Ever since then the big rock has been called Fiddler's Rock.

If you have heard this story, or if you can supply any more details, please let me know. When did it happen? Who was the fiddler? What tunes did he play? There are still many unanswered questions.