The Hannah Duston monument in Boscawen was vandalized in late April, with the word “hate” spray painted in large letters across the base of the statue. It’s far from the first time the controversial statue, located on an island in the Contoocook River, has been defaced.
Duston is a divisive figure in New England history. She was captured in Massachusetts by Native Americans in 1697, during King William’s War. Accounts say they killed her child and she retaliated by murdering and scalping 10 Native American people. The statue in Boscawen depicts Duston holding a tomahawk and scalps.
“It's easily a very controversial statue,” said Jason Killary, chief of the Boscawen Police Department. “I don't think it'd be difficult saying that regardless of what side of the fight you're on.”
Last year, a New Hampshire lawmaker proposed removing the statute. That proposal was later changed to create a committee that would determine the future of the site, with a goal of representing the Indigenous perspective. Members of an Abenaki First Nation voiced their support of keeping the statue, but with additional context about the events of the time.
Killary said he doesn’t think the various acts of vandalism are coordinated, but rather individuals acting on their own. In his estimation, vandals have struck the site at least a dozen times in recent years.
Isolated on an island off the Northern Rail Trail with no motor vehicle access, the statue is somewhat of an easy target.
“Vandalism to a statue in the middle of an island that no one could get to except by walking that doesn't have any electricity on it… It's pretty difficult to figure out who does it,” Killary said. “There's no buildings there. It's not near any buildings. It's pretty easy to sneak on and sneak off in the dark without ever being seen.”
Killary said police have tried to install trail cameras in the past to capture footage of vandals, but with little success. There are few places to hide them. But they do have a plan for the time being.
“You can safely say that our monitoring and patrolling of the island in the near future will increase dramatically,” Killary said.
Killary said it can be difficult to orchestrate removal of vandalism at the site. There’s no electricity and it can be hard to get a vehicle out there using the rail trail. Since the land is cared for by the state, state employees have to find a way to bring out a generator and cleaning materials.
Greg Keeler, marketing and communications director for New Hampshire Parks, said crews have already been to the site three times as of Friday. He said it appears a member of the public tried to clean the graffiti, but it may have unintentionally made the problem worse. Cleaning a statute of that age requires specific materials and training.
“We appreciate the passion and the willingness to help out by somebody from the public who wants to see that clean, but that is definitely best left to us,” Keeler said.
Killary said he supports efforts to add additional context to the Duston site that might be more inclusive, namely something that acknowledges the Indigenous perspective on the original incident.
“I think a great idea that was put up in the past was to put up a monument looking at things from the other side, like, what about the Natives whose land was being taken?” Killary said. “When you have multiple perspectives, when you can pull information from more than one source, then I think you're truly educated. Because if you only know what I've taught you, what good is that?”
Killary said police are continuing to investigate.
