Then and Now: A quiet village on the way to somewhere else

Center Conway did not change much during the first two decades of the 20th century. Most homes were passed down through the family, instead of sold to strangers, and commercial enterprises served the community that already existed, rather than depending on unsustainable growth. Home occupations were almost the rule.

At the turn of the century, the village had three stores, all of which dabbled in general merchandise. The first one is partially visible at left in both photos here, where Ira Garland carried footwear, clothing and farm goods, as well as concentrating heavily on groceries. The next house was the home and tailoring shop of Lewis Bedard in 1900, and the white house on the far side of Bedard’s belonged to George Calhoun, who also ran a general store. Just beyond Calhoun’s place, hidden by the tree in the older image except for the tip of its steeple, is the United Methodist Church. A sliver of the town hall appears beyond the tree, and then a portion of Ira Garland’s residence. Henry Snow, who ran a mill at the foot of Walker’s Pond, lived in the white cape at the center of the old postcard image.