WILTON – Wilton and Lyndeborough are full of history and a lot of neat stories. On October 10, during the third annual fourth grade history tour of the two towns, students at Florence Rideout Elementary School got a few glimpses of the history along with lessons on town government.

With only one school day to cover the two towns, those glimpses were tiny, but they covered a lot. In Lyndeborough they visited the town pound, built in 1774; looked at a hand-painted stage curtain made about 1920; examined Civil War-era swords and guns belonging to the Lafayette Artillery Company, the second oldest such company in the country, and saw examples of glass made at the Lyndeborough Glass Company between 1868 and 1888.

In Wilton, they visited historic Wilton Center, looked at the many treasures owned by the Historical Society, and at the Town Hall Theater learned about early live productions from owner Dennis Markaverich. They peeked into the jail cells in the basement under Local Shares, the oldest building on Main Street which was once a stage stop and the Post Office, and had ice cream at Nelson’s.

Selectmen in both towns, Matt Fish in Wilton and Mark Chamberlain in Lyndeborough, talked about town government, both of them stressing the need for volunteers.

The tour is part of the fourth grade curriculum on local government and is sponsored by the Heritage Commissions in both towns.