The Story of the Hermit Woman of the Russell-Colbath House

Every once in a while we feature a historical house. It is Not for sale but the informational and/or entertainment value only.  Today, we are featuring the the story of the Hermit Woman of the Russell-Colbath House in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

 

 

In 1831, Thomas Russell purchased five 100 acre lots for a total of $5.25. Assisted by his second son, Amzi, Thomas built the frame structure that stands today.  Amzi and his wife, Eliza, were later given the house, and they raised five daughters there, one whose name was Ruth Priscilla Russell.

 

 

The family lived on the meager garden crops they were able to grow, supplemented by wild game as well as fruits of the forest. They also received a moderate income from a sawmill and from a store that they ran in their home.

Over a span of 40 years, Amzi purchased thousands of acres of virgin timberland in the hopes that the railroad would eventually come into the valley and transport his timber to the mills. The railroads did eventually arrive after Amzi’s death. Unfortunately by then, a mortgage and unpaid taxes forced the family to sell all but the home and a lot of 100 acres out of their 8,700 acres.

In 1887, the widow Eliza deeded the home to her daughter, Ruth Priscilla, and Ruth’s husband, Thomas Alden Colbath, who farmed the land took care of elderly Eliza.

 

In 1890, the first Passaconaway Post Office was set up in the house and Ruth Colbath became the first postmistress.  One autumn day in 1891 while Ruth was preparing dinner for  her husband Thomas, he left the house, saying he would be back “in a little while.” Ruth saw him swinging down the road towards town, and that was the very last she saw of him.

 

 

She remained in the house that her grandfather had built almost 100 years previously, eking out a living and leaving a light in the window in expectation of the return of Thomas. She rarely left the house after that, and was known by the locals as the “Hermit Lady.”

In 1930 at the age of 80, Ruth died in the home. Three years later, 42 years after his disappearance, Thomas Colbath suddenly returned to the deserted house and heard the story about his wife, now deceased, and the light that shone each night for 39 years in the darkness of the Passaconaway Valley. Thomas indicated that he had no quarrel with his wife. He claimed that he was simply traveling around, and after too many years had passed was too ashamed to return. (Some think he may have had Alzheimer’s.) His loss, because Ruth’s estate had been settled a year before his return, divided among her cousins.

 

The graves of Ruth, Thomas, Eliza and many more family members are in sight of the house. New owners, who used the property as a summer place, renovated the house in 1935. The barn and shed were torn down at that time. The wood-frame cape has now been restored by the U.S. Forest Service and serves as a visitor’s center.

 

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