Compiled by Russell Bastedo
State Curator
1998

Huntley N. Spaulding (1927-1929). Born Townsend Harbor (MA); Rochester (NH) manufacturer. In state/national politics from 1900.

Huntley Spaulding (1869-1955) was one of four children born to Jonas and Emmaline (Cummings) Spaulding. He was educated at local schools and graduated from Phillips Academy (Andover, MA) in 1889.

Spaulding entered business as superintendent of the family fiberboard factory at Townsend Harbor. He became manager of the business, and expanded it into New Hampshire, New York, and to England. Spaulding became chairman of the Spaulding Fibre Company, with headquarters in Rochester (NH).

Spaulding was a staunch Republican, and he was a delegate to the 1900 Republican National Convention. During World War I he chaired the New Hampshire Food Production Committee and was appointed (1917) New Hampshire Federal Food Administrator. Later Spaulding chaired the European Relief Council; he urged the United States' entry into the League of Nations.

In 1921 Spaulding entered the Republican direct primary for U.S. Senate but lost. He chaired the State Board of Education (1921/6), then ran for governor. This time he won both the primary and the election. During his two-year term Spaulding gained a national reputation for this political skills and leadership of the New Hampshire Republican Party. The disastrous flood of 1927 gave Spaulding an opportunity to float a $3 million bond issue to meet the emergency. The bonds found buyers; their sale permitted state agencies to work to meet the crisis.

Upon leaving office Spaulding returned to his fiberboard business. He was widely known for his philanthropy in the fields of health, welfare, youth services and education, and he served as president of the boards of trustees of Lawrence Academy (Groton, MA), the Tilton School (NH), and Tufts College (Medford, MA). He set up the Spaulding-Potter Charitable Trust to give aid in his areas of interest, and in 1944 the University of New Hampshire awarded Spaulding the Charles Holmes Pettee Memorial medal for distinguished service to his state and nation.

Location: State House, Second Floor
Portrait unsigned