Community Profiles

Washington, NH

First granted in 1735, the town was one of the fort towns designated to protect the colonies from Indian attack, named Monadnock Number 8. In December 1776, the newly established American revolutionary government incorporated the town as Washington, in honor of General George Washington. It was the first town in the United States to bear the name.

Lempster, NH

This town was originally granted in 1735 by Massachusetts Governor Belcher as Number 9, the ninth in a line of forts established to guard against Indian attacks. It was regranted in 1753 by Governor Benning Wentworth, as Dupplin, after Sir Thomas Hay, Lord Dupplin of Scotland, who had been in charge of the settlement of Nova Scotia. Following the Peace of Paris in 1761, when terms of many grants had not been carried out, the town was regranted as Lempster, named for Sir Thomas Fermor of Lempster, England, who was a Wentworth relation.

Cornish, NH

Established in 1763, the town was once known as Mast Camp, because it was the shipping point for the tall masts floated down the river by the English. It was named for Sir Samuel Cornish, a distinguished admiral of the Royal Navy. Cornish is now a well-known summer resort for artists and writers, with residents including Maxfield Parish and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Sunapee, NH

Like many other towns, this one went through four name changes before its incorporation: Savile, Corey's Town, and then Wendell, for one of the Masonian proprietors, John Wendell. The name Sunapee was substituted for Wendell by the Legislature in 1850. The town, Lake Sunapee, and Mount Sunapee share the name which comes from the Algonquin Indian words suna, meaning goose, and apee, meaning lake. The Indians called the area Goose Lake because it was a favorite spot of wild geese. Sunapee includes the village of George's Mills.

Claremont, NH

Named in honor of Thomas Pelham Holles, Earl of Clare and Duke of Newcastle, builder of Claremont Castle, and a cousin to Governor Benning Wentworth. The original grant was a six-mile square area bordering the Connecticut River. Claremont was incorporated as a city by popular vote in 1947. It is the home of New Hampshire's first Roman Catholic Church, built in 1823.

Springfield, NH

Granted to families all from Portsmouth and led by Captain John Fisher, brother-in-law to Governor John Wentworth, this town was first settled in 1769 as Protectworth. Captain Fisher, however, chose to side with Governor Wentworth in loyalty to England, and had all his holdings confiscated by the colonies. When the town was incorporated in 1794, the name Springfield was adopted, a name common to many American cities and towns.

Grantham, NH

Named for Thomas Robinson, first Baron Grantham, friend of Governor Wentworth, an active supporter of American independence, and known as a diplomat in Europe. He was present at the negotiations leading to the 1748 signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle that ended the War of Austrian Succession, of which the French and Indian War in the Americas were a side struggle. Later, the Baron was one of Great Britain's first postmaster-generals.

Plainfield, NH

Settled by a group from Plainfield, Connecticut, Plainfield is one of the towns granted by Governor Benning Wentworth in 1761 at the beginning of the reign of King George III. A part of Plainfield known as Meriden Parish, named for the farm of Massachusetts Governor Jonathan Belcher, became the site of Kimball Union Academy, built in 1813.

Goshen, NH

First settled in 1768 as part of Saville, now Sunapee. The town was incorporated in 1791, with portions of territory from Newbury, Lempster, Unity, Newport, and Sunapee. It was named Goshen, probably because many residents had relatives in Goshen, Connecticut, and had served in a Revolutionary regiment with soldiers from that same town.

Acworth, NH

Acworth was first chartered in 1752 as Burnet, in honor of William Burnet, colonial governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire in 1728. However, no settlements were made under this charter. In 1766, the town was regranted under the name Acworth, honoring Sir Jacob Acworth of the British Admiralty, who had Portsmouth shipping interests.

Newbury, NH

Situated at the south end of Lake Sunapee, this town has gone through numerous name changes. It started in 1753 as Dantzic, after the Baltic seaport. The first provincial grant in 1754 named the town Hereford, in honor of Edward Devereaux, Viscount Hereford. Governor John Wentworth renewed the grant in 1772 under the name Fishersfield, for his brother-in-law John Fisher. The town finally incorporated as Newbury in 1837, as suggested by settlers originally from Newbury, Massachusetts. Newbury is home to Mount Sunapee, portions of Lake Sunapee, and the village of Blodgett's Landing.

Danbury, NH

The town was not an original colonial grant, but was formed in 1795 from part of Alexandria to the north, and later added land annexed from Wilmot and Hill. The name was taken from Danbury, England, the site of an eleventh century Danish camp. Danbury, Connecticut was also named for the site, and a settler originally from there suggested the name.

Bradford, NH

First granted in 1771, the town was named New Bradford, then Bradfordton, and finally was incorporated as Bradford in 1787, the year of the constitutional convention. New Hampshire's delegation was not going to approve the constitution, but under the leadership of Bradford s Thomas Stickney the delegation approved ratification, and, being the ninth state to do so, gave the United States its constitution. Bradford includes the villages of Bradford Center and Melvin Mills, and Lake Massasecum.

New London, NH

First granted in 1753 as Heidelberg, in honor of George II's visit to his German possessions at the time. The town was granted again in 1773 as Alexandria Addition, but the name didn't last. It was incorporated as New Londonderry, shortened to New London, in 1779. New London is home to Colby-Sawyer College, and includes the village of Elkins on Pleasant Lake.

Wilmot, NH

Originally a part of New London, Wilmot was carved out of the gore of Mount Kearsarge and incorporated in 1807. It was named in honor of Dr. James Wilmot, a scholar and clergyman, and rector at Barton-on-Heath in Warwickshire, England. Dr. Wilmot had joined with William Pitt, the Marquis of Rockingham, and others in protesting the treatment of the American colonies by the British crown.

Lebanon, NH

The name Lebanon comes from the biblical cedars of ancient Lebanon, being the Semitic word meaning white, referring to the nearby mountain with perpetual snows on its summit. Established in 1761, the name was probably selected by the many early settlers who were from Lebanon, Connecticut, including Eleazar Wheelock, founder of Dartmouth College. Lebanon was the original home of the Indian Charity School from which Dartmouth is descended. Lebanon was incorporated as a city in 1957.

Lyme, NH

Another of the many towns granted along the Connecticut River in 1761, Lyme takes its name from Old Lyme, which lies at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Most of the grantees were from Palmer and Brimfield in Massachusetts, or from Londonderry, New Hampshire.

Hanover, NH

Granted in 1761, the town was named for Hanover Parish, home parish of settlers from Lisbon, Connecticut. Governor Benning Wentworth selected Hanover as the site of Dartmouth College, with Eleazer Wheelock, minister at Lebanon, Connecticut, as its first president. Dartmouth College's first mission was education of the Indians, and later added the mission to educate English youths to be missionaries among the Indians. Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, now the Dartmouth Medical School, is also located here. Hanover includes the village of Etna, named for Sicily's volcanic mountain.

Grafton, NH

Like Grafton County, the town was named for Augustus Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton, Earl of Arlington and Euston, Viscount Thetford, and Baron Sudbury. The Duke was a pro-American member of English government prior to the Revolution, and related to Governor Benning Wentworth. First granted in 1761, the town was granted again in 1769 to new colonists, including John Hancock and James Otis, well-known Boston patriots.