Community Profiles

Middleton, NH

Granted in 1749, the town was named for Sir Charles Middleton, Lord Barham, who was in charge of convoy service between Barbados and the colonies. Middleton was situated on the road between Exeter and Wolfeboro, the location of Governor John Wentworth's summer home, Kingswood. Neglect of the road caused the Governor to bill the proprietors for repairs that he had to make for safe travel to Kingswood. Read more ...

New Durham, NH

Granted in 1749 as Cocheco, New Durham was first settled almost entirely by colonists from Durham, New Hampshire. It was incorporated as New Durham in 1762. An early minister in the town, Reverend Benjamin Randall, founded a new religious denomination called the Free-Will Baptists, later known as Free Baptists. Read more ...

Holderness, NH

Holderness was named in 1751 for Robert Darcy, fourth Earl of Holderness, ambassador to Venice and minister at The Hague under King George III. He opposed the king's policy toward the colonies, and became a close friend of Governor Wentworth in efforts to promote friendly trade relations abroad. In 1761, the land was regranted to a group of New England families, including Samuel Livermore, who wanted to create a pretentious estate similar to that of the English countryside. Read more ...

Bridgewater, NH

Bridgewater received its charter in 1788, when it was part of the town of New Chester. New Chester was separated into Bridgewater, Hill, Bristol, Danbury, and Wilmot. Early settlers of the area were from Bridgewater, Massachusetts, thus giving the town its name. The town line follows the eastern shore of Newfound Lake. Read more ...

Wolfeboro, NH

This town was first granted in 1759 to four young men of Portsmouth, and named Wolfeboro in honor of General James Wolfe, who had been victorious at Quebec in 1759. In 1763, 2,300 acres were added to the 60 acres reserved for the governor. Governor John Wentworth established an estate on the site, known as Kingswood. This was the first summer country estate in northern New England. Read more ...

Sandwich, NH

Chartered in 1763, the land was considered so inaccessible that the grant was enlarged, making Sandwich one of the largest towns in the state. It was named in honor of John Montagu, fourth Earl of Sandwich. The Earl is known as the inventor of the sandwich, requesting from his servant a thin slab of meat placed between two slices of bread, which he consumed while intent upon the gaming table. The town of Sandwich is in the Sandwich Range, with seventeen listed peaks, including Sandwich Dome. Read more ...

Brookfield, NH

Settled in 1726 by Scotch-Irish immigrants, the town was first named Coleraine. It was later named Brookfield, after a town of the same name in Massachusetts, and was made part of Middleton. In 1794, it became an independent town, a popular settlement for farmers because of the fertile ground. Read more ...

Wakefield, NH

Settled by colonists from Dover and Somersworth, this town went through the names Ham's-town, East-town, and Watertown before it was incorporated as Wakefield in 1774. Wakefield in Yorkshire, England, was the location of Wentworth Castle, the home of Wentworth ancestors. Wakefield includes the villages of Union and Sanbornville. Read more ...

Tuftonboro, NH

Tuftonboro is the only New Hampshire town owned by just one man, John Tufton Mason, for whom the town was named. Mason was heir to the Masonian Claim, the undivided lands of southern New Hampshire, which he sold to a group of Portsmouth merchants in 1746, thereafter known as the Masonian Proprietors. They disposed of the land via grants to prospective settlers prior to the American Revolution and after the revolution until they disbanded in 1846, exactly 100 years. Situated on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, Tuftonboro includes the villages of Melvin Corner, Melvin Village, and Mirror Lake. Read more ...

Moultonborough, NH

The first settlers were grantees from Hampton, among whom were at least 16 Moultons, giving the town its name. Colonel Jonathan Moulton was considered to be one of the richest men in the province at the start of the American Revolution. Moultonborough was chartered in 1763, and at the time was described as being near Winnepisseoky Pond. Read more ...

Meredith, NH

Meredith was first known as Palmer's Town, in honor of Samuel Palmer, a teacher of surveying and navigation, who had laid out much of the land surrounding Lake Winnipesaukee. One of the first towns to have a charter granted by the Masonian Proprietors, many new settlers were from Salem, Massachusetts, and the town was renamed New Salem. In 1768, the land was regranted and named after Sir William Meredith, who opposed taxation on the colonies. Read more ...

Laconia, NH

First explored in the 1620's, Laconia was for many years a part of Meredith and Gilford known as Meredith Bridge. Early explorers had hoped to follow the Piscataqua River north to Lake Champlain, in search of the great lakes and rivers of Canada told of in Indian lore. These explorers were known as the Laconia Adventurers, Laconia being a region of ancient Greece. Incorporated as a city in 1893, Laconia includes the villages of Lakeport and Weirs Beach. "Weirs" is the name of primitive fishing devices discovered at the outlet of Lake Winnipesaukee. Read more ...

Gilmanton, NH

First known as Gilmantown, the town was home to the Gilman family, of which there were 24 members receiving land grants. At one time it was the second-largest town in the state, following Portsmouth. The original town was larger than it is now, with villages and parishes including Belmont, Gunstock Parish (Gilford), Hurricane, Tioga, Factory Village, and Lakeport. A parish first called Averytown, the site of an unprofitable iron-mining enterprise, is still known as Gilmanton Iron Works. Read more ...

Gilford, NH

Once a part of Gilmanton called Gunstock Parish, the town was named for a key battle at the end of the revolution, the Battle of Guilford Court House, North Carolina. Sargent Lemuel B. Mason, who had fought in that battle, had retired to Gunstock Parish. In 1812, he successfully proposed incorporation of a new town to be named Gilford. North Carolina's Guilford Court House has long since been renamed Martinsville. The original name is used by the Gunstock recreation area on Belknap Mountain. Read more ...

Center Harbor, NH

Center Harbor gets its name from two sources: from its location, centered between Meredith and Moultonborough Harbors, and also for the Senter family, who were owners of a large amount of property in the area. The town was a landing place for lake steamers and stagecoaches, making it a popular summer resort. Center Harbor was a favorite spot of John Greenleaf Whittier, and the home of Dudley Leavitt, author of the first Farmer's Almanac in 1797. Read more ...

Alton, NH

Originally called New Durham Gore, because of Mount Major's rocky terrain, the town was settled by a group from Roxbury, Massachusetts. The name Roxbury had already been used, so the town was named for the Alton family. The town fronts Alton Bay, the southeastern point of Lake Winnipesaukee, and its 19.3 square miles of inland water area is the largest of any town in New Hampshire. Read more ...