Carrol County (East Side of Lake Winnipesaukee)
Wolfeboro, NH
( 06/05/2006 5:30 PM )
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.
Wakefield, NH
( 06/05/2006 3:49 PM )
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.
Tuftonboro, NH
( 06/05/2006 5:27 PM )
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 northern 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. Situated on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, Tuftonboro includes the villages of Melvin Corner, Melvin Village, and Mirror Lake.
Tamworth, NH
( 06/05/2006 3:58 PM )
Granted in 1766, this town was named in honor of Admiral Washington Shirley, Viscount Tamworth, a close friend of Governor Benning Wentworth. The Admiral's daughter, Selina Shirley, was instrumental in the founding of Dartmouth College. Tamworth includes the villages of Chocorua, Wonalancet, and Whittier. Mount Whittier in Ossipee, like the village, was named for poet John Greenleaf Whittier.
Sandwich, NH
( 06/05/2006 4:00 PM )
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.
Ossipee, NH
( 06/05/2006 4:06 PM )
Originally known as Wigwam Village, and then New Garden, the town was named for the Ossipee Indians, one of the twelve Algonquin tribes. It was once the site of an Indian stockade fort, designed to protect the tribe from Mohawks in the west. In 1725, the Indian stockade was destroyed, and then rebuilt by Captain John Lovewell. The new fort was one of the largest in New England.
Moultonborough, NH
( 06/05/2006 5:24 PM )
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.
Madison, NH
( 06/05/2006 4:10 PM )
This area was one of the first to have land grants set aside for soldiers who had survived the Seven Years' War against France. The land covered by these grants, parts of Eaton and Albany, was incorporated in 1852 as Madison, in honor of President James Madison who was born 100 years earlier.
Jackson, NH
( 06/05/2006 4:12 PM )
Once consisting of several large land grants given by Governor John Wentworth, the town was first named New Madbury, after the seacoast town. In 1800, the town was renamed in honor of President John Adams, who was then in office. The name Adams stuck until 1829, when Andrew Jackson was inaugurated President. Governor Benjamin Pierce, a staunch backer of President Jackson, was influential in changing the name of the town to Jackson.
Hart's Location, NH
( 06/05/2006 4:46 PM )
Given the name of Colonel John Hart of Portsmouth, this long, narrow piece of land encompasses Crawford Notch. It was regranted in 1772 to Thomas Chadbourne of Portsmouth. Hart's Location was the site of the famous Willey's Slide, an avalanche that killed Samuel Willey and his entire family in 1826. Mount Willey is named in their honor, as is the village of Avalanche. The town is also the gravesite of Abel Crawford, for whom Crawford Notch is named.
Freedom, NH
( 06/05/2006 4:48 PM )
Following an influx of new settlers from Maine into Effingham, there was a conflict of culture and religion between them and people from the seacoast area who already populated Effingham. As a result, a section of that town known as North Effingham was separated into a town of its own. The newly incorporated town was appropriately named Freedom.
Effingham, NH
( 06/05/2006 4:58 PM )
This town was first settled by the Leavitts of Hampton, and named Leavittstown. In 1749, the land was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth, and he named it Effingham for the Howard family, who were Earls of Effingham.
Eaton, NH
( 06/05/2006 5:05 PM )
Named for Governor Theophilus Eaton of Connecticut, a generous contributor to the funds needed to settle Massachusetts in 1630. He later founded a colony at New Haven, Connecticut, along with John Davenport and David Yale, great-grandfather of Yale University's founder. Eaton includes the village of Snowville, named for the Snow family who started a sawmill there in 1825.
Conway, NH
( 06/05/2006 5:12 PM )
Named for Henry Seymour Conway, ambitious son of a prominent English family, who was elected to the House of Commons at age twenty, fought at Culloden, and became Secretary of State. Early settlers had named the area Pequawket, known colloquially as Pigwacket, after the nearby mountain. Conway boasts many natural features such as Cathedral Ledge, Echo Lake, and Mount Cranmore. Conway includes the villages of North Conway, Center Conway, Intervale, Redstone, and Kearsarge.
Chatham, NH
( 06/05/2006 5:15 PM )
First granted in 1767, the town was named in honor of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham and Prime Minister of England. Chatham was regranted in 1770 to a group including Abiel Chandler, founder of the Chandler Scientific School at Dartmouth College, and Samuel Langdon, president of Harvard College and creator of the Blanchard Map of the North Country.
Brookfield, NH
( 06/05/2006 5:17 PM )
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.
Bartlett, NH
( 06/05/2006 5:19 PM )
Named for Dr. Josiah Bartlett, the first chief executive to bear the name governor, a representative to the Continental Congress, and one of New Hampshire's three signers of the Declaration of Independence, placing his signature directly under that of John Hancock. Dr. Bartlett founded the New Hampshire Medical Society in 1791. The town includes the villages of Glen, Lower Bartlett, and Intervale.
Albany, NH
( 06/05/2006 5:22 PM )
First chartered in 1766 as Burton, for General Jonathan Burton of Wilton. The town was incorporated and renamed Albany in 1833, when the New York Central railroad from New York City to Albany was chartered. Albany includes Mount Chocorua, Mount Paugus and the southeastern corner of the White Mountain National Forest.