234 Towns and Cities of New Hampshire Containing Data Including: Map Location Incorporation Date County Area (Square Miles) Origin/History/highlights Rich Marsh NH Historical Society Volunteer Tuck Library, Concord NH

ACWORTH Incorporated:1722 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 21.5 persons per square mile of land area. Acworth contains 38.9 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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 re-granted under the name Acworth, honoring Sir Jacob Acworth of the British Admiralty, who had Portsmouth shipping interests.

ALBANY Incorporated: 1833 County: Caroll Population Density: 2000: 8.7 persons per square mile of land area. Albany contains 75.4 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

ALEXANDRIA Incorporated: 1782 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 30.5 persons per square mile of land area. Alexandria contains 43.5 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1753, Alexandria was named for Alexandria, Virginia, location of a conference that resulted in the declaration of the French and Indian War. Alexandria NH was the birthplace of Luther C. Ladd, the first enlisted soldier to lose his life in the Civil War.

ALLENSTOWN Incorporated: 1831 County: Merrimac Population Density: 2000: 236.7 persons per square mile of land area. Allenstown contains 20.5 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1721, the town was named after Samuel Allen, governor of the province in the late 1600's. A portion of Bow was annexed in 1815, and a portion of Hooksett in 1853. Home of Bear Brook State Park, the area was once known as excellent bear country, and a good hunting ground for wild geese and ducks.

ALSTEAD Incorporated: 1763 County: Cheshire Population Density, 2000: 49.9 persons per square mile of land area. Alstead contains 39.0 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Alstead began in 1735 as one in a line of nine forts intended to protect southwestern New Hampshire from Indian attacks. The town was named for Johann Henrich Alsted, who compiled an early encyclopedia that was popular at Harvard College. Alstead is the location of New Hampshire's first paper mill, established in 1793.

ALTON Incorporated:1796 County: Belknap Population Density, 2000: 70.4 persons per square mile of land area. Alton contains 63.9 square miles of land area and 19.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

AMHERST Incorporated:1760 County: Hillsborough Population Density, 2000: 317.4 persons per square mile of land area. Amherst contains 33.9 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area. Origin: First granted in 1728 as Narragansett Number 3, the town was named after Lord Jeffrey Amherst, commander-in-chief of the colonials in the French and Indian War. Amherst was the birthplace of Horace Greeley, founder of the New York Tribune. The town is home to Baboosic Lake.

ANDOVER Incorporated:1779 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 52.5 persons per square mile of land area. Andover contains 40.2 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled by Dr. Anthony Emery, the town was named Emerystown. It was then named New Breton, after Cape Breton, site of a campaign against the French. The town was incorporated in 1779 as Andover, the year Phillips Andover Academy was completed. The school's founder, John Phillips, was a college friend of Dr. Emery. Andover includes the villages of Cillyville and Potter Place.

ANTRIM Incorporated:1777 County: Hillsborough Population Density, 2000: 68.7 persons per square mile of land area. Antrim contains 35.7 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This town was settled prior to the American Revolution, but did not get its incorporated name until 1777. It was named for County Antrim in Ireland, which was the native home of the land's owner, Philip Riley. The town was home to the now-defunct Nathaniel Hawthorne College.

ASHLAND Incorporated:1868 County: Grafton Population Density, 2000: 172.9 persons per square mile of land area. Ashland contains 11.3 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once the southwest section of Holderness, Ashland was not incorporated until 1868. It was named in honor of Henry Clay, for his birthplace in Ashland, Virginia, and his estate in Kentucky. Ashland includes the geographic center of the state, located just west of Lake Winnipesaukee.

ATKINSON Incorporated:1767 County:Rockingham Population Density, 2000: 553.1 persons per square mile of land area. Atkinson contains 11.2 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Named for Colonel Theodore Atkinson, whose farm once covered nearly all of the area set aside from Plaistow that became the town. He was a brother-in-law to Governor Benning Wentworth, and served as secretary of the colony until the Revolution.

AUBURN Incorporated:1845 County: Rockingham Population Density, 2000: 183.8 persons per square mile of land area. Auburn contains 25.5 square miles of land area and 3.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once part of Chester, it was known as Chester Woods, Chester West Parish, Long Meadow, and then Auburn. The name comes from English literature by Goldsmith, as did Auburns in New York, Massachusetts, and Maine. Auburn includes a large portion of Lake Massabesic, water supply for the City of Manchester.

BARNSTEAD Incorporated:1727 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 90.5 persons per square mile of land area. Barnstead contains 42.9 square miles of land area and 2.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1727, the town was established to deal with rapidly expanding population in the seacoast area. A majority of new settlers came from either Barnstable on Cape Cod or Hampstead on Long Island, and the town's name is a conjunction of the two. The town includes three villages, South Barnstead, Center Barnstead, and Barnstead; and is home to at least nine lakes and ponds.

BARRINGTON Incorporated:1722 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 160.1 persons per square mile of land area. Barrington contains 46.7 square miles of land area and 1.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Barrington bears the family name of the English governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Samuel Shute of Barrington Hall, whose brother was Viscount Barrington. It was once the third most populous town in the state. The smelting of iron ore was at the time the area's primary industry.

BARTLETT Incorporated:1790 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 36.2 persons per square mile of land area. Bartlett contains 74.8 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

BATH Incorporated:1760 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 23.4 persons per square mile of land area. Bath contains 38.2 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: The charter of the town of Bath, granted in 1761, set aside land in equal shares for 68 families, with a church and a school. The town was named for one of England's prominent statesmen, William Pulteney, first Earl of Bath.

BEDFORD Incorporated:1750 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 558.0 persons per square mile of land area. Bedford contains 32.8 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Established in 1730 as Narragansett Number 5 for the benefit of soldiers who fought against the Narragansett Indians in Rhode Island. It was re-granted first as Souhegan East, then as Bedford in 1750. The town was named for Lord John Russell, fourth Duke of Bedford, a close friend of Governor Benning Wentworth.

BELMONT Incorporated: 1727 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 222.8 persons per square mile of land area. Belmont contains 30.1 square miles of land area and 1.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First chartered in 1727 as a parish of Gilmanton, known as Upper Gilmanton. In 1859, the voters of the town petitioned to rename the town Belmont, to honor Mr. August Belmont, a New York financier, in hopes that he might make a financial contribution to the town. Mr. Belmont, however, never even bothered to acknowledge the act. The town borders Lake Winnisquam

BENNINGTON Incorporated: 1842 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 123.4 persons per square mile of land area. Bennington contains 11.4 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Taken from portions of Hancock, Greenfield, Deering, and Francestown, the town was named in commemoration of the Battle of Bennington, fought on August 14-16, 1777, near Bennington, Vermont. Vermont's Bennington was named for Governor Benning Wentworth, who was responsible for naming many towns in New Hampshire and Vermont.

BENTON Incorporated: 1764 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 6.5 persons per square mile of land area. Benton contains 48.5 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally granted in 1764 as Coventry, after a town in Connecticut. Renamed Benton after Thomas Hart Benton, senator from Missouri, and incorporated as such in 1840. Senator Benton was known for championing Western expansion. Benton is the site of Mount Moosilauke.

BERLIN Incorporated: 1829 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 168.1 persons per square mile of land area. Berlin contains 61.5 square miles of land area and 0.7 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1771 as Maynesborough, after Sir William Mayne, an associate of Governor John Wentworth in the West Indies trade. The area was not settled by the original grantees, and the town was renamed Berlin in 1829 by new settlers from Berlin, Massachusetts. Berlin was incorporated as a city in 1897. It is the northernmost city in the state, and includes the village of Cascade.

BETHLEHEM Incorporated:1799 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 24.2 persons per square mile of land area. Bethlehem contains 90.9 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First established in 1774 as Lloyd's Hills, the town was incorporated on December 27, 1799, as Bethlehem. The name was selected on the last Christmas Day in the century. Bethlehem was the last of the provincial land grants in the state. The town is home to Mount Agassiz, named for Jean Louis Rudolph Agassiz, explorer and naturalist. Today, the town is known for its special Christmas postal cancellation stamp.

BOSCAWEN Incorporated: 1760 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 147.9 persons per square mile of land area. Boscawen contains 24.8 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Named for an English admiral, Edward Boscawen, who fought under General Amherst in the conquest of Canada. One of the first log forts was located here. The Contoocook Fort on the Merrimack, built in 1739, was used for protection against the Indians. Boscawen includes the village of Gerrish, and is home to the State Veterans Cemeter

BOW Incorporated: 1727 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 253.4 persons per square mile of land area. Bow contains 28.2 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: One of several towns established in the Merrimack Valley to alleviate population congestion in the seacoast, which formed a 'bow' on the map. There is also a bend in the Merrimack River within its borders, and the name Bow may have come from either source. Bow is the birthplace of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the First Church of Christ, Scientist and leader of the Christian Science movement.

BRADFORD Incorporated: 1787 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 41.3 persons per square mile of land area. Bradford contains 35.2 square miles of land area and 0.7 square miles of inland water area. Origin: 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.

BRENTWOOD Incorporated:1742 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 188.5 persons per square mile of land area. Brentwood contains 17.0 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally known as Brentwood Parish, a parish of Exeter. This and several other towns were separated from their parent communities due to overpopulation. The name was taken from Brentwood, England, a suburb of London containing the king's forest, the burning of which gave it the name "Burnt Wood."

BRIDGEWATER Incorporated: 1788 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 45.4 persons per square mile of land area. Bridgewater contains 21.5 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

BRISTOL Incorporated: 1819 County: Grafton Population Density 2000: 177.7 persons per square mile of land area. Bristol contains 17.1 square miles of land area and 4.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Extensive deposits of fine sand or clay similar to the "Bristol sand" used in Bristol, England, to make fine china and pottery gave the town its name. Here the sand was used to make a superior quality brick, marketed as "Bristol brick." The town was center of manufacturing in the early days for goods such as paper, leather, woolens, flannel, bedsteads, and piano stools. Bristol includes the lower two-thirds of Newfound Lake.

BROOKFIELD Incorporated: 1778 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 26.4 persons per square mile of land area. Brookfield contains 22.9 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

BROOKLINE Incorporated: 1769 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 210.0 persons per square mile of land area. Brookline contains 19.9 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First a part of Dunstable, then settled as West Hollis, the town was granted in 1769 as Raby. Governor John Wentworth named the town in honor of his cousin, fourth Earl of Strafford and Baron of Raby Castle, in County Durham, England. The town was renamed in 1798 at the suggestion of one of the town's leading citizens, who hailed from Brookline, Massachusetts.

CAMPTON Incorporated:1767 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 52.4 persons per square mile of land area. Campton contains 51.9 square miles of land area and 0.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1761, the town was probably named Campton by Governor Benning Wentworth in honor of his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington. Compton was influential in Wentworth's becoming governor in 1741. Campton was the boyhood home of Sylvester Marsh, builder of Mount Washington's Cog Railway.

CANAAN Incorporated: 1761 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 62.3 persons per square mile of land area. Canaan contains 53.3 square miles of land area and 1.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Chartered in 1761, the town probably took its name from the hometown of early settlers from Canaan, Connecticut, which was named for the Biblical land.

CANDIA Incorporated: 1763 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 129.0 persons per square mile of land area. Candia contains 30.3 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once a part of Chester, the town was known as Charmingfare, probably because of the many bridle paths or parades through pleasant scenery. It was named Candia in 1763 by Governor Benning Wentworth, possibly in memory of his sea travels following his graduation from Harvard. Candia was the name of the principal city of Crete.

CANTERBURY Incorporated: 1741 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 45.0 persons per square mile of land area. Canterbury contains 43.9 square miles of land area and 0.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1727, the town was named for William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury. Canterbury in England is famous for its cathedral, and for being the center of English Christianity since 597 AD. The town was originally a fort or trading post where the Penacook Indians came to trade. Canterbury was home to the last colony of Shakers, and the Canterbury Shaker Village is now a museum.

CARROLL Incorporated: 1882 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 13.2 persons per square mile of land area. Carroll contains 50.3 square miles of land area and 0.02 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally granted as Bretton Woods in 1772, for Bretton Hall, an estate of Governor John Wentworth. The town was renamed Carroll in 1832, for Charles Carroll of Maryland, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The town includes the villages of Fabyan's, Bretton Woods, and Twin Mountain. Bretton Woods is home to the Mount Washington Hotel, site of the July 1944 International Monetary Conference that resulted in the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Nearby is Mount Washington's Cog Railway, the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway, in operation since 1869.

CENTER HARBOR Incorporated: 1797 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 74.7 persons per square mile of land area. Center Harbor contains 13.3 square miles of land area and 2.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

CHARLESTOWN Incorporated: 1783 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 132.6 persons per square mile of land area. Charlestown contains 35.8 square miles of land area and 2.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Named in honor of Admiral Sir Charles Knowles of the British Navy, then governor of Jamaica. Charlestown was originally the site of Number Four, the fourth in a line of forts on the Connecticut River border established as trading posts. A reproduction of Fort Number Four is now a historical site. A historical marker commemorating the fort was erected in 1958--the second such marker erected in the NH Historical Marker Program.

CHATHAM Incorporated: 1767 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 4.6 persons per square mile of land area. Chatham contains 56.7 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

CHESTER Incorporated: 1722 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 145.7 persons per square mile of land area. Chester contains 26.0 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First called the "chestnut country," it may have been the first of the settlement grants by Massachusetts selected for expansion of growing populations in the seacoast. The name may have derived from Cheshire, Chester being the county seat of Cheshire in England. Earl of Chester is a title held by the Prince of Wales.

CHESTERFIELD Incorporated: 1752 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 77.7 persons per square mile of land area. Chesterfield contains 45.6 square miles of land area and 2.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Established in 1735, this town was the site of Fort Number 1 in the line of forts bordering the Connecticut River, and was later known as Fort Dummer. The town was incorporated in 1752 as Chesterfield, after Philip Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield. Chesterfield includes the village of Spofford, and Spofford Lake.

CHICHESTER Incorporated: 1727 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 105.5 persons per square mile of land area. Chichester contains 21.2 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Chichester is one of seven towns granted in 1727 when New Hampshire was still a part of Massachusetts. As were several other towns, it was named in honor of Thomas Pelham Holles, Duke of Newcastle, Earl of Chichester, and England's Secretary of State.

CLAREMONT Incorporated: 1764 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 304.8 persons per square mile of land area. Claremont contains 43.1 square miles of land area and 0.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

CLARKSVILLE Incorporated: 1853 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 4.9 persons per square mile of land area. Clarksville contains 60.4 square miles of land area and 1.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Part of a large tract granted to Dartmouth College, portions of the land were sold to raise cash for the college. Purchased by Joseph Murdock of Norwich, Vermont, and Benjamin Clark of Boston, and cleared for settlement by the Clark family, the town was named Clarksville. It was also known as Dartmouth College Grant until 1872. The town is south only to Pittsburg.

COLEBROOK Incorporated: 1796 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 56.9 persons per square mile of land area. Colebrook contains 40.8 square miles of land area and 0.02 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1762, the territory was named Dryden, after English poet and playwright John Dryden. Due to the inability of grantees to settle the area, it was regranted in 1770 to new colonizers, who renamed the grant Colebrook, after Sir George Colebrooke of England, the East India Company's chairman of the board.

COLUMBIA Incorporated: 1797 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 12.3 persons per square mile of land area. Columbia contains 61.2 square miles of land area and 0.06 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First chartered in 1762, and named Preston for Richard Graham, Viscount Preston of Scotland. The town was re-granted in 1770 due to the settlers' failure to meet the terms of the grant, and renamed Cockburntown, after Sir James Cockburn of Scotland. It kept that name until 1811, when Governor John Langdon renamed the town Columbia in the spirit of patriotism preceding the War of 1812.

CONCORD Incorporated: 1733 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 636.2 persons per square mile of land area. Concord contains 64.0 square miles of land area and 3.2 square miles of inland water area. \ Origin: The first settlement in 1659 was named Penacook, for the Indian name 'Pannukog,' meaning crooked place or bend in the river. The first land grant was in 1725, and the town was incorporated as Rumford in 1733. The name was changed to Concord in 1765 upon resolution of a bitter boundary dispute between Rumford and Bow. Concord became the state capital in 1808. The State House, built in 1818 and first occupied in 1819, is the oldest in continuous use in the country. In 1853, the State granted Concord a city charter. It was in Concord that the Abbotts built the famous Concord Coach, modeled after King George III's coronation coach.

CONWAY Incorporated: 1765 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 123.5 persons per square mile of land area. Conway contains 69.7 square miles of land area and 2.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

CORNISH Incorporated: 1765 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 39.6 persons per square mile of land area. Cornish contains 42.0 square miles of land area and 0.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

CROYDON Incorporated: 1763 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 18.0 persons per square mile of land area. Croydon contains 36.8 square miles of land area and 0.7 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Named for a suburb of London, the location of a palace under which several archbishops of Canterbury were buried. Among the grantees was Captain Stephen Hall, whose grandson Samuel Read Hall (b. 1795) developed plans resulting in the present American school system. Professor Hall was reputed to be the first teacher to use a blackboard.

DALTON Incorporated:1764 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 33.7 persons per square mile of land area. Dalton contains 27.5 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once a part of Littleton, the town went through several name changes. Starting in 1764 as Chiswick, after the Duke of Devonshire's Castle, in 1770 the name changed to Apthorp, honoring the Apthorp family. Finally in 1784, it was changed to Dalton, for Tristram Dalton, one of New England's foremost colonial merchants.

DANBURY Incorporated: 1795 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 28.4 persons per square mile of land area. Danbury contains 37.8 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

DANVILLE Incorporated: 1760 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 345.6 persons per square mile of land area. Danville contains 11.6 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: One of several parishes of Kingston, first settled in 1694. It was chartered in 1760 as Hawke, in honor of Admiral Sir Edward Hawke. Never a popular name, the town was renamed in 1836 in honor of early settlers. There were at least three Daniels among them, which probably prompted the selection of the name Danville.

DEERFIELD Incorporated: 1766 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 72.4 persons per square mile of land area. Deerfield contains 50.8 square miles of land area and 1.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once a parish of Nottingham, Deerfield was incorporated as a town in 1766. It was named for Deerfield, Massachusetts, home of several early settlers. The town was home to John Simpson, who achieved fame by firing the first shot in the revolution, disobeying orders not to fire "until you see the whites of their eyes."

DEERING Incorporated: 1774 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 61.3 persons per square mile of land area. Deering contains 30.6 square miles of land area and 0.7 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1774 by Governor John Wentworth, the town was named Deering, the family name of his wife, Frances Deering Wentworth. At the time of the Revolution, John and Frances Wentworth left for Nova Scotia, then went to England, where Frances became a lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte, wife of George III.

DERRY Incorporated: 1827 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 960.2 persons per square mile of land area, the 9th highest among the cities and towns. Derry contains 35.4 square miles of land area and 0.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Although first settled in 1719, Derry was not incorporated until 1827. It was for a long time part of Londonderry, which included Windham and portions of Manchester, Salem, and Hudson. The town was named for the Isle of Derry, Ireland, the Gaelic word "Doire" meaning oak woods. Derry is the location of Robert Frost's farm, and the birthplace of astronaut Alan Shepard. It is also the location of two of America's oldest private schools, Pinkerton Academy, founded in 1814 and still in operation, and the Adams Female Seminary.

DORCHESTER Incorporated: 1772 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 7.9 persons per square mile of land area. Dorchester contains 44.6 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First chartered in 1761, the town was probably given its name in honor of ancestors of Governor Benning Wentworth, who held the titles Marquis of Dorchester and Earl of Kingston. Due to the failure of grantees to take up their claims, the town was granted twice more, once in 1766 and again in 1772, retaining the name Dorchester throughout.

DOVER Incorporated: 1623 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 1,005.8 persons per square mile of land area, the 8th highest among the cities and towns. Dover contains 26.7 square miles of land area and 2.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: For the first fifty years of New Hampshire's history, Dover was one of only three communities established in the state. Settled in 1623 on the banks of the Piscataqua River, Dover was first called Hilton's Point, named after Edward Hilton, leader of the company of Englishmen who landed at Dover Point. It was also known by the Indian names of Newichwannock (place of wigwams) and Cocheco. The town was probably named for Dover, England. In 1855, Dover was incorporated as a city.

DUBLIN Incorporated: 1771 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 52.9 persons per square mile of land area. Dublin contains 27.9 square miles of land area and 1.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1749 as Monadnock, and incorporated in 1771 as Dublin. The town was originally settled as North Monadnock, or Number 3, one of a group of eight towns in the region settled by Scots colonists. The name was taken from Dublin, Ireland. Dublin is home to Yankee Publishing, Inc., publishers of Yankee Magazine and the Old Farmer's Almanac.

DUMMER Incorporated: 1848 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 6.5 persons per square mile of land area. Dummer contains 47.9 square miles of land area and 1.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1773, Dummer was named for Governor William Dummer of Massachusetts, whose achievements included a peace treaty with the Indians which lasted nearly twenty years. Fort Dummer, one of New England's earliest forts, was also named for Governor Dummer. The town was not incorporated until 1848.

DUNBARTON Incorporated: 1765 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 72.2 persons per square mile of land area. Dunbarton contains 30.8 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1735 as Gorham's-town to soldiers returning from the Canada Expedition, and regranted in 1748 as Starkstown to Scots-Irish settlers led by Archibald Stark. It was incorporated in 1765 as Dunbarton, named for Dumbartonshire in Scotland, hometown to Archibald Stark. Stark's son was General John Stark, patriot of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Bennington, and his grandson Caleb was a famous industrialist who established textile mills in Manchester.

DURHAM Incorporated: 1732 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 565.4 persons per square mile of land area. Durham contains 22.4 square miles of land area and 2.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: A parish of Dover settled in 1669 as Oyster River Plantation, Durham was incorporated in 1732. The name probably honored Richard Barnes, Bishop of Durham, England, the first Puritan bishop. A descendent of an early settler, Benjamin Thompson, bequeathed the family estate, Warner Farm, to be used for establishment of an agricultural college. The state agricultural school, originally set up in Hanover in 1866, was moved to Durham in 1890, becoming the University of New Hampshire in 1923.

EAST KINGSTON Incorporated: 1738 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 180.0 persons per square mile of land area. East Kingston contains 9.9 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once a part of Kingston, this area was called Kingston East Parish. It was granted a separate charter in 1738 after some residents petitioned Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts that its location was "too distant from the Kingston school and place of worship."

EASTON Incorporated: 1876 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 8.2 persons per square mile of land area. Easton contains 31.1 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once a part of Landaff known as Eastern Landaff, the town's name seems to be a corruption of the word "Eastern" and it was incorporated as Easton. Asa Kinsman was a pioneer settler of the town, and it is for him that Mount Kinsman, the Kinsman Range, and Kinsman Notch are named.

EATON Incorporated: 1760 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 15.4 persons per square mile of land area. Eaton contains 24.4 square miles of land area and 1.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

EFFINGHAM Incorporated: 1778 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 32.8 persons per square mile of land area. Effingham contains 38.9 square miles of land area and 1.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

ELLSWORTH Incorporated: 1769 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 4.1 persons per square mile of land area. Ellsworth contains 21.4 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This town was originally named Trecothick, in honor of Barlow Trecothick, Lord Mayor of London and head of the East India Company. Still only sparsely populated, the town was incorporated as Ellsworth in 1802, after Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut. Justice Ellsworth was known for having negotiated the peace treaty with France that resulted in the Louisiana Purchase.

ENFIELD Incorporated: 1761 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 114.6 persons per square mile of land area. Enfield contains 40.3 square miles of land area and 2.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First named Enfield by settlers from Enfield, Connecticut, the town was renamed Relhan in 1766 to honor Dr. Anthony Relhan. The doctor was a promoter of sea-bathing as a curative, making Brighton a fashionable English resort. The town was renamed Enfield in 1784 after the Revolution. Enfield was the site of a Shaker community in the early 1800's, whose buildings are now occupied by the La Salette Brotherhood of Montreal. The Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette is well-known for its Christmas holiday display. Enfield is home to Mascoma Lake and includes the villages of Upper and Lower Shaker Village, and Lockehaven.

EPPING Incorporated: 1741 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 210.0 persons per square mile of land area. Epping contains 26.1 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1741, Epping was the last town chartered by Massachusetts Governor Jonathan Belcher prior to the establishment of New Hampshire as an independent province. It was at one time a part of Exeter, and was named for Epping Forest, a suburb of London.

EPSOM Incorporated: 1727 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 116.7 persons per square mile of land area. Epsom contains 34.5 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: One of seven towns granted by the Governor of Massachusetts before New Hampshire became an independent province. Epsom was named for Epsom, England, home of the Earl of Derby, whose horse racing 'derby' at Epsom Downs was famous. Epsom, England was also known for its mineral springs, the source of Epsom salts. New Hampshire's Epsom includes the village of Gossville.

ERROL Incorporated: 1836 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 4.9 persons per square mile of land area. Errol contains 60.8 square miles of land area and 8.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First chartered in 1774, Errol was named for James Hay of Scotland, fifteenth Earl of Erroll, and owner of Linlithgow Castle, the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots, and King James V. Sitting on the northern end of Maine border, this sparsely populated town is a popular vacation site for snowmobilers. Errol is home to half of Umbagog Lake, and has more inland water area than any town in Coos County.

EXETER Incorporated: 1638 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 711.8 persons per square mile of land area. Exeter contains 19.8 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Exeter was one of the four original towns established in New Hampshire. It was first known as Squamscott, and was given the name Exeter by the settlement's managers, the "Exeter Combination," a group of English colonizers. The river location of the town made it a shipbuilding center and West Indies trading port. Exeter is home to the Phillips Exeter Academy, endowed by Colonel John Phillips in 1781, and the American Independence Museum.

FARMINGTON Incorporated: 1798 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 158.1 persons per square mile of land area. Farmington contains 36.5 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once the West Parish of Rochester, known as Farmington Dock, the town's location on the Cocheco River was an ideal spot for sawmills. The name Farmington appears to refer to the area's fertile farmland. Farmington was also home to a prime shoe-making industry, and was one of the first places to use automated shoe-making machines instead of handwork.

FITZWILLIAM Incorporated: 1773 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 61.8 persons per square mile of land area. Fitzwilliam contains 35.6 square miles of land area and 1.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally settled as Monadnock Number 4, one in a line of eight towns settled by Scottish colonists. The town was named for William, fourth Earl of Fitzwilliam and cousin to Governor Wentworth. An early grantee in Fitzwilliam was Matthew Thornton, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Fitzwilliam claims one of the earliest granite quarries in New Hampshire, and is home to Rhododendron State Park.

FRANCESTOWN Incorporated: 1772 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 49.6 persons per square mile of land area. Francestown contains 29.8 square miles of land area and .5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Named for Frances Deering Wentworth, wife of Governor John Wentworth. Situated on the Second New Hampshire Turnpike, the sole route between Boston and Vermont, the town once collected a toll of one cent per mile from travelling coaches and wagons. Francestown was also the site of a high-quality soapstone quarry, which was mined until the 1890's.

FRANCONIA Incorporated: 1772 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 14.1 persons per square mile of land area. Franconia contains 65.7 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1764 as Indian Head, settlers were unable to meet the terms of charter, and it was regranted in 1772 as Morristown. In 1782 the town was renamed Franconia, due to its resemblance to the Franconian Alps in Germany. The area of Franconia Notch is well known for its natural features, including the Old Man of the Mountains; Profile and Echo Lakes, The Flume, The Basin, and Mounts Lafayette, Lincoln, and Garfield. The Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway was the first passenger tramway built in North America. Franconia is also the site of a rich iron deposit.

FRANKLIN Incorporated: 1828 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 303.8 persons per square mile of land area. Franklin contains 27.7 square miles of land area and 1.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Situated as the junction of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee Rivers, the town was originally known as Pemigewasset Village. It was taken from portions of Salisbury, Andover, Sanbornton, and Northfield. The name Franklin was adopted in 1820 in honor of Benjamin Franklin, and the town was incorporated as a city in 1895.

FREEDOM Incorporated: 1831 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 37.8 persons per square mile of land area. Freedom contains 34.5 square miles of land area and 3.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

FREMONT Incorporated: 1764 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 203.5 persons per square mile of land area. Fremont contains 17.3 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once a part of Exeter known as Poplin, after an English mill town. The town was renamed Fremont in 1854, after General John C. Fremont, who was the first candidate of the Republican Party in the presidential election of 1856. Benton, in Grafton County, bears the name of Fremont's father-in-law, Senator Thomas Hart Benton.

GILFORD Incorporated: 1812 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 175.4 persons per square mile of land area. Gilford contains 38.8 square miles of land area and 14.7 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

GILMANTON Incorporated: 1727 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 53.1 persons per square mile of land area. Gilmanton contains 57.6 square miles of land area and 1.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

GILSUM Incorporated: 1787 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 46.6 persons per square mile of land area. Gilsum contains 16.7 square miles of land area and 0.02 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1752, the town was named Boyle, after Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington and famous architect. Burlington, Vermont, was also named after him. No claims were settled within the set time because of danger from Indian attacks. A new charter was issued in 1763 to members of the Gilbert and Sumner families, and the town was named Gilsum in their honor. Gilsum's Lower Village is the site of the much-photographed Stone Arch over the Ashuelot River.

GOFFSTOWN Incorporated: 1761 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 455.8 persons per square mile of land area. Goffstown contains 37.1 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This town, as part of Massachusetts, went through the names Narragansett Number 4, Piscataquog Village, and Shovestown before installation of the New Hampshire provincial government. In 1748, the area was regranted to new settlers, including Colonel John Goffe, for whom the town was officially named. The town includes the village of Grasmere, named for the English home of poets Wordsworth and Coleridge.

GORHAM Incorporated: 1836 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 90.8 persons per square mile of land area. Gorham contains 31.9 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First chartered as a part of Shelburne in 1770. The town was incorporated in 1836 and renamed Gorham at the suggestion of Sylvester Davis, a resident from Gorham, Maine, and a relative of the Gorham family who founded that town in 1764.

GOSHEN Incorporated: 1791 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 33.0 persons per square mile of land area. Goshen contains 22.4 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

GRAFTON Incorporated: 1778 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 27.4 persons per square mile of land area. Grafton contains 41.6 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

GRANTHAM Incorporated: 1761 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 79.7 persons per square mile of land area. Grantham contains 27.2 square miles of land area and 0.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

GREENFIELD Incorporated: 1791 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 62.6 persons per square mile of land area. Greenfield contains 26.5 square miles of land area and 0.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled in 1753 by the Lynde family, the town was known as Lyndeborough Addition. The Monadnock hills cut residents off from church and school, so in 1791 they petitioned for the right to form their own town. The name was chosen to indicate the town's location on a level, fertile ground between the hills. Greenfield is home to the Crotched Mountain Foundation, a rehabilitation center for handicapped children; the Crotched Mountain Ski Area; and Greenfield State Park, on Otter Lake.

GREENLAND Incorporated: 1704 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 304.4 persons per square mile of land area. Greenland contains 10.5 square miles of land area and 2.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: One of the earliest settlements in the state, Greenland was a parish of Portsmouth originating in 1638. It was probably named for Henry Greenland, a town officer. Residents requested and were granted a separate town in 1704. In that same period, Leonard Weeks constructed a substantial brick house, thought to be the oldest brick house in New Hampshire still standing.

GREENVILLE Incorporated:1872 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 323.7 persons per square mile of land area. Greenville contains 6.9 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once a part of Mason, Greenville is one of the state's newest and smallest towns, incorporated in 1872. The town is located at the High Falls on the Souhegan River, whose plentiful water power provided the town with the state's first industries, making cotton and woolen goods.

GROTON Incorporated: 1796 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 11.2 persons per square mile of land area. Groton contains 40.7 square miles of land area and 0.04 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First named Cockermouth in 1761, after Charles Wyndham, Baron Cockermouth and Earl of Egremont, who succeeded William Pitt as Secretary of State. At the time of the original grant, few grantees had taken up their claims, and the land was re-granted in 1776. In 1792, a later grantee, Samuel Blood, succeeded in renaming the town Groton after his hometown in Massachusetts.

HAMPSTEAD Incorporated: 1749 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 619.2 persons per square mile of land area. Hampstead contains 13.4 square miles of land area and 0.7 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once part of Haverhill and Amesbury, Massachusetts, the town was formed as a result of the 1739 change in boundary lines between Massachusetts and the new province of New Hampshire. It was originally known as Timberlane Parish, because of the heavy growth of native trees. In 1749, Governor Benning Wentworth renamed the town Hampstead, after the English residence of William Pitt, a close friend.

HAMPTON Incorporated: 1639 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 1,086.3 persons per square mile of land area, the 7th highest population density among the cities and towns. Hampton contains 13.8 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First called Winnacunnet, the Indian name for "pleasant pines," Hampton was one of four original New Hampshire towns established by the Massachusetts government. In 1638, the area, which included land now in Seabrook, Kensington, Danville, Kingston, East Kingston, Sandown, North Hampton, South Hampton, Hampton Falls, and Great Boar's Head, was settled by a group of parishioners led by Reverend Stephen Bachiler. The Reverend had previously preached in Hampton, England, and the town was incorporated as Hampton in 1639. Poet John Greenleaf Whittier was a direct descendant of Reverend Bachiler. Construction of the railroad in the 1850's made Hampton's oceanfront a popular resort.

HAMPTON FALLS Incorporated: 1723 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 151.9 persons per square mile of land area. Hampton Falls contains 12.4 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First established as Hampton's Third Parish, this town received its grant as an independent town in 1726. Located on the Taylor River, Hampton Falls provided water power for Weare's mills. Meschech Weare, a descendant of the mill owners, was New Hampshire's first "president," later called "governor," in 1776. Hampton Falls was the birthplace of Ralph Adams Cram, a well-known architect, who designed the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York and chapels at West Point and Exeter Academy.

HANCOCK Incorporated: 1779 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 58.0 persons per square mile of land area. Hancock contains 30.0 square miles of land area and 1.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Hancock started as an unidentified settlement on the Contoocook River, in lands known as "Society land" or Cumberland, which had been reserved for the proprietors of the lands which became New Hampshire. First settled in 1764, the town was named Hancock in 1779 in honor of John Hancock, first governor of Massachusetts, president of the Continental Congress, and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

HANOVER Incorporated: 1761 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 221.0 persons per square mile of land area. Hanover contains 49.1 square miles of land area and 1.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1761, the town was named for Hanover Parish, home parish of settlers from Lisbon, Connecticut. Governor John 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.

HARRISVILLE Incorporated: 1870 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 57.5 persons per square mile of land area. Harrisville contains 18.7 square miles of land area and 1.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled in 1760, the town was once part of Hancock, Dublin, Roxbury, Nelson, and Marlborough. It became a mill center when the Harris family built of one of the first woolen mills in New England. The town was known as Twitchellville, after Abel Twitchell, whose daughter had married into the Harris family. When the business name was changed to Cheshire Mills, the town incorporated as Harrisville.

HART'S LOCATION Incorporated:1772 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 1.9 persons per square mile of land area. Hart's Location contains 19.2 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Given the name of Colonel John Hart of Portsmouth, this long, narrow piece of land encompasses Crawford Notch. It was re-granted 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.

HAVERHILL Incorporated: 1763 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 86.3 persons per square mile of land area. Haverhill contains 51.2 square miles of land area and 1.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Settled by citizens from Haverhill, Massachusetts, the town was first known as Lower Coos. In 1773, Haverhill became the county seat of Grafton County. It was the terminus of the Old Province Road, which connected the northern and western settlements with the seacoast. The village of Woodsville, named for John L. Woods of Wells River, Vermont, was once a very important railroad center. Woods operated a sawmill on the Ammonoosuc River, and developed a railroad supply enterprise following the establishment of the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad. The village of Pike was settled by future employees of the Pike Manufacturing Company, which was, for a time, the world's leading manufacturer of whetstones.

HEBRON Incorporated: 1792 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 27.2 persons per square mile of land area. Hebron contains 16.9 square miles of land area and 2.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally part of Cockermouth, which was separated in 1792 when that town was renamed Groton. Hebron was named in honor of Hebron, Connecticut, the native town of many settlers, just as Groton, Connecticut, was home to many settlers in Groton. The Phelps family was prominent among this group, and Samuel Phelps' father-in-law, General Israel Morey, is known as the inventor of an early steamboat.

HENNIKER Incorporated: 1768 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 100.5 persons per square mile of land area. Henniker contains 44.1 square miles of land area and 0.7 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First known as Number 6, part of a line of settlements running between the Merrimack and Connecticut Rivers, and the area was settled by families from Marlborough, Massachusetts, naming it New Marlborough. In 1752 the land was granted to Andrew Todd, who named it Todd's-town. In 1768, Henniker was named for Sir John Henniker, a London merchant who had shipping interests in Boston and Portsmouth prior to the revolution, giving it the distinction of being the only place named Henniker on earth.

HILL Incorporated: 1778 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 37.2 persons per square mile of land area. Hill contains 26.7 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1753 to a group of settlers from Chester, New Hampshire, the town was known as New Chester. In 1837, the town was renamed in honor of Isaac Hill, a Democrat who served as governor, and as senator in President James Buchanan's administration. In 1941, the entire village of Hill was moved to higher ground to allow the original land to be used for a Merrimack River flood control project.

HILLSBOROUGH Incorporated: 1772 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 112.8 persons per square mile of land area. Hillsborough contains 43.7 square miles of land area and 1.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1735 by Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts as Number 7, one in a line of nine towns set up as defense barriers against Indian attacks. The towns were renamed following the 1741 establishment of New Hampshire as a separate province. In 1748, the town was named for Wills Hill, Earl of Hillsborough, as was Hillsborough County, created in 1769 by Governor John Wentworth. Hillsborough is the birthplace of Franklin Pierce, fourteenth President of the United States, the only US President from New Hampshire.

HINSDALE Incorporated: 1753 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 197.1 persons per square mile of land area. Hinsdale contains 20.7 square miles of land area and 1.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Tucked into the farthest southwestern corner of the state, Hinsdale was named for Colonel Ebenezer Hinsdale in 1753. Colonel Hinsdale was from a prominent family in Deerfield, and he was once chaplain of Fort Dummer, an important trading post on the Connecticut River. He later enlisted as an officer, and then established the trading post at Fort Hinsdale, reportedly at his own expense.

HOLDERNESS Incorporated: 1761 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 63.2 persons per square mile of land area. Holderness contains 30.5 square miles of land area and 5.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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 re-granted to a group of New England families, including Samuel Livermore, who wanted to create a pretentious estate similar to that of the English countryside.

HOLLIS Incorporated: 1746 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 220.8 persons per square mile of land area. Hollis contains 31.8 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Incorporated in 1746 by Governor Benning Wentworth, the town takes its name from a very old English family. Governor Wentworth's ancestor, Thomas Wentworth, first Earl of Strafford, was married to Arabella Holles, daughter of John Holles, Earl of Clare. Hollis was first called West Dunstable, or Nittisset, which at one time was part of Groton, Massachusetts, and is now Nashua.

HOOKSETT Incorporated: 1822 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 323.9 persons per square mile of land area. Hooksett contains 36.2 square miles of land area and 0.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First known as Chester Woods and Rowe's Corner, this town was called Hooksett for nearly fifty years before being incorporated. The name may have come from a hook-shaped island in the Merrimack or from early fishermen, who called the area Hookline Falls. Rocky ledges flank the Merrimack River, and there were several cross-river ferries located here, as well as lumber mills and a brick-making establishment powered by the falls. In 1794, the lottery-funded Hooksett Canal became part of the transportation facilities of the Amoskeag cotton mills in Manchester.

HOPKINTON Incorporated: 1765 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 124.8 persons per square mile of land area. Hopkinton contains 43.3 square miles of land area and 1.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1735 as New Hampshire Number 5 to settlers from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, who renamed the town New Hopkinton. Setting the pattern for future towns, settlers were required to build homes, fence in their acreage, plant it with English grass, and provide a home for a minister, all within seven years. Contoocook village, a substantial portion of the town, was named for a tribe of Penacook Indians who once lived there, as was the Contoocook River which flows through the town.

HUDSON Incorporated: 1746 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 803.6 persons per square mile of land area. Hudson contains 28.5 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once a part of Nottingham, Massachusetts, the town was separated in 1741, and named Nottingham West. Owing to confusion with the town of Nottingham in the north, voters petitioned to have the town renamed in 1830. The name Hudson was chosen because of its position near the Merrimack River, once supposed to flow east from the Hudson River, creating the boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

JACKSON Incorporated: 1829 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 12.5 persons per square mile of land area. Jackson contains 66.8 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

JAFFREY Incorporated: 1773 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 142.6 persons per square mile of land area. Jaffrey contains 38.4 square miles of land area and 1.8 square miles of inland water area. Origin: First granted in 1736 to soldiers from Rowley, Massachusetts, returning from the war in Canada, the town was known as Rowley-Canada. In 1749 the town was re-chartered as Monadnock Number 2, sometimes called Middle Monadnock or Middletown. It was one of the first towns established under the New Hampshire proprietors' purchase of undivided lands under the Masonian claim. The town was regranted in 1767, and incorporated in 1773 as Jaffrey, in honor of George Jaffrey, member of a prominent Portsmouth family. George Jaffrey's son was a life trustee of Dartmouth College, and designer of the official college seal.

JEFFERSON Incorporated: 1796 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 20.1 persons per square mile of land area. Jefferson contains 50.1 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1765, the location was so deep in unexplored territory that few took up their claims. One who did was Colonel Joseph Whipple of Portsmouth, who cut trails through the forests to build a manor house. He named the town Dartmouth after William Legge, Earl of Dartmouth and patron of Dartmouth College. Brother to William Whipple, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Colonel Whipple renamed the town Jefferson in 1796, four years prior to Thomas Jefferson's election as President.

KEENE Incorporated: 1753 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 609.0 persons per square mile of land area. Keene contains 37.1 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1735 as Upper Ashuelot to soldiers in the wars against Canada, and intended to be a fort town. Establishment of the Massachusetts-New Hampshire boundary in 1753 made it one of the largest towns in New England. Under re-grant by the New Hampshire governor, the town was named Keene, in honor of Sir Benjamin Keene of England, an associate of Governor Wentworth in the Spanish West Indies trade. Keene was incorporated as a city in 1873, and is home to Keene State College.

KENSINGTON Incorporated: 1737 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 158.0 persons per square mile of land area. Kensington contains 12.0 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This town was once a parish of Hampton, and was granted in the 1730's by Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts when New Hampshire was still part of that state. Of the 27 towns granted by Governor Belcher, only three were given names: Arlington, Peterborough, and Kensington, named for Edward Rich, Earl of Holland and Baron Kensington, owner of Kensington Palace in London.

KINGSTON Incorporated: 1694 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 295.3 persons per square mile of land area. Kingston contains 19.9 square miles of land area and 1.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Kingston was the fifth town to be established in New Hampshire, made possible by peace treaties with the Indians following King William's War. The settlement, known as King's Town, was probably named by residents originally from Kingston, Massachusetts. Kingston was once home to Dr. Josiah Bartlett, "president" of the state from 1790 to 1794, delegate to the Continental Congress, first signer of the Declaration of Independence, and founder of the New Hampshire Medical Society

LACONIA Incorporated: 1855 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 816.9 persons per square mile of land area. Laconia contains 20.1 square miles of land area and 6.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

LANCASTER Incorporated: 1763 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 65.3 persons per square mile of land area. Lancaster contains 50.2 square miles of land area and 1.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1763, Lancaster was an early settlement on the northern portion of the Connecticut River subject to many Indian troubles. The town was named for Lancaster, Massachusetts, hometown of an early settler. Reverend Joshua Weeks, a grantee of the town, was among the group of explorers who named the mountains in the Presidential Range. Other grantees included Nash and Sawyer, who discovered the "White Mountain Notch," making a shorter route to Portland possible.

LANDAFF Incorporated: 1774 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 13.3 persons per square mile of land area. Landaff contains 28.4 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1764 as Whitcherville, the town was granted to some sixty colonists. In 1770, Governor John Wentworth, discovering that few had settled their claims, proposed using the site for Dartmouth College, but when some refused to give up their claims, chose Hanover instead. The name on the town's charter is Llandaff, for the Bishop of Llandaff in Cardiff, Wales, chaplain to King George III.

LANGDON Incorporated: 1787 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 35.9 persons per square mile of land area. Langdon contains 16.3 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Carved out of several adjacent towns, Langdon was named in honor of Governor John Langdon. Governor Langdon's political career included: delegation to the Constitutional Convention; serving on a committee with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to secure military supplies for the American forces; serving as a member of the State senate; serving as speaker of the House of Representatives; serving as president pro-tem of the Senate in the first United State Congress; supervision of the canvass of electoral votes to elect Washington as President; and eight terms as Governor of New Hampshire.

LEBANON Incorporated: 1761 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 311.6 persons per square mile of land area. Lebanon contains 40.3 square miles of land area and 0.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

LEE Incorporated: 1765 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 207.5 persons per square mile of land area. Lee contains 20.0 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Established in 1765, Lee was one of the last among the 129 towns chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth. Named for General Charles Lee, friend and kin of the Governor, who had fought with George Washington and others during the French and Indian Wars. Lee also fought under Washington during the American Revolution, and in doing so, forfeited estates in England.

LEMPSTER Incorporated: 1772 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 30.0 persons per square mile of land area. Lempster contains 32.3 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

LINCOLN Incorporated: 1764 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 9.7 persons per square mile of land area. Lincoln contains 130.8 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Long before to Abraham Lincoln's birth, the town was named in 1764 for Henry Clinton, ninth Earl of Lincoln, a cousin to the Wentworths. He held the position of Comptroller of Customs for the port of London under George II and George III, which was important to trade between America and England. A portion of Lincoln, known as Pullman, was one of the earliest lumber towns. Lincoln is second-largest town in land area; only Pittsburg is larger

LISBON Incorporated: 1763 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 59.9 persons per square mile of land area. Lisbon contains 26.5 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1763 as Concord, in 1764 the town was renamed Chiswick, after the Duke of Devonshire's castle, when Rumford took the name Concord. In 1768 the town was renamed Gunthwaite after a relation of Governor John Wentworth. The name Lisbon was selected in 1824 by Governor Levi Woodbury, whose friend Colonel William Jarvis had been consul at Lisbon, Portugal. Lisbon once included land that is now part of Littleton and Sugar Hill.

LITCHFIELD Incorporated: 1734 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 493.3 persons per square mile of land area. Litchfield contains 14.9 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Known as Naticook until 1729 when the land was granted as Brenton's Farm to William Brenton, Governor of Rhode Island and son-in-law to Governor Cranston. Following Brenton's death in 1749, the land was granted to new settlers, and named in honor of George Henry Lee, Earl of Litchfield. Litchfield was the opposite landing-site of Thornton's Ferry, originating across the Merrimack River in the town of Merrimack.

LITTLETON Incorporated: 1784 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 116.8 persons per square mile of land area. Littleton contains 50.0 square miles of land area and 4.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Part of Lisbon until 1770, when it was granted as Apthorp in honor of George Apthorp, head of one of the wealthiest mercantile establishments in Boston. The land was later passed to the Apthorp family's associates from Newburyport, Massachusetts, headed by Colonel Moses Little. Colonel Little held the post of Surveyor of the King's Woods, and the town was named Littleton in his honor the same year New Hampshire became a state.

LONDONDERRY Incorporated:1722 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 553.0 persons per square mile of land area. Londonderry contains 42.0 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This region, first called Nutfield because of the heavy woods, was settled in 1718. In 1722 it was given the name Londonderry, after the Irish settlement of Scots colonists. The Irish name was originally Derry Calgach, "Calgach" meaning fierce warrior and "Derry" meaning oak woods. Early settlers spread out into surrounding villages, bringing Scottish and Irish names like as Antrim, Derry, and Dunbarton. Londonderry was the second largest town in early colonial times, and Derry and Windham were formed from it.

LOUDON Incorporated: 1773 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 97.4 persons per square mile of land area. Loudon contains 46.0 square miles of land area and 0.7 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Chartered by Governor John Wentworth in 1773, Loudon was originally a part of Canterbury. It was named in honor of John Campbell, fourth Earl of Loudoun, a Scottish soldier and aide-de-camp to the king during the Seven Years' War. Under Lord Loudoun's orders Major Robert Rogers organized the famous Roger's Rangers frontier fighters. One of Lord Loudoun's aides, John Loudoun McAdam, is known for developing the "macadamizing" process of road surfacing. Loudon is home to the New Hampshire International Speedway.

LYMAN Incorporated: 1761 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 17.2 persons per square mile of land area. Lyman contains 28.4 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1761, the town was named for General Phineas Lyman, an active commander in the Seven Years' War with France and Spain. General Lyman was compensated for his services by grants in Lyman, Grantham, and Lisbon, and eleven towns in what is now Vermont. A section of Lyman was taken by legislature in 1854 to form the town of Monroe.

LYME Incorporated: 1761 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 31.2 persons per square mile of land area. Lyme contains 53.8 square miles of land area and 1.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

LYNDEBOROUGH Incorporated: 1764 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 52.6 persons per square mile of land area. Lyndeborough contains 30.2 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First known as Salem-Canada, this land was granted to soldiers from Salem, Massachusetts, who had fought in New England's first war with Canada about 1690. When the new provincial government in New Hampshire came into being in 1763, a portion of Salem-Canada was re-granted to Benjamin Lynde. Mr. Lynde was a chief justice of Massachusetts and presided over the trial involving the Boston Massacre. In the latter part of the 1800's, Lyndeborough was known as a glass-making center.

MADBURY Incorporated: 1775 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 130.8 persons per square mile of land area. Madbury contains 11.5 square miles of land area and 0.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once part of Dover and Durham called Barbados because of trade with the island, this town was the farm of Sir Francis Champernowne of Greenland. Sir Francis' English home was called Modbury, and the name Madbury is in its honor. Madbury Parish was granted for the first time in 1755, and town privileges were granted in 1768. The name Barbados is still used for several natural features of the area

MADISON Incorporated: 1852 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 51.3 persons per square mile of land area. Madison contains 38.7 square miles of land area and 2.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

MANCHESTER Incorporated: 1751 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 3,238.7 persons per square mile of land area, the state's highest. Manchester contains 33.0 square miles of land area and 1.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First known as Harrytown and Tyng's Town, the town was granted as Derryfield in 1751. The name Manchester was suggested by Samuel Blodgett, a businessman who found that the Amoskeag Falls impeded shipping on the Merrimack River. After visiting Manchester, England, he was determined to build a canal like those in England. The canal was first opened in May 1807. Mr. Blodgett's goal was to make the town a great city, and although he died in September 1807, it was renamed Manchester in 1810, and incorporated as a city in 1846.

MARLBOROUGH Incorporated: 1776 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 98.5 persons per square mile of land area. Marlborough contains 20.4 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Marlborough was first granted in 1752 as Monadnock Number 5, one of the fort towns first known only by number. The town was at one time called Oxford, then New Marlborough, but was incorporated as Marlborough. Many of the settlers were from Marlborough, Massachusetts, which had been named for John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, in the late 1600's.

MARLOW Incorporated: 1772 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 28.7 persons per square mile of land area. Marlow contains 26.0 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First named Addison, after Joseph Addison, Secretary of State for England, who signed the appointment papers making John Wentworth Lieutenant Governor of New Hampshire under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts in 1717. As a result of the French War, few original grantees settled there, and the town was re-granted in 1761 as Marlow, in honor of Christopher Marlowe, the famed author and playwright.

MASON Incorporated: 1768 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 47.9 persons per square mile of land area. Mason contains 24.0 square miles of land area and 0.01 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First known as Number 1, the first in a line of border towns including area allotted to this state by Massachusetts upon establishment of New Hampshire as a separate state in 1741. The town's charter was granted in 1749, and in 1768, Governor John Wentworth named it in honor of New Hampshire's founder, Captain John Mason. Captain Mason was the holder of patent with title to the land that became New Hampshire. Mason is the boyhood home of "Uncle Sam," Samuel Wilson.

MEREDITH Incorporated: 1768 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 147.4 persons per square mile of land area. Meredith contains 40.3 square miles of land area and 14.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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 re-granted and named after Sir William Meredith, who opposed taxation on the colonies.

MERRIMACK Incorporated: 1746 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 770.0 persons per square mile of land area. Merrimack contains 32.6 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Although first occupied in 1665, settlement did not begin until 1722, when the establishment of Brenton's Farm (Litchfield) presented the need of a ferry across the river to reach new settlements. The ferry concession was owned by Edward Lutwyche. When the town was separated from Nashua (then Dunstable) in 1746, it was given the name of the river, Merrimack. In 1774, Lutwyche's Ferry was sold to Revolutionary War patriot Matthew Thornton, giving it the current name of Thornton's Ferry.

MIDDLETON Incorporated: 1778 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 79.7 persons per square mile of land area. Middleton contains 18.1 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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 also 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.

MILAN Incorporated: 1824 County: Coos  Population Density: 2000: 20.8 persons per square mile of land area. Milan contains 63.9 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First named Paulsbourg in 1771, after Paul Wentworth, the governor's cousin. Among the first grantees were relatives of the Harris family, who had established one of the first woolen mills in America at Harrisville. In 1824, Governor Levi Woodbury, who was interested in expanding wool culture in New Hampshire, authorized naming the town in honor of Milan Harris. In the middle 1800's, there was a large vein of gold discovered in the hills, which was mined for several years. Milan is the site of the Berlin Ski Jump.

MILFORD Incorporated: 1794 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 532.7 persons per square mile of land area. Milford contains 25.4 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Incorporated in 1794, the town was probably named for its location near a shallow water crossing on the Souhegan River by an early mill site known as the Mill Ford. It was separated from the town of Monson, which ended up on the Massachusetts side of the border. Milford is also known as the Granite Town, because of extensive high-quality granite quarries.

MILTON Incorporated: 1802 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 118.3 persons per square mile of land area. Milton contains 33.1 square miles of land area and 1.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally a part of Rochester, this town was long known as Three Ponds or Milton Mills. Located along the Maine border on the Salmon River, it was the location of several mills, and the scene of early manufacturing. The name Milton may have come from a relative of the Wentworth Governors, William Fitzwilliam, Earl of Fitzwilliam and Viscount Milton. Milton is home to Mount Teneriffe, among the earliest of New Hampshire's mountains to be named, and so named in honor of the volcano on the Canary Islands.

MONROE Incorporated: 1854 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 33.8 persons per square mile of land area. Monroe contains 22.4 square miles of land area and 1.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This town was first known as Hurd's Location, and then as West Lyman. It was separated from Lyman in 1854, and given the name Monroe in honor of President James Monroe, who toured the region during his presidency. Monroe contains part of the Ammonoosuc Gold Fields, extensive mineral deposits that have never been successfully mined.

MONT VERNON Incorporated: 1803 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 120.9 persons per square mile of land area. Mont Vernon contains 16.8 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Named in honor of George Washington's Virginia estate, which got its name from Admiral Edward Vernon. George Washington's brother, Lawrence, the original owner of the estate, served under Admiral Vernon as an officer. Although probably not the reason for selecting this name, Admiral Vernon was also a close friend of Governor Wentworth.

MOULTONBOROUGH Incorporated: 1777 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 74.7 persons per square mile of land area. Moultonborough contains 60.0 square miles of land area and 15.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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."

NASHUA Incorporated: 1746 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 2,816.4 persons per square mile of land area, the 2nd highest. Nashua contains 30.8 square miles of land area and 1.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally part of a grant to Edward Tyng of Dunstable, England, the 200 square mile area, called Dunstable, included Nashua, Tyngsboro MA, and other border towns. In 1741 the town was cut in half when the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border was established. The northern half kept the name Dunstable. In 1836 the town took the Nashua River's name, a Nashaway Indian word for "beautiful river with a pebbly bottom." Nashua became a manufacturing center, powered by the Middlesex Canal which connected the Merrimack River to Boston. It was incorporated as a city in 1853.

NELSON Incorporated: 1774 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 28.9 persons per square mile of land area. Nelson contains 21.9 square miles of land area and 1.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: One of the original border towns, Nelson was first known as Monadnock Number 6. In 1767, it was renamed Packersfield after Thomas Packer, one of the grantees, who was high sheriff of Portsmouth. It kept that name until 1814, when it was renamed in honor of Lord Horatio Nelson, who died on board the British ship Victory in the war against Napoleon. Nelson includes the village of Munsonville.

NEW BOSTON Incorporated: 1763 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 96.3 persons per square mile of land area. New Boston contains 43.0 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted by Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts in 1736 to several Boston families. The town was to have been called Lanestown or Piscataquog Township. Not all the grantees took up their claims, and the land was regranted ten years later to colonizers from Londonderry, New Hampshire. In 1763, Governor Benning Wentworth formally adopted the long-used name of New Boston.

NEW CASTLE Incorporated: 1693 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 1,246.9 persons per square mile of land area, the 4th highest among the cities and towns. New Castle contains 0.8 square miles of land area and 1.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: The largest of several islands at the mouth of the Piscataqua River, this town was originally known as Great Island. Chartered in 1679 as a parish of Portsmouth, it was incorporated in 1693. New Castle is unique in the state, being the only town made up entirely of islands, connected to the mainland by bridges. New Castle is home to the Wentworth-by-the-Sea Hotel, site of the Russo-Japanese Peace Treaty of 1905, mediated by Theodore Roosevelt.

NEW DURHAM Incorporated: 1762 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 53.6 persons per square mile of land area. New Durham contains 41.4 square miles of land area and 2.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

NEW HAMPTON Incorporated: 1777 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 53.0 persons per square mile of land area. New Hampton contains 36.8 square miles of land area and 1.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1765, this town was first named Moultonborough Addition, after Colonel Jonathan Moulton, who held the position of town moderator. In 1777, he renamed the town New Hampton, after his native home of Hampton, New Hampshire. The New Hampton School, established in 1821, is located in New Hampton.

NEW IPSWICH Incorporated: 1762 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 131.0 persons per square mile of land area. New Ipswich contains 32.7 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1735, this town was named by settlers from Ipswich, Massachusetts. New Hampshire's provincial government incorporated the town as Ipswich in 1762 and as New Ipswich in 1766. New Hampshire's first cotton mill was built here in 1804, ancestor to the cotton-producing centers of Waltham and Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Manchester, New Hampshire.

NEW LONDON Incorporated:1779 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 184.2 persons per square mile of land area. New London contains 22.4 square miles of land area and 3.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

NEWBURY Incorporated: 1772 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 47.5 persons per square mile of land area. Newbury contains 35.8 square miles of land area and 2.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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

NEWFIELDS Incorporated: 1849 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 218.8 persons per square mile of land area. Newfields contains 7.1 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Sitting on the west bank of the Squamscott River, this town was part of Exeter until 1727, when it was part of Newmarket. It was called Newfield Village as early as 1681, then South Newmarket, a parish of that town. In 1880, a resident of the town, Dr. John M. Brodhead, presented his own library and $10,000 to the town on the condition that it be renamed Newfields. The town was so incorporated in 1895.

NEWINGTON Incorporated: 1764 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 94.1 persons per square mile of land area. Newington contains 8.2 square miles of land area and 4.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This town was first named Bloody Point, in memory of a victory by the early colonists over an attacking band of Indians in the late 1600's. Early in the 1700's, it was renamed Newington Parish. Newington is surrounded on three sides by the Piscataqua River and Great Bay, and is home to the Pease International Trade Port, formerly Pease Air Force Base, and the NH Air National Guard.

NEWMARKET Incorporated:1727 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 639.1 persons per square mile of land area. Newmarket contains 12.6 square miles of land area and 1.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: One of six towns granted by the Massachusetts government in the last year of the reign of King George I. It started as a parish of Exeter, and was granted full town privileges by legislature in 1737. It was probably named for Newmarket in County Suffolk, England. The Lamprey River, running through the town, was named for John Lamprey, whose name was Saxon for "a woodland enclosure where peace is to be found." For a while, the town was called Lampreyville. Newmarket was a center of the New England shipping trade with the West Indies.

NEWPORT Incorporated: 1761 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 144.0 persons per square mile of land area. Newport contains 42.0 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled in 1753, the town was named Grenville, after George Grenville, William Pitt's brother-in-law. In 1761, the town was incorporated as Newport, for Henry Newport, a distinguished English soldier and statesman. An early settler of the town was Gordon Buell, whose daughter, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, was one of the first women editors in America. She edited the book "Poems for Children" that included "Mary Had A Little Lamb." She was also known for a successful appeal to President Lincoln for creation of a national holiday to be known as Thanksgiving Day. Newport is the county seat of Sullivan County, and includes the villages of Kellyville and Guild.

NEWTON Incorporated: 1749 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 436.3 persons per square mile of land area. Newton contains 9.8 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: The sixth town to be granted from the Masonian land purchase of 1746, Newton was originally part of South Hampton. A number of the residents felt they were too far away from its church for their convenience, and the town was incorporated as Newtown in 1749 simply because it was a new town. In 1846, the New Hampshire legislature voted to contract the name to Newton.

NORTH HAMPTON Incorporated: 1742 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 306.0 persons per square mile of land area. North Hampton contains 13.9 square miles of land area and 0.01 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled in 1639, this town was a part of Hampton known as North Hill or North Parish. Residents began petitioning for separation from Hampton as early as 1719, but township was not granted until 1742, following separation of New Hampshire from Massachusetts. North Hampton was the birthplace of General Henry Dearborn, commander-in-chief of the American forces in the War of 1812, for whom Fort Dearborn (Chicago) and Dearborn, Michigan, were named.

NORTHFIELD Incorporated: 1780 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 159.1 persons per square mile of land area. Northfield contains 28.6 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: One of the first towns created following the Revolution, Northfield was granted in 1780 from part of Canterbury. The town organized one of the first local libraries, called the "Northfield Improving Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge," the same title used in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. The library was chartered by the state in 1718, operating with a membership fee of $5 annually, and continued in existence under the original name until 1842.

NORTHUMBERLAND Incorporated: 1779 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 66.4 persons per square mile of land area. Northumberland contains 36.7 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: The town was first named Stonington in 1761, probably due to Governor Benning Wentworth's shipbuilding interests in Stonington, Connecticut. It was renamed Northumberland in honor of Hugh Smithson, first Duke of Northumberland. The Duke's son, James Smithson, is remembered for leaving a legacy of more than a half million dollars for the founding of the Smithsonian Institution. Most of Northumberland's residents live in the village of Groveton.

NORTHWOOD Incorporated: 1773 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 129.4 persons per square mile of land area. Northwood contains 28.1 square miles of land area and 2.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled in 1763, Northwood separated from Nottingham and was incorporated in 1773. The town was also known as North Woods and Northwood Narrows, a name still used. At one time, there were some 12 sawmills in the town, five of which were replaced by shoe factories. More recently, the town has been a popular vacation spot, being home to ten lakes, including Bow, Pleasant, and Harvey Lakes.

NOTTINGHAM Incorporated: 1722 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 79.6 persons per square mile of land area. Nottingham contains 46.5 square miles of land area and 1.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Nottingham was named in honor of Daniel Finch, second Earl of Nottingham. The Earl was a close friend of Samuel Shute and Joseph Dudley, Governors of Massachusetts when New Hampshire was under that province's jurisdiction. Among the grantees was Peregrine White, descendant of Peregrine White of the Mayflower, the first child of English parentage born in New England.

ORANGE Incorporated: 1790 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 13.0 persons per square mile of land area. Orange contains 23.1 square miles of land area and 0.03 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1769, the town was first named Cardigan, for George Brudenell, fourth Earl of Cardigan. The original name is still used in Mount Cardigan and Cardigan State Park. Voters made several attempts to change the name following the Revolution, trying the names Bradford, Middletown, Liscomb, and finally Orange. Orange was probably chosen because of the large quantities of yellow-orange ochre found in Mount Cardigan.

ORFORD Incorporated: 1761 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 23.5 persons per square mile of land area. Orford contains 46.4 square miles of land area and 1.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First called Number 7 in a line of Connecticut River fort towns, this town was named for Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, and England's first Prime Minister. An original grantee was General Israel Morey, whose son Samuel discovered a way to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water, using the knowledge to develop the first marine steam engine. The first "steamboat" was demonstrated on the river at Orford.

OSSIPEE Incorporated: 1785 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 54.9 persons per square mile of land area. Ossipee contains 70.9 square miles of land area and 4.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

PELHAM Incorporated: 1746 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 415.3 persons per square mile of land area. Pelham contains 26.3 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Chartered in 1746, this town takes its name from Henry Pelham, Prime Minister of England, a relation of Governor Benning Wentworth, and younger brother of Thomas Pelham Holles. The town was originally a part of Old Dunstable, which was split when the New Hampshire-Massachusetts boundary line was changed in 1741.

PEMBROKE Incorporated: 1759 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 304.8 persons per square mile of land area. Pembroke contains 22.6 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1728, the town was known as Lovewell's Town, in honor of Captain John Lovewell, who built the stockade fort at Ossipee. Shortly afterward, the town took the name Suncook, the Indian name of the river flowing through the area. When the town was incorporated in 1759, it was given the name Pembroke in honor of Henry Herbert, ninth Earl of Pembroke in southern Wales.

PETERBOROUGH Incorporated: 1760 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 154.8 persons per square mile of land area. Peterborough contains 38.0 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Although not known for certain, this town was probably named from Charles Mordaunt, third Earl of Peterborough. Other possibilities include it having been named Peter's Borough for Peter Prescott, clerk of the Masonian Proprietors, or for St. Petersburg in Russia. Peterborough was among the soldier's towns named during the term of Governor Jonathan Belcher when New Hampshire was still a province of Massachusetts. The town had the first free public library supported by taxation, and the first mill in the state that wove cloth mechanically. It is home to the MacDowell Colony, a retreat for writers, artists, and composers. Guests have included Edward Arlington Robinson, Leonard Bernstein, and Thornton Wilder, whose play "Our Town" was inspired by Peterborough.

PIERMONT Incorporated: 1764 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 18.4 persons per square mile of land area. Piermont contains 38.6 square miles of land area and 1.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Situated on the Connecticut River just west of the White Mountain National Forest, this town's name is taken from Piedmont in the Italian Alps, a re-spelling of the Italian Piemonte. The town is home to Lake Tarleton, which once was on the property of Colonel William Tarleton. The Colonel kept a tavern in Piermont, fought in the Revolution, was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1791, and a member of the presidential Electoral College in 1804.

PITTSBURG Incorporated: 1840 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 3.1 persons per square mile of land area. Pittsburg contains 282.3 square miles of land area and 9.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally known as Indian Stream, Pittsburg is distinguished by having the largest amount of land area of any township. Covering the entire top of the state, the area includes Lake Francis, the three Connecticut Lakes, and the international boundary post erected on the 45th Parallel, halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. For a while, starting in 1832, Pittsburg was home to the Indian Stream Republic, a colony that established its own constitution and separate government. The Indian Stream Republic existed for over four years, then became a part of New Hampshire, and was incorporated with Pittsburg in 1840. The name Pittsburg is in honor of William Pitt, Prime Minister of England.

PITTSFIELD Incorporated: 1782 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 163.0 persons per square mile of land area. Pittsfield contains 24.1 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: For many years prior to its 1782 incorporation, this town was an unnamed parish of Chichester. Like Pittsburg in the north, Pittsfield was named for William Pitt, Prime Minister of England, and a great friend of the Colonies prior to the American Revolution. The town was settled by several families originally from Hampton.

PLAINFIELD Incorporated: 1761 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 42.9 persons per square mile of land area. Plainfield contains 52.2 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

PLAISTOW Incorporated: 1742 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 730.8 persons per square mile of land area. Plaistow contains 10.6 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once part of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Plaistow was named in 1749 when it was set aside to be an English "plaistowe," meaning "an open space or greenwood, near the center of a village where the maypole stood and where sports at holiday times were carried on." Other places in and around the town were named Timburlain, Policy Pond, Spicket Meadow, and Amesbury Peak.

PLYMOUTH Incorporated: 1776 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 208.8 persons per square mile of land area. Plymouth contains 28.2 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Part of a large plot of undivided land in the Pemigewasset Valley, this town was first named New Plymouth, after the original Plymouth colony in Massachusetts. The grant for this town went to settlers from Hollis, all of whom had been soldiers in the Seven Years' War. Some had originally come from Plymouth, Massachusetts. Plymouth is the home of Plymouth State College.

PORTSMOUTH Incorporated: 1653 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 1,326.4 persons per square mile of land area, the 3rd highest. Portsmouth contains 15.7 square miles of land area and 1.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled in 1630 as Piscataqua, the settlement was soon named Strawberry Banke. The name Portsmouth was adopted in 1653 to honor the colony's founder, John Mason, Captain of the Port in Portsmouth, England. Portsmouth became the New Hampshire province's capitol in 1679. It was home to many famous colonials, such as William Whipple, signer of the Declaration of Independence; Governor John Langdon, first US Senate president; and John Paul Jones, naval hero. Portsmouth was incorporated as a city in 1849. The original Strawberry Banke settlement has been preserved as an example of a colonial American town.

RANDOLPH Incorporated: 1824 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 7.2 persons per square mile of land area. Randolph contains 47.1 square miles of land area and 0.04 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: In the charter of 1772, this town was named Durand, after John Durand, a member of the London Board of Trade and an associate of Governor John Wentworth. In 1824, Governor Levi Woodbury renamed it Randolph, in honor of his friend John Randolph of Virginia. Randolph was a long-time member of the House of Representatives, an advocate of states' rights, and a descendant of Pocahontas.

RAYMOND Incorporated: 1764 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 335.8 persons per square mile of land area. Raymond contains 28.8 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This town was first settled by families from Exeter as a parish of Chester, known as Freetown, because it was exempt from the usual obligation of reserving its tall pine trees for masts in the royal English Navy. In 1764, the town was named Raymond for Captain William Raymond, who had raised a company of soldiers to fight in the war against Canada. Land in Raymond was granted to soldiers from Beverly, Massachusetts, and it was also known as Beverly-Canada

RICHMOND Incorporated: 1752 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 28.7 persons per square mile of land area. Richmond contains 37.5 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted to soldiers returning from the war in Canada, this town was named Sylvester Canada, in honor of Captain Joseph Sylvester. When New Hampshire because a separate province, Sylvester Canada was reincorporated as Richmond, in honor of the governor's English friend, Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond, a staunch advocate of colonial independence.

RINDGE Incorporated: 1768 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 147.0 persons per square mile of land area. Rindge contains 37.1 square miles of land area and 2.7 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted to soldiers from Rowley, Massachusetts, returning from the war in Canada, the town was known as Rowley-Canada. In 1749, the town was renamed Monadnock Number 1, or South Monadnock. It was incorporated as Rindge in 1768, in honor of Captain Daniel Rindge, one of the original grant holders. Rindge is the home of Franklin Pierce College, and the Cathedral of the Pines, a multi-denominational outdoor chapel.

ROCHESTER Incorporated: 1722 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 635.0 persons per square mile of land area. Rochester contains 44.8 square miles of land area and 0.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This town was one of four granted by Samuel Shute of Massachusetts during his brief term. It was named for a close friend of Governor Shute, Laurence Hyde, Earl of Rochester and brother-in-law to King James II. Rochester was incorporated as a city in 1891. It includes the village of Gonic, named for the Indian Squamanagona, meaning day and water.

ROLLINSFORD Incorporated: 1849 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 362.2 persons per square mile of land area. Rollinsford contains 7.3 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Long a part of Somersworth, Rollinsford was the site of a 1680 landing on the Salmon River. The town was incorporated in 1849, and given the name of Rollinsford in honor of newlyweds Edward H. and Ellen West Rollins. Rollins went on to be Speaker of the New Hampshire House, chairman of the State Republican Committee, Congressman and Senator from New Hampshire, and founder of the banking firm E.H. Rollins & Sons in Boston. His son, Frank W. Rollins, was New Hampshire's governor in 1900, and the originator of Old Home Week.

ROXBURY Incorporated: 1812 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 19.8 persons per square mile of land area. Roxbury contains 12.0 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Roxbury was once a part of Monadnock Number 5, one of the settlements reserved for soldiers of the French wars. Monadnock Number 5 became Marlborough, and in 1812, a group of citizens successfully petitioned for incorporation as a separate town. It was named Roxbury after their old village, now part of Boston.

RUMNEY Incorporated: 1767 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 35.3 persons per square mile of land area. Rumney contains 42.0 square miles of land area and 0.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1761 to settlers from the Connecticut River towns of East Haddam and Colchester, this town is named for Robert Marsham, second Baron Romney. Not all grantees complied with the charter, and in 1767 the town was regranted to a new group of settlers. Situated in the Baker River Valley, the town includes the villages of West Rumney and Rumney Depot.

RYE Incorporated: 1726 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 410.0 persons per square mile of land area. Rye contains 12.6 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: The first settlement in New Hampshire, established by David Thompson in 1623 at Odiorne's Point, and named Pannaway. Originally part of Portsmouth, it was incorporated as a parish of New Castle in 1726. The town is named for the borough of Rye, a flourishing English Channel town. Rye's eight-mile length of coastline is dotted with old names such as Wallis Sands, Jenness Beach, Locke's Neck, Ragged Neck, Rye Harbor, and Odiorne Point. In 1876, four of the Isles of Shoals were annexed to the town, the only New Hampshire town with Atlantic islands. The remaining five islands belong to Maine.

SALEM Incorporated: 1750 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 1,133.5 persons per square mile of land area, the 6th highest among the cities and towns. Salem contains 24.8 square miles of land area and 1.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: As early as 1736, Salem was the North Parish of Methuen, Massachusetts, or Methuen District. In 1741, when the boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire was re-established, the North Parish became part of New Hampshire, and was given the name Salem, taken from nearby Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is home to Canobie Lake, the Canobie Lake Amusement Park, and Rockingham Park.

SALISBURY Incorporated: 1768 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 28.7 persons per square mile of land area. Salisbury contains 39.6 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1736, before New Hampshire was a separate colony, the town was named Baker's Town, in honor of Captain Thomas Baker, a famous Indian scout. Following establishment of New Hampshire, Governor Benning Wentworth regranted it as Stevenstown. It was also held the names Gerrishtown and New Salisbury, incorporating as Salisbury in 1768 after Salisbury, Massachusetts. Salisbury is the birthplace of Daniel Webster.

SANBORNTON Incorporated: 1871 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 54.6 persons per square mile of land area. Sanbornton contains 47.3 square miles of land area and 2.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1748, this town was named Sanborntown, after John Sanborn, a close friend of Governor Benning Wentworth. It was one of the first four towns to be given a charter by the Masonian Proprietors. The town was the site of the colonial army's winter quarters during the Canada Expedition in 1746. Sanbornton includes the villages of North Sanbornton and Gaza, named for the biblical land.

SANDOWN Incorporated: 1756 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 367.9 persons per square mile of land area. Sandown contains 14.0 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once part of Kingston, Sandown was incorporated as a separate town in 1756. It was named for picturesque Sandown on the Isle of Wight. The first minister of Sandown, Reverend Joseph Cotton, built the Sandown Church in 1773. The church had an eleven-foot high pulpit and marble columns supporting the gallery, and is still an excellent example of early New England church architecture.

SANDWICH Incorporated: 1763 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 14.1 persons per square mile of land area. Sandwich contains 91.2 square miles of land area and 2.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

SEABROOK Incorporated: 1768 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 882.5 persons per square mile of land area, the 10th highest among the cities and towns. Seabrook contains 9.0 square miles of land area and 0.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Seabrook was first settled in 1638 when it was part of Hampton. It was incorporated as a separate town in 1768, and named Seabrook after the Seabrook River. The boundary between Hampton and Seabrook was subject to periodic dispute for nearly two centuries, and was finally settled by court decision in 1953. Seabrook is now home to the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, itself source of much dispute and controversy.

SHARON Incorporated: 1791 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 23.0 persons per square mile of land area. Sharon contains 15.7 square miles of land area and 0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Sharon was first settled in 1738 as part of Peterborough, known as Peterborough Slip or Sliptown. It was incorporated as Sharon in 1791 following the readjustment of a number of town lines. The name was that of a Connecticut town from which many settlers had come. Sharon is home to the Sharon Arts Center, founded in 1947 to offer courses in arts and crafts, and provide a gallery for exhibitions by local artists.

SHELBURNE Incorporated: 1821 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 7.9 persons per square mile of land area. Shelburne contains 47.9 square miles of land area and 0.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First chartered in 1769, this town was named for William Petty Fitzmaurice, Earl of Shelburne. Lord Shelburne was a supporter of independence for the American colonies, and at his insistence, the king recognized the independence of the United States. Remaining unsettled for quite some time after the charter was made, the town was incorporated in 1821 when Shelburne voters chose to keep the name.

SOMERSWORTH Incorporated: 1754 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 1,169.9 persons per square mile of land area, the 5th highest among the cities and towns. Somersworth contains 9.8 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Somersworth began as a parish of Dover, named Sligo after the Irish county which was home to an early colonial governor. Later, it was called Summersworth, which was contracted to Somersworth when it was incorporated in 1754. It was incorporated as a city in 1893. Situated on the Salmon River, Somersworth has been home to many gristmills, sawmills, and cotton and woolen making establishments.

SOUTH HAMPTON Incorporated: 1742 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 106.7 persons per square mile of land area. South Hampton contains 7.9 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: One of the first towns granted by Governor Benning Wentworth, South Hampton was chartered in 1742 from parts of Amesbury and Salisbury, Massachusetts. Over the years, the town lost territory to Hampton Falls, Seabrook, and Newton, but gained territory from East Kingston. At one time, the town was home to over twelve different religious sects.

SPRINGFIELD Incorporated: 1794 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 21.7 persons per square mile of land area. Springfield contains 43.6 square miles of land area and 0.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

STARK Incorporated:1795 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 8.7 persons per square mile of land area. Stark contains 59.2 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1774, this town was named Percy, in honor of Hugh Smithson, Earl Percy and first Duke of Northumberland. The town retained this name until 1832, when in was renamed Stark in honor of General John Stark, hero of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Bennington. New Hampshire owes its motto, "Live Free or Die," to General Stark. Stark, the first to carry the new thirteen-star American flag into battle, wrote those words in July 1809, in commemoration of the Battle of Bennington.

STEWARTSTOWN Incorporated: 1795 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 21.8 persons per square mile of land area. Stewartstown contains 46.5 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1770, this town was highly disputed territory. Governor John Wentworth passed the grant to developers, including Sir John Stuart, Lord Bute, for whom the town was named Stuart. Following the Revolution when English grants reverted to the colonies, the town was incorporated as Stewartstown, using the original Scottish spelling. The famous Penobscot Indian chief Metallak is buried in the town cemetery.

STODDARD Incorporated: 1774 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 18.2 persons per square mile of land area. Stoddard contains 50.9 square miles of land area and 2.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1752, this town was originally known as Monadnock Number 7. It briefly held the name Limerick before being incorporated as Stoddard in 1774, in honor of Colonel Sampson Stoddard. Colonel Stoddard was appointed to survey southwestern New Hampshire by the colonial government, receiving several land grants for the service. Between 1840 and 1873, Stoddard was a center of glass manufacturing, home to four glass factories whose products are much prized today.

STRAFFORD Incorporated: 1820 County: Strafford Population Density: 2000: 74.0 persons per square mile of land area. Strafford contains 49.0 square miles of land area and 2.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled prior to the Revolution, this town takes its name from the county in which it is located. Earl of Strafford was a title of the Wentworth family in England. The name was also adopted by a state militia company in Dover, the Strafford Guards, who later became part of the New Hampshire National Guard. Strafford includes the village of Bow Lake.

STRATFORD Incorporated: 1773 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 11.8 persons per square mile of land area. Stratford contains 79.9 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1762 to early settlers mostly from Woodbury, Connecticut, this town was originally named Woodbury. Indian troubles had many families forfeiting their claims, and it was regranted in 1773 as Stratford, also a town in Connecticut. The name is also in honor of Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare's home. The entire tract was one of the largest granted in New Hampshire, a total of 48,603 acres.

STRATHAM Incorporated: 1716 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 420.3 persons per square mile of land area. Stratham contains 15.1 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Settled in 1631, this area, called Winnicutt by the Indians, was known as Squamscott Patent or Point of Rocks because of its location between the Great Bay and the Squamscott River. The sixth town to be incorporated in New Hampshire, the town was named for a friend of Governor Samuel Shute of Massachusetts, Wriothesley Russell, Baron Howland of Streatham.

SUGAR HILL Incorporated: 1962 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 32.9 persons per square mile of land area. Sugar Hill contains 17.1 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: This town is New Hampshire's youngest, incorporated in 1962. After considerable litigation, it was carved out of Lisbon to be an independent voting unit. The name Sugar Hill comes from a large grove of sugar maples in the hills.

SULLIVAN Incorporated: 1787 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 40.2 persons per square mile of land area. Stoddard contains 18.5 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Carved out of portions of Gilsum, Stoddard, Nelson, and Keene, this town was named in honor of General John Sullivan, a Revolutionary War hero. General Sullivan served as a member of the Continental Congress, Adjutant General to Washington, and Major General of the Northern Army. He was elected "President" of New Hampshire in 1786, and the town of Sullivan was created the following year

SUNAPEE Incorporated: 1781 County: Sullivan Population Density : 2000: 145.1 persons per square mile of land area. Sunapee contains 21.1 square miles of land area and 4.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

SURRY Incorporated: 1769 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 42.9 persons per square mile of land area. Surry contains 15.7 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Chartered in 1769 from a part of Westmoreland, the town was named for Charles Howard, Earl of Surrey, Duke of Norfolk, and hereditary Earl Marshal of England. The county of Surrey in England was known for manufacture of pleasure carriages called surreys, introduced to America in 1872. Surry is an excellent geological area, containing quantities of quartz bearing veins of gold, silver, copper, and lead.

SUTTON Incorporated: 1784 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 36.3 persons per square mile of land area. Sutton contains 42.6 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled in 1748, the land had been granted to Obadiah Perry and others from Haverhill, Massachusetts, and named Perrystown. Because it was located in Indian country near Mount Kearsarge, many settlers forfeited their claims. The land was regranted in 1784 to settlers from Sutton, Massachusetts. Sutton was at one time home to a religious sect known as the Osgoodites.

SWANZEY Incorporated: 1753 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 151.3 persons per square mile of land area. Swanzey contains 44.9 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1733 as Lower Ashuelot, this town was one of the fort towns established by Governor Belcher of Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1753, and named Swanzey at the suggestion of Governor Brenton of Rhode Island. The governor was a large land owner in Brenton's Farm, now Litchfield, and Swansea, Massachusetts, named for Swansea in Wales.

TAMWORTH Incorporated: 1766 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 42.0 persons per square mile of land area. Tamworth contains 59.8 square miles of land area and 0.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

TEMPLE Incorporated: 1768 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 58.3 persons per square mile of land area. Temple contains 22.3 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Like Sharon, this town was originally known as Peterborough Slip when first granted in 1750. Temple was incorporated in 1768 in honor of John Temple, lieutenant governor under John Wentworth. Temple was son-in-law to James Bowdoin, for whom Bowdoin College is named. Temple was home to the Temple Glass Works, founded in 1780. The short life of the business makes Temple glass rare and sought after today.

THORNTON Incorporated: 1763 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 36.7 persons per square mile of land area. Thornton contains 50.3 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Chartered in 1763, this town was named for Dr. Matthew Thornton, a grant given to him in return for his service as surgeon in the Pepperell expedition. Dr. Thornton, whose practice was in Merrimack, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, a justice of the Superior Court, speaker of the House of Representatives, member of the State Senate, delegate to the Continental Congress, and "president" of the state following the Revolutionary War.

TILTON Incorporated: 1869 County: Belknap Population Density: 2000: 304.7 persons per square mile of land area. Tilton contains 11.4 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: A part of Sanbornton until 1869, this town was known as Sanbornton Bridge and Bridge Village. It was incorporated as Tilton, in honor of Nathaniel Tilton, whose grandson Charles was a prominent citizen of the town. Nathaniel established an iron foundry and the area's first hotel, the Dexter House. Charles donated many statues to the town, including the Tilton Arch, and his estate is now part of the Tilton School. Tilton includes the village of Lochmere.

TROY Incorporated: 1815 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 112.4 persons per square mile of land area. Troy contains 17.5 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Troy was separated from Marlborough in 1815, and included parts of Fitzwilliam, Swanzey, and Richmond. A prominent citizen and friend of Governor John Taylor Gilman, Captain Benjamin Mann of Mason, suggested the name Troy. His daughter Betsy was married to Samuel Wilson, famous as "Uncle Sam," and at that time a resident of Troy, New York. At least seven members to Wilson's family were living in the town at the time, thus securing the name.

TUFTONBORO Incorporated: 1795 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 52.9 persons per square mile of land area. Tuftonboro contains 40.6 square miles of land area and 8.8 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

UNITY Incorporated: 1764 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 41.1 persons per square mile of land area. Unity contains 37.0 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1753, this town was named Buckingham, after John Hobart, first Earl of Buckinghamshire. Grants of this area were given by the early Massachusetts government to settlers from Hampton and Kingston, and also by Governor Benning Wentworth, to settlers from Connecticut. Upon friendly resolution of the claim dispute in 1764, the town was renamed Unity.

WAKEFIELD Incorporated: 1774 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 107.6 persons per square mile of land area. Wakefield contains 39.5 square miles of land area and 5.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

WALPOLE Incorporated: 1756 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 100.8 persons per square mile of land area. Walpole contains 35.7 square miles of land area and 1.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Settled as early as 1736 as Great Falls or Lunenburg, this town was not granted by New Hampshire until 1752, when it was named Bellowstown. Colonel Benjamin Bellows, for whom Bellows Falls, Vermont, was named, built a large fort at Walpole for defense against Indian attack. In 1761 the grant was renewed, and the town was renamed Walpole, in honor of Sir Robert Walpole, first Prime Minister of England

WARNER Incorporated: 1774 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 50.0 persons per square mile of land area. Warner contains 55.2 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted as Number 1 in 1735, this town was named New Amesbury, Jennesstown, Waterloo, and Ryetown before it was incorporated as Warner in 1774. It was named for a leading citizen and relative of Governor John Wentworth, Jonathan Warner. It was one of the last towns established under English province rule prior to the American Revolution. Warner includes the village of Davisville.

WARREN Incorporated: 1770 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 18.0 persons per square mile of land area. Warren contains 48.6 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Granted in 1764, this town was named in honor of Admiral Sir Peter Warren. Admiral Warren commanded the fleet during the conflict with Canada, ending in the capture of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, in 1745. This action united the colonies with a common goal, and provided them with fishing and fur trading rights. Warren is the site of a state fish hatchery, and includes the village of Glencliff.

WASHINGTON Incorporated: 1776 County: Sullivan Population Density: 2000: 19.7 persons per square mile of land area. Washington contains 45.5 square miles of land area and 2.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

WATERVILLE VALLEY Incorporated: 1829 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 4.0 persons per square mile of land area. Waterville Valley contains 64.4 square miles of land area and 0.02 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First settled in the 1760's, Waterville Valley has long been a popular New Hampshire resort area. Incorporated in 1829 as Waterville, it was a thriving town, but lost population over the years and then lost land when the White Mountain National Forest was established. In 1967, by an act of the General Court, the town officially adopted the name Waterville Valley. The town is home to the Waterville Valley Ski Area.

WEARE Incorporated: 1764 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 131.7 persons per square mile of land area. Weare contains 59.1 square miles of land area and 1.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Starting as a 1735 grant to soldiers in the Canadian wars, this town was named Beverly-Canada, for the soldiers' home town of Beverly, Massachusetts. It then went through the names Halestown, Robiestown, and Wearestown. In 1764 it was incorporated as Weare, in honor of Colonel Meshech Weare, who served as the town's first clerk. Colonel Weare served New Hampshire as its first "president" from 1776 until 1785.

WEBSTER Incorporated: 1860 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 55.9 persons per square mile of land area. Webster contains 28.3 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally a part of Boscawen, this town was named for Daniel Webster, famous American lawyer and statesman. Webster served as Secretary of State during the administrations of Presidents Harrison, Tyler, and Fillmore. Mount Webster and Webster Lake were also named for him.

WENTWORTH Incorporated: 1766 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 19.1 persons per square mile of land area. Wentworth contains 41.8 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First chartered in 1766, this town was originally reserved for the private use of Governor Benning Wentworth. When John Wentworth succeeded his uncle as governor, one of his first acts was to grant the tract to a group of settlers, naming it Wentworth in his uncle's honor. Most of the new colonists came from Salisbury, Massachusetts. Wentworth is in the Baker River Valley near Carr Mountain.

WESTMORELAND Incorporated: 1752 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 48.6 persons per square mile of land area. Westmoreland contains 35.9 square miles of land area and 0.9 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Once known as Great Meadows, this town was established in 1735 as Number 2 in the line of Connecticut River fort towns designed to protect the colonies from Indian attack. When New Hampshire became an independent province, it was granted to settlers as Westmoreland, named for John Fane, seventh Earl of Westmoreland. The meetinghouse in Westmoreland, built in 1762, has a Paul Revere bell.

WHITEFIELD Incorporated: 1804 County: Coos Population Density: 2000: 59.4 persons per square mile of land area. Whitefield contains 34.3 square miles of land area and 0.4 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: The last town to be granted under the English provincial government, Whitefield was granted on July 4, 1774, exactly two years before adoption of the Declaration of Independence. It was named for George Whitefield, a famous English evangelist, and friend of the Earl of Dartmouth. Early grantees included Jeremy Belknap, historian, and John Langdon, who succeeded John Wentworth as governor.

WILMOT Incorporated: 1807 County: Merrimack Population Density: 2000: 38.9 persons per square mile of land area. Wilmot contains 29.4 square miles of land area and 0.2 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

WILTON Incorporated: 1762 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 146.2 persons per square mile of land area. Wilton contains 25.6 square miles of land area and 0.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Wilton started as Number 2, one of the towns on the state's border laid out in the 1730's, intended to provide protection against Indian attacks. The town was first granted in 1749, and was re-granted in 1762 as Wilton. It was probably named for Sir Joseph Wilton, a famous English sculptor. Wilton's coach design for King George III's coronation was later used as a model for the Concord Coach.

WINCHESTER Incorporated: 1733 County: Cheshire Population Density: 2000: 75.4 persons per square mile of land area. Winchester contains 55.0 square miles of land area and 0.6 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally named Arlington, in honor of Charles Fitzroy, Earl of Arlington, this town was one of those established in 1733 as protection for the Massachusetts border at the Connecticut River. After becoming part of the New Hampshire province in 1741, the town was granted to Colonel Josiah Willard, commander of Fort Dummer. Following the wars, it was incorporated as Winchester, for Charles Paulet, Marquis of Winchester, third Duke of Bolton, and constable of the Tower of London.

WINDHAM Incorporated: 1741 County: Rockingham Population Density: 2000: 400.8 persons per square mile of land area. Windham contains 26.7 square miles of land area and 1.0 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: The second town to be incorporated by Governor Benning Wentworth, Windham was separated from Londonderry in 1741. It was named for Sir Charles Wyndham, Earl of Egremont and Baron Cockermouth, who was a member of Parliament and Secretary of State when the Rockingham government favored conciliation with the American colonies.

WINDSOR Incorporated: 1798 County: Hillsborough Population Density: 2000: 24.4 persons per square mile of land area. Windsor contains 8.2 square miles of land area and 0.3 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: Originally known as Campbell's Gore, this town was incorporated as Windsor, after Windsor, Connecticut, the hometown of James Campbell, an early grant recipient. Windsor is the smallest town in New Hampshire south of the White Mountains.

WOLFEBORO Incorporated: 1770 County: Carroll Population Density: 2000: 125.8 persons per square mile of land area. Wolfeboro contains 48.3 square miles of land area and 10.1 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: 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.

WOODSTOCK Incorporated:1763 County: Grafton Population Density: 2000: 19.5 persons per square mile of land area. Woodstock contains 58.5 square miles of land area and 0.5 square miles of inland water area.  Origin: First granted in 1763, Governor Benning Wentworth named the town Peeling after an English town. Many of the first colonists were originally from Lebanon, Connecticut. In 1771, Governor John Wentworth gave it the name Fairfield, after Fairfield, Connecticut. The town was renamed Woodstock in 1840, for a historic palace in Woodstock, England.