Charlestown, New Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Charlestown is a town
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...

 in Sullivan County
Sullivan County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 40,458 people, 16,530 households, and 11,174 families residing in the county. The population density was 29/; . There were 20,158 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...

, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 5,114 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Hubbard State Forest and the headquarters of the Student Conservation Association
Student Conservation Association
The Student Conservation Association is a non-profit group in the United States whose mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of our environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land through service...

.

The primary settlement in town, where 1,152 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Charlestown census-designated place (CDP) and is located along New Hampshire Route 12
New Hampshire Route 12
New Hampshire Route 12 is a north-south state highway running across the western portion of New Hampshire from the Massachusetts state line to the Vermont state line at the Connecticut River.-Route description:...

. The town also includes the villages of North Charlestown, South Charlestown and Hemlock Center.

History

The area was first granted in 1735 by Colonial
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....

 Governor Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher was colonial governor of the British provinces of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and New Jersey.-Early life:Jonathan Belcher was born in Cambridge, Province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1682...

 of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 as Plantation No. 4, the fourth in a line of forts on the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...

 border established as trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....

s. Settled in 1740, Number Four was the northernmost township, and its 1744 log fort became a strategic military site throughout the French and Indian Wars
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...

. Several settlers were ambushed and captured by the Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

, and in 1747 the fort was besieged
Siege of Fort at Number 4
The Siege of Fort at Number Four was a frontier action at present-day Charlestown, New Hampshireduring King George's War. The Fort at Number 4 , was unsuccessfully besieged by a French and Indian force under the command of Ensign Joseph Boucher de Niverville...

 for three days by a force of 400 French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Indians. Captain Phineas Stevens
Phineas Stevens
Capt. Phineas Stevens was a distinguished officer noted for his defense of the Fort at Number 4 during a siege in April 1747, when a combined force of French and Indian soldiers failed to capture the fort and the 32 British soldiers defending it...

 and 31 soldiers, stationed at the fort, repelled the attack. Their success became well-known, and the fort was never attacked again.

In 1753, the town was regranted as Charlestown by Governor Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth was the colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766.-Biography:The eldest child of the John Wentworth who had been Lieutenant Governor, he was born and died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wentworth graduated from Harvard College in 1715...

, after Admiral Charles Knowles of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, then governor of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

. Admiral Knowles, in port at Boston during the 1747 siege, sent Captain Stevens a sword to acknowledge his valor. The town responded by naming itself in his honor. In 1781, Charlestown briefly joined Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 because of dissatisfaction with treatment by the New Hampshire government. Returning at the insistence of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

, it was incorporated in 1783.

The community developed into a center for law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 and lawyers, second regionally only to Boston. Its prosperity would be expressed in fine architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

. Sixty-three buildings on Charlestown's Main Street are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. They include the Gothic Revival South Parish Church erected by master-builder Stephen Hassam in 1842, St. Luke's Church designed by Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...

 in 1863, and the Italianate Town Hall designed in 1872 by Edward Dow, New Hampshire's most prominent architect after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Dow also designed Thompson Hall, centerpiece of the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...

.

A reproduction of the Fort at Number 4
Fort at Number 4
The Fort at Number 4 was the northernmost British settlement along the Connecticut River in New Hampshire until after the French and Indian War. Now known as Charlestown, it was more than from the nearest other British settlement at Fort Dummer. Construction began in 1740 by brothers Stephen,...

 is now a historical site, where military reenactments
Historical reenactment
Historical reenactment is an educational activity in which participants attempt torecreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire...

 and musters occur frequently throughout the summer months. Tours are offered of its stockade
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...

d parade ground and pioneer-style houses.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the town has a total area of 38 square miles (98.4 km²), of which 35.8 sq mi (92.7 km²) is land and 2.2 sq mi (5.7 km²) is water, comprising 5.66% of the town. Charlestown is drained by Clay Brook. The highest point in town is Sams Hill, at 1683 feet (513 m) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

). Charlestown lies fully within the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...

 watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

.

The town center, defined as a census-designated place (CDP), covers an area of 0.9 sq mi (2.3 km²), about 2.4% of the area of the town. 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km²) of the CDP is land and 0.0 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (4.55%) is water.

Charlestown is served by state routes 11
New Hampshire Route 11
New Hampshire Route 11 is a long east–west state highway in New Hampshire, running westward along the southern shore of Lake Winnipesaukee. Its eastern terminus is at the Maine state line in the city of Rochester, where it continues north as Maine State Route 11. U.S. Route 202, which runs...

, 12
New Hampshire Route 12
New Hampshire Route 12 is a north-south state highway running across the western portion of New Hampshire from the Massachusetts state line to the Vermont state line at the Connecticut River.-Route description:...

 and 12A.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 of 2000, there were 4,749 people, 1,920 households, and 1,332 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 132.6 people per square mile (51.2/km²). There were 2,067 housing units at an average density of 22.3 persons/km² (57.7 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 98.53% White, 0.32% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.15% Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n, 0.06% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 0.59% of the population were Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

 of any race.

There were 1,920 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 9.3% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 30.6% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $38,024, and the median income for a family was $45,172. Males had a median income of $31,010 versus $22,986 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the town was $18,654. 6.5% of the population and 3.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 5.7% are under the age of 18 and 10.3% are 65 or older.

Town center

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 of 2000, there were 1,145 people, 468 households, and 301 families residing in the CDP (census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

) occupying the town center. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,357.6 people per square mile (526.3/km²). There were 503 housing units at an average density of 231.2 persons/km² (596.4 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 98.95% White, 0.26% Native American, 0.26% Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n, and 0.52% from two or more races. 0.79% of the population were Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

 of any race.

There were 468 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 12.0% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 35.5% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household is $38,083, and the median income for a family was $40,938. Males had a median income of $29,688 versus $21,344 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the town was $16,565. 9.9% of the population and 5.6% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 10.9% are under the age of 18 and 14.6% are 65 or older.

Sites of interest

  • Fort at Number 4
    Fort at Number 4
    The Fort at Number 4 was the northernmost British settlement along the Connecticut River in New Hampshire until after the French and Indian War. Now known as Charlestown, it was more than from the nearest other British settlement at Fort Dummer. Construction began in 1740 by brothers Stephen,...

  • Charlestown Main Street Historic District

Notable inhabitants

  • James Broderick
    James Broderick
    James Joseph Broderick III was an American actor.-Life and career:Broderick was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, the son of Mary Elizabeth and James Joseph Broderick, Jr....

     (1927–1982), actor
  • Carlton "Pudge" Fisk
    Carlton Fisk
    Carlton Ernest Fisk , nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox .Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame...

     (b. 1947), Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
  • Joseph Glidden
    Joseph Glidden
    Joseph Farwell Glidden was an American farmer who patented barbed wire, a product that forever altered the development of the American West.- Biography :...

     (1813–1906), inventor of barbed wire
    Barbed wire
    Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...

  • Charles Hale Hoyt
    Charles Hale Hoyt
    Charles Hale Hoyt was an American dramatist.-Biography:Hoyt was born in Concord, New Hampshire. He had a difficult childhood, as his mother died when he was nine years old. He graduated at the Boston Latin School and, after being engaged in the cattle business in Colorado for a time, took up...

     (1859–1900), playwright and theatrical producer
    Theatrical producer
    A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...

  • Henry Hubbard
    Henry Hubbard
    Henry Hubbard was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1829 to 1835, a Senator from New Hampshire during 1835 to 1841, and the Governor of New Hampshire from 1842 to 1844.-Early life:...

     (1784–1857), governor of New Hampshire
  • Samuel Hunt
    Samuel Hunt (New Hampshire)
    Samuel Hunt was a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire.Born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, Hunt completed preparatory studies, then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1790, commencing practice in Alstead. He moved to Keene the same year and in 1795 abandoned the practice of law. He...

     (1765–1807), United States congressman
    United States Congress
    The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

  • Susannah Willard Johnson
    Susannah Willard Johnson
    Susannah Willard Johnson was an Anglo-American woman who was captured with her family during an Abenaki Indian raid on Charlestown, New Hampshire in August 1754, immediately prior to the breakout of the French and Indian War...

     (1729–1810), author of a notable captivity narrative
    Captivity narrative
    Captivity narratives are stories of people captured by "uncivilized" enemies. The narratives often include a theme of redemption by faith in the face of the threats and temptations of an alien way of life. Barbary captivity narratives, stories of Englishmen captured by Barbary pirates, were popular...

  • Benjamin Labaree
    Benjamin Labaree
    Benjamin Labaree was a minister, professor and the longest serving president of Middlebury College from 1840 until 1866. Labaree was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire. He was an 1828 graduate of Dartmouth College as well as a recipient of graduate degrees from the University of Vermont and...

    , minister, professor and college president
  • Ralph Metcalf
    Ralph Metcalf
    Ralph Metcalf was an American lawyer and politician from Newport, New Hampshire. He served two terms as governor of New Hampshire....

     (1798–1858), governor
    Governor
    A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

     of New Hampshire
    New Hampshire
    New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

  • Simeon Olcott
    Simeon Olcott
    Simeon Olcott was a United States Senator from New Hampshire. Born in Bolton, Connecticut Colony, he graduated from Yale College in 1761, studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Charlestown, New Hampshire...

     (1735–1815), U.S. senator
    United States Senate
    The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

  • DeForest Richards
    DeForest Richards
    DeForest Richards was an American banker, farmer, and politician. He was the fifth Governor of the state of Wyoming, and the first to die while still in office....

     (1846–1903), fifth governor of Wyoming
    Wyoming
    Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

  • Richard H. Sylvester
    Richard H. Sylvester (writer)
    Richard H. Sylvester was one of the pioneer journalists of Iowa.-Biography:He was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire and attended school at Phillips Exeter Academy, enrolled at Yale College with the Class of 1851 but left at the end of his sophomore year, and graduated at the law school of Ann Arbor...

    , journalist
  • James Tufts
    James Tufts
    James Tufts was a United States politician and acting governor of Montana Territory in 1869.Born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, Tufts graduated from Middlebury College in 1855 and was admitted to the bar in 1857. Tufts moved to Niobrara in the Nebraska Territory, where he became a probate judge...

     (1829-1884), acting governor of Montana Territory
  • Alexander Hamilton Willard
    Alexander Hamilton Willard
    Alexander Hamilton Willard was a blacksmith who joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition.-Origin:Alexander Hamilton Willard Sr. was born in July 1777 in the town Charlestown, New Hampshire, he was the oldest son of Lt Jonathan Willard and the only child of Betty Caswell...

     (1777–1865), member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
    Lewis and Clark Expedition
    The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...


External links

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