Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Fitzwilliam is a town
in Cheshire County
, New Hampshire
, United States
. The population was 2,396 at the 2010 census. Fitzwilliam is home to Rhododendron State Park
, a 16 acres (6.5 ha) grove of native rhododendrons that bloom in mid-July.
Governor Benning Wentworth
, this was one in a line of eight towns settled by Scottish
colonists. Incorporated in 1773 by Governor John Wentworth
, the town was named for his cousin, William Fitzwilliam
, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam
. Two early grantees in Fitzwilliam were Matthew Thornton
, signer of the Declaration of Independence
, and James Reed
, who would lead the 3rd NH Regt.
at Bunker Hill
. The community claims one of the oldest granite
quarries in New Hampshire
. Other industries included wood-working and yarn-making. The railroad would enter in 1848.
Fitzwilliam's picturesque common
, together with twelve antique houses that surround it, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
, the town has a total area of 36 square miles (93.2 km²), of which 34.6 sq mi (89.6 km²) is land and 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km²) is water, comprising 3.91% of the town. Little Monadnock Mountain
, elevation 1883 feet (573.9 m) above sea level
, is the highest point in Fitzwilliam, located in the western part of town. The town is drained by the South Branch of the Ashuelot River
, the source of which is Bowker Pond. Fitzwilliam lies fully within the Connecticut River
watershed
.
The town is served by state routes 12
and 119
.
of 2000, there were 2,141 people, 836 households, and 586 families residing in the town. The population density
was 61.8 people per square mile (23.9/km²). There were 1,074 housing units at an average density of 31.0 per square mile (12.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.52% White, 0.37% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races
, and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population. 17.5% were of French
, 16.6% English
, 10.5% American
, 10.5% Irish
, 6.4% Italian
, 6.0% Finnish, 6.0% German
and 5.6% French Canadian
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 836 households out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% were married couples
living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $48,125, and the median income for a family was $55,476. Males had a median income of $35,474 versus $29,130 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $23,127. About 3.3% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
in Swanzey. Elementary school students attend Emerson Elementary School.
Entries on the National Register of Historic Places:
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 Cheshire County
Cheshire County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 73,825 people, 28,299 households, and 18,790 families residing in the county. The population density was 104 people per square mile . There were 31,876 housing units at an average density of 45 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 2,396 at the 2010 census. Fitzwilliam is home to Rhododendron State Park
Rhododendron State Park
Rhododendron State Park in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, USA, is a state park located on and around Little Monadnock Mountain, containing a stand of native Rhododendron maximum, the largest of nineteen similar stands in central and northern New England, the northern limit of their growing range.The...
, a 16 acres (6.5 ha) grove of native rhododendrons that bloom in mid-July.
History
First granted as Monadnock No. 4 in 1752 by ColonialColony
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 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...
, this was one in a line of eight towns settled by Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
colonists. Incorporated in 1773 by Governor John Wentworth
John Wentworth (governor)
Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet was the British colonial governor of New Hampshire at the time of the American Revolution. He was later also Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia.-Early life:...
, the town was named for his cousin, William Fitzwilliam
William FitzWilliam, 4th Earl FitzWilliam
William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam PC , styled Viscount Milton until 1756, was a British Whig statesman of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1782 he inherited his uncle Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham's estates, making him one of the richest people in...
, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam
Earl FitzWilliam
Earl Fitzwilliam was a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain held by the head of the Fitzwilliam family. This family claim descent from William the Conqueror. The Fitzwilliams acquired extensive holdings in South Yorkshire, largely through strategic alliances through...
. Two early grantees in Fitzwilliam were Matthew Thornton
Matthew Thornton
Matthew Thornton , was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Hampshire.- Background and Early Life :He was born in Ireland, the son of James Thornton and Elizabeth Malone...
, signer of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
, and James Reed
James Reed (soldier)
James Reed was a military officer in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, rising to the rank of brigadier general in the latter conflict....
, who would lead the 3rd NH Regt.
3rd New Hampshire Regiment
The 3rd New Hampshire Regiment, also known as the 2nd Continental Regiment, was authorized on 22 May 1775, organized 1-8 June 1775, and adopted into the Continental Army on 14 June, 1775, as the third of three regiments raised by the state of New Hampshire during the American Revolution...
at Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
. The community claims one of the oldest granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
quarries in 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...
. Other industries included wood-working and yarn-making. The railroad would enter in 1848.
Fitzwilliam's picturesque common
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
, together with twelve antique houses that surround it, are 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...
.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited 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 36 square miles (93.2 km²), of which 34.6 sq mi (89.6 km²) is land and 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km²) is water, comprising 3.91% of the town. Little Monadnock Mountain
Little Monadnock Mountain
Little Monadnock Mountain, , is located in the towns of Fitzwilliam and Troy, New Hampshire. Most of the mountain is located within Rhododendron State Park; there are scenic vistas from ledges just below the summit...
, elevation 1883 feet (573.9 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...
, is the highest point in Fitzwilliam, located in the western part of town. The town is drained by the South Branch of the Ashuelot River
South Branch Ashuelot River
The South Branch of the Ashuelot River is a 17.4 mile long river located in southwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Ashuelot River, itself a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound....
, the source of which is Bowker Pond. Fitzwilliam 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 is served by state routes 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 119
New Hampshire Route 119
New Hampshire Route 119 is a long east–west state highway in Cheshire County in southwestern New Hampshire. The highway runs from the Massachusetts border in New Ipswich to Hinsdale on the Vermont border....
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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 2,141 people, 836 households, and 586 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 61.8 people per square mile (23.9/km²). There were 1,074 housing units at an average density of 31.0 per square mile (12.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.52% White, 0.37% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population. 17.5% were of French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, 16.6% English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, 10.5% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 10.5% Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, 6.4% Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, 6.0% Finnish, 6.0% German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and 5.6% French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 836 households out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% 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, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $48,125, and the median income for a family was $55,476. Males had a median income of $35,474 versus $29,130 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 $23,127. About 3.3% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Residents of Fitzwilliam attending public high school go to Monadnock Regional High SchoolMonadnock Regional High School
Monadnock Regional High School is a public school in Swanzey, New Hampshire. The school serves seven towns in the Monadnock region, including Fitzwilliam, Gilsum, Richmond, Roxbury, Sullivan, Swanzey, and Troy.- Scheduling :...
in Swanzey. Elementary school students attend Emerson Elementary School.
Sites of interest
- Amos J. Blake House (1837) -- Fitzwilliam Historical Society
- Rhododendron State ParkRhododendron State ParkRhododendron State Park in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, USA, is a state park located on and around Little Monadnock Mountain, containing a stand of native Rhododendron maximum, the largest of nineteen similar stands in central and northern New England, the northern limit of their growing range.The...
Entries on the National Register of Historic Places:
- Fitzwilliam Common Historic District — Jct. of NH 119, Richmond Rd., and Templeton Hwy. (added June 2, 1997)
- Old Patch Place — W of Fitzwilliam on Rhododendron Rd. (added September 15, 1980)
- Third Fitzwilliam MeetinghouseThird Fitzwilliam MeetinghouseThird Fitzwilliam Meetinghouse is a historic meeting house on Village Green in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire.It was built in 1817 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977....
— Village Green (added September 26, 1977)
Notable inhabitants
- Joseph Lee HeywoodJoseph Lee HeywoodJoseph Lee Heywood was the acting cashier at the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota when the James-Younger Gang attempted to rob the bank...
, treasurer - Nahum ParkerNahum ParkerNahum Parker was a United States Senator from New Hampshire.Parker was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. During the Revolutionary War he served in the Continental Army at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777...
, senator - Elijah PhillipsElijah PhillipsElijah Phillips was an early Illinois settler who was killed during the 1832 Black Hawk War, a conflict between white settlers and elements of the Sauk and Fox nations under Sauk leader Black Hawk. Phillips was born in New Hampshire and settled near Dover, Illinois around 1830...
, pioneer - James ReedJames Reed (soldier)James Reed was a military officer in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, rising to the rank of brigadier general in the latter conflict....
, brigadier-general - Edward C. ReedEdward C. ReedEdward Cambridge Reed was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, Reed attended the common schools. He graduated from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1812 and served in the War of 1812 under Governor William L...
, congressman - Harry Dexter WhiteHarry Dexter WhiteHarry Dexter White was an American economist, and senior U.S. Treasury department official, participating in the Bretton Woods conference...
, economist