Francestown is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Hillsborough County,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States. The population was 1,610 at the 2020 census. The village of Francestown, population 201 in 2020, is in the center of the town.

History

Incorporated in 1772, Francestown takes its name from Frances Deering Wentworth, the wife of colonial governor John Wentworth. There were 928 residents when the first census was taken in 1790. For some time the town used its location on the Second New Hampshire Turnpike, the only route between

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, to collect a toll of one cent per mile from coaches and wagons. High-quality

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in sub ...

was mined in Francestown from 1792 to 1912.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, making up 1.85% of the town. The highest point in Francestown is the summit of

Crotched Mountain Crotched Mountain is a small mountain in western Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North Amer ...

, at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, on the town's western border. Francestown lies fully within the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...

watershed, entirely via tributaries of the Piscataquog River. The town is crossed by state routes 47 and

136 136 may refer to: *136 (number) *AD 136 *136 BC *136 (MBTA bus), a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *136 Austria 136 Austria is a main-belt asteroid that was found by the prolific asteroid discoverer Johann Palisa on 18 Ma ...

Demographics

2000

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,480 people, 552 households, and 418 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 656 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.30%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.07%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.34% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.47% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population. There were 552 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $64,259, and the median income for a family was $71,471. Males had a median income of $50,521 versus $32,778 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $28,942. About 1.2% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

2020

Between the 2010 and 2020 census, the population of Francestown increased from 1,562 to 1,610 residents. There were 624 households and 740 total housing units, with 93 vacant housing units. Of the 1,610 residents, the median household income was $102,721, compared with $83,626 for Hillsborough County. The poverty level was 2.8%, and exclusively effected residents over the age of 18. Of the 66% employment rate, 60.9% of workers were employed at private companies, 20.2% were self employed, 6.9% were employed as private non-profits, and 12% were employed by local, state, and federal government entities.

Notable people

* Samuel Bell (1770–1850), 14th

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...

* James Wallace Black (1825–1896), photographer * Titus Brown (1786–1849), US congressman * Benjamin Pierce Cheney (1815–1895), businessman * Ellen Cheney Johnson (1829–1899), prison reformer * Sylvester H. Roper (1823–1896), inventor; inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame (2002); inventor of the shotgun choke * Aaron Draper Shattuck (1832–1928), White Mountain School painter * Wallace Tripp (1940–2018), illustrator * Eri D. Woodbury (1837–1928), awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for his actions during the Civil War * Levi Woodbury (1789–1851), associate justice of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

; 15th

Notable buildings

* Francestown Meetinghouse * Francestown Town Hall and Academy and Town Common Historic District *

Levi Woodbury Homestead The Levi Woodbury Homestead is a historic house at 1 Main Street in Francestown, New Hampshire. With a construction history dating to 1787, it is a good local example of Federal period architecture. The house is most significant as the only kno ...

* George Holmes Bixby Memorial Library

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Towns in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Towns in New Hampshire