Harrisville is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Cheshire County,
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
, United States. Besides the town center, it also includes the villages of
Chesham
Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmla ...
and Eastview. The population of the town was 984 at the 2020 census.
Harrisville is a unique, preserved 19th-century
mill town located in the
Monadnock region
The Monadnock Region is a region in southwestern New Hampshire. It is named after Mount Monadnock, a 3,165 foot isolated mountain, which is the dominant geographic landmark in the region. Although it has no specific borders, the Monadnock Region i ...
of southern New Hampshire. There are nine bodies of water in the town, many back roads and trails to explore, and two original
train depot
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing su ...
s at Harrisville and Chesham.
History
First known as "Twitchell's Mills", a combination
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
and
gristmill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
was built here in 1774. The town of Harrisville was formed in 1870 from lands ceded by
Marlborough,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
,
Hancock Hancock may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Hancock, Iowa
* Hancock, Maine
* Hancock, Maryland
* Hancock, Massachusetts
* Hancock, Michigan
* Hancock, Minnesota
* Hancock, Missouri
* Hancock, New Hampshire
** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...
,
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, and
Roxbury. The Manchester & Keene Railroad opened in 1878, helping it prosper as a
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
mill town. It was named for Milan Harris, whose stone and brick Cheshire Mills operated until 1970, but look virtually unchanged since the mid-19th century.
Today, the Cheshire Mills are protected as part of the
Harrisville Historic District, a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
which includes the center of town. With its red brick buildings and mills reflected in
Harrisville Pond and canal, the village is frequently photographed as an iconic example of picturesque old
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
. The
Harrisville Rural District includes the southern part of the town near the Dublin border.
Image:Glimpse of Harrisville, NH.jpg, Town view
Image:Looking up Canal, Harrisville, NH.jpg, Looking up canal in 1914
Image:Cheshire Mills, Harrisville, NH.jpg, Cheshire Mills
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 7.79% of the town.
The highest point in Harrisville is the summit of Cobb Hill, at above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
. Roughly the western half of Harrisville, drained by Minnewawa Brook, lies within the
Ashuelot River
The Ashuelot River is a tributary of the Connecticut River, approximately long, in southwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of , including much of the area known as the Monadnock Region. It is the longest tr ...
watershed, part of the
Connecticut River basin, while the eastern half, drained by
Nubanusit Brook
Nubanusit Brook is a stream in southern New Hampshire in the United States. The brook begins at the outlet of Nubanusit Lake in Nelson. It is a tributary of the Contoocook River, part of the Merrimack River watershed. The brook flows south int ...
, is in the
Contoocook River
The Contoocook River () is a river in New Hampshire. It flows from Contoocook Lake on the Jaffrey/ Rindge border to Penacook (just north of Concord), where it empties into the Merrimack River. It is one of only a few rivers in New Hampshire that ...
watershed, part of 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 ...
basin.
Significant water bodies include
Silver Lake, Seaver Reservoir, and Chesham Pond on the western side, and
Harrisville Pond and
Skatutakee Lake draining to the east.
Adjacent municipalities
*
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
(north)
*
Hancock Hancock may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Hancock, Iowa
* Hancock, Maine
* Hancock, Maryland
* Hancock, Massachusetts
* Hancock, Michigan
* Hancock, Minnesota
* Hancock, Missouri
* Hancock, New Hampshire
** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...
(east)
*
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
(southeast)
*
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
(south)
*
Marlborough (southwest)
*
Roxbury (west)
Churches
The Community Church of Harrisville and Chesham was formed from Chesham Baptist Church and Harrisville Congregational Church. Chesham Baptist Church dates back to 1785. The church building was originally built in 1797, re-modeled in 1830, and again re-modeled in 1844. The Evangelical Congregational Church of Harrisville dates back to 1840, and the church building was erected in 1840–1843.
The Community Church is a member of the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...
(UCC) and the
American Baptist Association
The American Baptist Association (ABA) is an Independent Baptist Christian denomination in United States. The headquarters is in Texarkana, Texas. The principal founder was Ben M. Bogard, a pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Little ...
, and it retains a united congregation using only the brick church in Harrisville village. The church in Chesham is owned by the American Baptist Association of Vermont & New Hampshire and is no longer used by the Community Church of Harrisville & Chesham.
Harrisville was home to St. Denis Parish of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
from 1902. In 2010 services ended following the merger with Saint Peter Parish in
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
and Saint Patrick Parish in
Bennington. The church building is now owned by Historic Harrisville and is referred to as St. Denis Hall.
St. Denis Catholic Church, Historic Harrisville.
/ref>
Demographics
As of the census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 1,075 people, 449 households, and 306 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 57.4 people per square mile (22.1/km2). There were 698 housing units at an average density of 37.2 per square mile (14.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.77% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.09% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.56% Native American, 0.28% Asian, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.56% of the population.
There were 449 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $48,625, and the median income for a family was $55,083. Males had a median income of $34,625 versus $27,171 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $25,397. About 4.3% of families and 5.7% 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 t ...
, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The elementary school is Wells Memorial School in Chesham.
References
External links
*
Harrisville Public Library
* ttp://www.accessgenealogy.com/newhampshire/ch/harrisville.htm Historical Information from Access Genealogy
{{authority control
Towns in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Populated places established in 1760
Towns in New Hampshire
Company towns in New Hampshire