Hart's Location 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 Carroll 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. Since 1948, the town has frequently been one of the first places to declare its results for the New Hampshire presidential primary and U.S. presidential elections. The population was 68 in the 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1795. Hart's Location maintains a

board of selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

, but is otherwise dependent on the town of Bartlett and Carroll County for services. Home to Crawford Notch State Park, which is noted for its rugged mountain beauty, the town is crossed by the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

History

Hart's Location was named after Colonel John Hart of

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

. In 1772, the land was granted to Thomas Chadbourne, also of Portsmouth. Native Americans used a trail up the Saco River valley through Crawford Notch, and during the French and Indian Wars, many English captives were taken to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

that way. Despite this, the pass through the White Mountains was otherwise unknown until 1771, when Timothy Nash discovered it hunting

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

, and told Governor John Wentworth. The obscure Indian trail transformed into the Coös Road, on which was built a small

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

in 1793. It was abandoned, but in 1825 Samuel Willey Jr. occupied it with his wife, five children, and two hired hands. During a violent storm on August 28, 1826, they all died in a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

known as Willey's Slide. They fled their home and took refuge in a shelter, but it was destroyed while the house remained unscathed. A rock outcrop uphill divided the slide, which flowed around the home and reunited below it. The door was found gaping, a

bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

open on the table. Their tragedy inspired the short story " The Ambitious Guest" (1835) by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mount Willey was named in their memory. The house became part of a larger inn, then burned in 1898. Today, the location is a state historic site. In 1875, the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad completed its line up through Crawford Notch. Passengers thrilled to traverse the Frankenstein Trestle, long and above the ravine floor, and then the Willey Brook Bridge, long and high. Later part of the Mountain Division of the

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad was a United States, U. S. class 1 railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expand ...

, the route is still traveled by the Conway Scenic Railroad.

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 , or 0.56%, are water. The shape of Hart's Location is unusual: about long and wide, with crooked boundaries that echo the confines of Crawford Notch, threaded by the upper Saco River and U.S. Route 302 near the centerline of the town, and pinched from both sides between steep mountains and in some areas sheer cliffs above. This anomaly is heightened on maps that show county lines: Coos County lies immediately to the east and Grafton County to the west, but Hart's Location is part of Carroll County, though barely connected to it. The highest point in Hart's Location is 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 ...

along the town's western boundary, beneath the summit of Mount Willey. Arethusa Falls, New Hampshire's highest waterfall, located in the neighboring township of Livermore, is a popular hiking destination with access from U.S. Route 302 in Hart's Location. The town lies fully within the Saco River watershed. The town is a popular ice climbing destination in the winter months.

Demographics

In the 2000 census, there were 37 people, 15 households, and 10 families living there. The population density was . There were 50 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the location was 97.30% (36 people)

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 ...

, with 2.70% (one person) citing themselves as from two or more races. There were 15 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, and 33.3% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.10. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18, 5.4% were from 18 to 24, 35.1% were from 25 to 44, 8.1% were from 45 to 64, and 27.0% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median household income was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $70,833. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $28,750 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 $19,609. None of the population and none of the families 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 ...

Politics

Federal elections

New Hampshire law allows towns with fewer than 100 residents to open the polls at midnight and close them as soon as all registered voters have cast their ballots. Hart's Location is one of the New Hampshire communities where the first votes are cast in the Democratic and Republican New Hampshire primaries, the first presidential primaries in the United States during each presidential election year. The tradition of first-in-the-nation voting in Hart's Location dates back to 1948 when residents initially voted at 7 AM. In 1952, the town shifted to midnight to facilitate greater access to the polls for railroad workers. In 1964, Hart's Location discontinued the practice of midnight voting. In 1996 the tradition was revived, thanks to new owners of a local inn who aimed to garner more media attention for the small town. In 2024, it was announced that the town would once again abandon the practice. Local officials cited reasons such as the increasing length of ballots, the time required for vote tallying, and new stringent voting requirements that complicate the process.

Election results

Boldfaced names indicate the ultimate nationwide winner of each contest:

=1996

=2000

=2004

=2008

=2012

=2016

=2020

In popular culture

The community's voting tradition received a nod in the 2002 third-season episode of US television program '' The West Wing'', in an episode entitled " Hartsfield's Landing", named after a town modeled on either Hart's Location, or its companion, Dixville Notch.

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Towns in Carroll County, New Hampshire Populated places established in 2001 Towns in New Hampshire