Springfield 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 Sullivan 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. The population was 1,259 at the 2020 census. Gile State Forest is located within the town.

History

First settled by Europeans in 1769 and named "Protectworth", the town adopted the name "Springfield" when it was incorporated in 1794. Prior to county division in 1827, Springfield was in Cheshire County.

Geography

Springfield occupies the northeast corner of Sullivan County. 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 1.99% of the town. The northwest part of town, including the town center, is drained by Bog Brook and its tributaries, leading west to Stocker Brook in

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

and part of the Sugar River watershed leading west to the Connecticut River. The southeast part of the town, including Baptist Pond and Star Lake, drains south to

Lake Sunapee Lake Sunapee is located within Sullivan County and Merrimack County in western New Hampshire, the United States. It is the fifth-largest lake located entirely in New Hampshire. The lake is approximately long (north-south) and from wide (east- ...

, the headwaters of the Sugar River. The northeast part of town is drained by Kimpton Brook and tributaries of Walker Brook, part of the

Blackwater River A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea ...

watershed leading to 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 ...

and eventually the Merrimack, while the far northeast corner of town is drained by tributaries of Smith Brook, which leads northeast to the Smith River, then the

Pemigewasset River The Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is in length and (with its tributaries) drains approximately . The name "Pemigewasset" comes from the Abenaki word ''bemijijoase ...

, and finally the Merrimack. The highest point in Springfield is the summit of Melvin Hill in the northeast part of town, 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 ...

Adjacent municipalities

Grafton, New Hampshire Grafton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,385 at the 2020 census. History Originally granted in 1761, and re-granted in 1769, Grafton, like the county it resides in, takes its name from Augustus F ...

(north) *

Wilmot, New Hampshire Wilmot is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,407 at the 2020 census. The town includes the communities of Wilmot, Wilmot Flat, and North Wilmot. History Incorporated in 1807 from part of New London, ...

(east) *

New London, New Hampshire New London is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,400 at the 2020 census. The town is the home of Colby–Sawyer College. The town center, where 1,266 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as th ...

(southeast) * Sunapee, New Hampshire (south) *

Croydon, New Hampshire Croydon is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 801 at the 2020 census. History Incorporated in 1763, the town takes its name from Croydon, a suburb of London, England. Croydon was home to Ruel Durkee, a ...

(southwest) *

Grantham, New Hampshire Grantham is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,404 at the 2020 census, up from 2,985 at the 2010 census. The planned community of Eastman is in the eastern part of the town. History Incorporated in 17 ...

(west) *

Enfield, New Hampshire Enfield is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,465 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Enfield, Enfield Center, Upper Shaker Village, Lower Shaker Village, Lockehaven, and Montcalm. Enf ...

(northwest)

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 945 people, 386 households, and 286 families in the town. The population density was 21.8 people per square mile (8.4/km). There were 534 housing units at an average density of 12.3 per square mile (4.8/km). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the town was 98.84% White, 0.32% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74%. Of the 386 households 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 19.9% of households were one person and 6.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.80. The age distribution was 23.5% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males. The median household income was $44,659 and the median family income was $58,068. Males had a median income of $33,958 versus $25,223 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,263. About 3.5% of families and 5.1% 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 2.4% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Fairfax Downey (1893–1990), author * William Allen Knowlton (1920–2008), US Army general, father-in-law of David Petraeus *

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior to ...

(born 1952), US Army general, former

director of the Central Intelligence Agency The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. Beginning February 2017, the ...

* Jeriah Swetland (1817–1906),

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

state representative (1867–1869)

Internet connectivity

The town is served by the provider

Consolidated Communications Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc., doing business as Consolidated Communications, is an American broadband and business communications provider headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois. The company provides data, internet, voice, managed an ...

. They provide options for both

Fiber-optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

and

DSL Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...

, the latter being phased out in preference for the former. The new plans for fiber range in speeds from 50 megabit to 1 gigabit, and while DSL is still available, it is much slower and less reliable (although slightly cheaper) then the fiber options.Consolidated Communications
/ref> In the part of Springfield that is in the community of Eastman, there is also the internet provider Comcast which provides a high of about 300 Mb/s down and 15 Mb/s up.

References

External links

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