Swanzey is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

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. The population was 7,270 at the 2020 census. In addition to the town center, Swanzey includes the villages of East Swanzey, West Swanzey, North Swanzey and Westport.

History

First granted in 1733 as "Lower Ashuelot", Swanzey was one of the fort towns established by Governor

Jonathan Belcher Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/8231 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, which then claimed the territory. The town was the site of many battles during

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

, and in 1747 it was abandoned for three years. It was regranted to 62 proprietors on July 2, 1753, by Governor

Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. While serving as governor, Wentworth is best known for issuing several ...

as "Swanzey", most probably because some early settlers had a connection to Swansea in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Situated on 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 t ...

and connected by the

Ashuelot Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, ...

, West Swanzey developed 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 t ...

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * '' Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World H ...

, and East Swanzey produced wooden

bucket A bucket is typically a watertight, vertical cylinder or truncated cone or square, with an open top and a flat bottom, attached to a semicircular carrying handle called the ''bail''. A bucket is usually an open-top container. In contrast, a p ...

s for generations. By 1859, the population was 2,106. The town features four

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

s, and was the home of theatrical trouper

Denman Thompson Henry Denman Thompson (October 15, 1833 – April 14, 1911) was an American playwright and theatre actor. Biography Rufus Thompson, a carpenter, and his wife Anne Hathaway Baxter moved in 1831 from West Swanzey, New Hampshire to Girard, ...

, who gained a national reputation by his portrayal of the Yankee farmer, "Joshua Whitcomb", star of his stage play ''The Old Homestead''. Residents restage Thompson's melodrama every summer at a natural outdoor amphitheater called the Potash Bowl. Because he vacationed in Swanzey during several summers, the town has claimed to be the location of a tree that inspired poet

Joyce Kilmer Alfred Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection ''Trees and Other Poems'' in 1914. Though a prolific poet wh ...

(1886–1918) to write the popular 1913 poem "Trees". However, family accounts and documents establish that the poem was written in

Mahwah, New Jersey Mahwah is the northernmost and largest municipality by geographic area () in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the township was 25,487, a decline of 403 from the 25,890 counted in ...

. Image:Post Office, West Swanzey, NH.jpg, Post Office Image:Denman Thompson's Residence, West Swanzey, NH.jpg, Denman Thompson's residence in 1907 Image:Ashuelot River, West Swanzey, NH.jpg, Ashuelot River

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 An economy is an area of th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 0.79% of the town. Swanzey is drained by the

, a southwest-flowing tributary of the Connecticut River. The town's highest point is the summit of Franklin Mountain at , on the border with Winchester. The town is crossed by New Hampshire Route 10, New Hampshire Route 12 and

New Hampshire Route 32 New Hampshire Route 32 (NH 32) is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The highway runs from the Massachusetts state line in Richmond, where the highway continues as Massachusetts Route 32, north to NH 12 in Keene. NH 32 conn ...

Adjacent municipalities

* Keene (north) * Marlborough (northeast) *

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...

(southeast) *

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

(south) * Winchester (southwest) * Chesterfield (west)

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 2010, there were 7,230 people, 2,957 households, and 1,978 families residing in the town. There were 3,205 housing units, of which 248, or 7.7%, were vacant. The racial makeup of the town was 96.0%

white White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.2% Native American, 1.7%

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

n, 0.03%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawai ...

or Pacific Islander, 0.4% some other race, and 1.4% from two or more races. 1.5% of the population were

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 for ...

or Latino of any race. Of the 2,957 households, 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were headed by

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45, and the average family size was 2.88. In the town, 20.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.9% were from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males. For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $57,632, and the median income for a family was $68,371. Male full-time workers had a median income of $50,017 versus $42,778 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 $33,749. 14.2% of the population and 10.5% of families were below the poverty line. 39.0% of the population under the age of 18 and 4.9% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.

Education

Monadnock Regional High School Monadnock Regional High School is a public school in Swanzey, New Hampshire. The school serves six towns in the Monadnock region, including Fitzwilliam, Gilsum, Richmond, Roxbury, Swanzey, and Troy. Monadnock was established in 1962 when th ...

Sites of interest

Swanzey Historical Museum
* West Swanzey Covered Bridge, built in 1832

Notable people

Loyal B. Stearns Loyal B. Stearns (May 2, 1853 – June 2, 1936) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist in Oregon. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Oregon, he became a lawyer and practiced in Portland. A Republican, he was a member of the Oregon ...

(1853–1936), jurist,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

state representative *

(1833–1911), playwright, theatre actor

References

External links

*
Mt. Caesar Union Library

Stratton Free Library

{{authority control Towns in Cheshire County, New Hampshire Populated places established in 1753 1753 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Towns in New Hampshire