Thompson and Meserve's Purchase is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

in Coös County,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, 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 t ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The purchase lies entirely within the

White Mountain National Forest The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had alrea ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population of the purchase was 1. In New Hampshire, locations, grants, townships (which are different from towns), and purchases are unincorporated portions of a county which are not part of any town and have limited self-government (if any, as many are uninhabited). Thompson and Meserve's Purchase is notable for encompassing the northern slope of

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, ...

, including a large portion of the

Mount Washington Auto Road The Mount Washington Auto Road—originally the Mount Washington Carriage Road—is a toll road in southern Coos County, New Hampshire that extends from New Hampshire Route 16 in Green's Grant, just north of Pinkham Notch, westward across Pink ...

and

Cog Railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

History

Thompson and Meserve's Purchase was sold by Commissioner Willey to Samuel W. Thompson of Conway and George P. Meserve of

Jackson, New Hampshire Jackson is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,028 at the 2020 census, up from 816 at the 2010 census. Jackson is a resort area in the White Mountains. Parts of the White Mountain National Forest are in ...

, in 1855 for $500.

Geography

The purchase is situated just north of the summit of

and includes much of the northern

Presidential Range The Presidential Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Containing the highest peaks of the Whites, its most notable summits are named for American presidents, followed by prominent publi ...

, including Mount Adams, the second highest mountain in New Hampshire at , and Mount Jefferson, the third highest peak at . The highest point in the purchase is 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 standardised g ...

on the slope of Chandler Ridge, just north of the summit of Mount Washington. To the east of the Presidential peaks lies the

Great Gulf The Great Gulf is a glacial cirque (landform), cirque, or amphitheater-like valley head formed from a glacier by erosion, located in the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains of New Hampshire. The cirque's walls are formed, from south to ...

, a deep glacial

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

. 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 Tr ...

crosses the purchase, close to the crest of the Presidential Range. 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 the ...

, the purchase has a total area of , of which , or 0.003%, are water. The west side of the purchase is drained by the headwaters of the

Ammonoosuc River The Ammonoosuc River is a river in northwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound. ''Ammonoosuc'' is Abnaki for "small, narrow fishing place". The Ammonoosuc ris ...

, including its tributaries Clay Brook and Jefferson Brook, while the northwest corner of the purchase is drained by streams that flow north to the

Israel River Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Both the Ammonoosuc and the Israel River are part of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

watershed. The east side of the purchase is drained by the

West Branch West Branch may refer to: Communities * West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties * West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County * West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish * West Branch River John, i ...

of the

Peabody River The Peabody River is a river in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River, which flows south and east into Maine, joining the Kennebec River near the Atlantic Ocean. The Peabody River ...

, coming out of the Great Gulf and part of the

Androscoggin River The Androscoggin River (Abenaki: ''Aləssíkαntekʷ'') is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ...

watershed.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there was one person recorded to be living in the purchase.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson And Meserve's Purchase, New Hampshire Townships in Coös County, New Hampshire Berlin, New Hampshire micropolitan area Townships in New Hampshire