Whitefield 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 Coös 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, in the White Mountains Region. The population was 2,490 at the 2020 census. Situated on the northern edge of the White Mountains, Whitefield is home to the Mount Washington Regional Airport and the White Mountains Regional High School. Whitefield is part of the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, NH– VT Micropolitan Statistical Area. The central village in the town, where 1,460 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Whitefield census-designated place (CDP) and is located at the junction of

U.S. Route 3 U.S. Route 3 (US 3) is a United States highway running from Cambridge, Massachusetts, through New Hampshire, to the Canada–US border near Third Connecticut Lake, where it connects to Quebec Route 257. Massachusetts Route 3 connects to ...

New Hampshire Route 116 New Hampshire Route 116 (abbreviated NH 116) is a north-south state highway in northern New Hampshire, United States. NH 116 is a scenic rural highway stretching from Haverhill, which lies along the Connecticut River, to Jefferson, in the White ...

and NH Route 142.

History

The last town to be granted under the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

provincial government, Whitefield was chartered on July 4, 1774, exactly two years before adoption of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

. Some believe it was named for George Whitefield, a famous English evangelist and a friend of

William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, PC, FRS (20 June 1731 – 15 July 1801), styled as Viscount Lewisham from 1732 to 1750, was a British statesman who is most remembered as the namesake of Dartmouth College. Background Dartmouth was the s ...

, the patron of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

. Others believe the name originated from earlier references to the snowy white fields one would see upon approach through any of the surrounding mountain passages. The chartered name was "Whitefields", but the "s" was dropped on December 1, 1804, the date of incorporation. Early grantees included

Jeremy Belknap Jeremy Belknap (June 4, 1744 – June 20, 1798) was an American clergyman and historian. His great achievement was the ''History of New Hampshire'', published in three volumes between 1784 and 1792. This work is the first modern history written ...

, historian, and John Langdon, who succeeded John Wentworth as governor. With the entrance of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the 19th century, tourists discovered the town and its cool, clean mountain air. They sought relief from the heat, humidity and pollution of coal-era summers in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

, New York and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. Several inns and hotels were built to accommodate their increasing numbers. On a hilltop facing the

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 public ...

is the grandest, the Mountain View House (now called the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa), established in 1866. The historic hotel underwent an extensive renovation in the 2000s, and is now one of the most luxurious in New Hampshire. The two railroad lines whose tracks crossed in the center of Whitefield were the Boston and Maine Railroad, running from Wells River, Vermont, to Berlin, New Hampshire; and the

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I 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 expanded to ...

, running from

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, to St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Though the actual "diamond" track crossing with rails remains intact as of 2022, "guarded" by the last remaining, historic "ball"-type signal in all of New England, the tracks are mostly disused or torn-up on the old B&M line in both directions from Whitefield, and from St. Johnsbury to Fabyan station, on the Maine Central line east of Whitefield. (The

Conway Scenic Railroad The Conway Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad in North Conway, New Hampshire, United States, owned by Profile Mountain Holdings Corp. The railroad operates over two historic railway routes: a line from North Conway to Conway that was f ...

now operates the old Maine Central "

Mountain Division The Mountain Division (later the Mountain Subdivision) is a railroad line that was once owned and operated by the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). It stretches from Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean, through the Western Maine Mountains and Whi ...

" between Fabyan station and

North Conway, New Hampshire North Conway is a census-designated place (CDP) and village in eastern Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,116 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, North Conway is the second-largest village within the to ...

.) Whitefield has many examples of

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

, including a landmark

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

built in 1875 on the common. The century-old town hall with bell tower was torn down in 2013. At the 2014 town meeting, voters chose to build a pre-fab building to be located outside of the town center.

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 , or 1.37%, are water. Whitefield is drained by the Johns River, which runs through the center of town, and its tributary Bog Brook. Forest Lake, the largest lake in town, straddles the Whitefield/

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor ch ...

town line and is located southwest of the town center. Burns Lake is near Forest Lake, off Route 116 closer to the town center. Mirror Lake is a small water body close to Route 3 north of the center of town. The two highest points in Whitefield are Howland Hill and Kimball Hill, both of which top 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 ...

. File:Main Street in Whitefield, NH.jpg, Main Street in 1907 File:King's Square, Whitefield, New Hampshire.jpg, King's Square in 1905 File:Fiske House, Whitefield, NH.jpg, Fiske House File:New Hampshire Troubadour January 1948 cover.png, Village center , cover of the January issue of the '' New Hampshire Troubadour'' File:The Mountain View House, Whitefield, NH.jpg, Mountain View House, Whitefield, NH File:Whitefield NH Public Library 5.JPG, Whitefield Public Library

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 2,306 people, 976 households, and 613 families residing in the town. There were 1,339 housing units, of which 363, or 27.1%, were vacant. 268 of the vacant units were for seasonal or recreational use. The racial makeup of the town was 95.6%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.7%

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 are ...

n, 0.0%

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. Hawa ...

or Pacific Islander, 1.3% some other race, and 1.6% from two or more races. 2.0% 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 forme ...

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. Of the 976 households, 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were headed by married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30, and the average family size was 2.79. In the town, 20.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.1% were from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males. For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $42,454, and the median income for a family was $55,833. Male full-time workers had a median income of $43,036 versus $33,563 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 $25,080. 12.8% of the population and 8.6% of families were below the poverty line. 19.3% of the population under the age of 18 and 9.8% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.

Transportation

Whitefield is at the intersections of

and

and is also served by New Hampshire Route 142, which leads to

and points beyond. Once important but now seldom-used

lines of the Maine Central and

Boston and Maine 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, ...

railroads run through town. The Mount Washington Regional Airport is located in Whitefield. As of January 2006 Whitefield is also served b
The Tri-Town Bus
a public transportation route connecting with Lancaster and Littleton.

Sites of interest

Weathervane Theatre
* Whitefield Historical Society Museum

References

External links

*

{{authority control Towns in Coös County, New Hampshire Berlin, New Hampshire micropolitan area Towns in New Hampshire