Bartlett 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 Carroll 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 3,200 at the 2020 census, up from 2,788 at the 2010 census. Bartlett includes the unincorporated community of Glen as well as portions of the communities of Kearsarge and Intervale, which the town shares with the neighboring town of Conway. It is set in the White Mountains and is surrounded by 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 alre ...

. It is home to the

Attitash Mountain Resort Attitash Mountain Resort is a ski area located on U.S. Route 302 in Bartlett, New Hampshire, near North Conway. Constructed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, as of October 2019, Attitash is operated by Vail Resorts (after being p ...

and the

Story Land Story Land is a theme park located in Glen, New Hampshire, which opened in 1954. The park is meant to appeal to children up to the pre-teen ages. History In the few years prior to opening, the founders, Bob and Ruth Morrell, had purchased a la ...

theme park. The main village in town, where 351 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Bartlett census-designated place and is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 302 with Bear Notch Road (Albany Avenue).

History

Settled after 1769 and incorporated in 1790, the town is named for Dr.

Josiah Bartlett Josiah Bartlett ( – May 19, 1795) was an American Founding Father, physician, statesman, a delegate to the Continental Congress for New Hampshire, and a signatory to the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation. He served as ...

, the first chief executive to bear the name "governor", a representative to the Continental Congress, and one of

's three signers 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 ...

. Dr. Bartlett founded the New Hampshire Medical Society in 1791. Bartlett became a railroad town in 1875 when 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 ...

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 ...

was built. In 1954,

, a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

designed for young children, opened in Glen. Attitash ski area opened in the 1960s. The Bartlett Roundhouse in Bartlett village was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in September 2015.

Tourism

Bartlett's views of the White Mountains have long made tourism a principal business. The town has one

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 ...

. Attitash ski area is the second largest ski area in New Hampshire. Bartlett also is home to the Bear Notch Ski Touring area affording Nordic ski enthusiasts trails in the upper Saco River Valley. Bartlett is also an attraction for

railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter ( Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rai ...

s. 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 ...

, a heritage railway in nearby

North Conway 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 town ...

, operates a train to the town daily for sightseeing in the spring, summer, and fall.

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 0.57%, are water. Bartlett is drained by the

Saco River The Saco River (Abenaki: ''Sαkóhki'') is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean ...

and its tributary, the Ellis River. The highest point in Bartlett is

Mount Tremont Mount Tremont, elevation , is a mountain in Carroll and Grafton counties in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It stands southwest of the town of Bartlett and directly south of Crawford Notch. It is flanked to the east by Bartlett Haystack ...

, elevation . Mount Parker, elevation , is in the north, and Bear Mountain, elevation , is on the southern boundary. In addition to the

town center A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus st ...

, Bartlett includes the following villages within its limits: * Glen, home to the

amusement park * Intervale, a resort community *Lower Bartlett, between Glen and Intervale, along the

East Branch Saco River The East Branch of the Saco River is a river in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Saco River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean in Maine. The East Branch rises near the northern boundary of Jacks ...

Goodrich Falls Goodrich Falls is a populated place in the town of Bartlett along the Ellis River in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The falls were featured in stereoscopic images in the 19th century including by Kilburn Brothers and Nathan ...

on the Ellis River is in the northern part of the town, next to NH 16.

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 2,788 people, 1,307 households, and 762 families residing in the town. There were 4,115 housing units, of which 2,808, or 68.2%, were vacant. 2,691 of the vacant units were for seasonal or recreational use. The racial makeup of the town was 97.7%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.4%

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, 0.0% some other race, and 1.3% from two or more races. 0.9% 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 1,307 households, 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were headed by married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13, and the average family size was 2.66. In the town, 17.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.2% were from 18 to 24, 20.7% from 25 to 44, 36.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males. For the period 2011-2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $50,536, and the median income for a family was $80,229. 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 $35,700. 10.0% of the population and 5.0% of families were below the poverty line. 8.2% of the population under the age of 18 and 5.7% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.

Transportation

Two New Hampshire State Routes and one U.S. Route cross Bartlett. * NH 16, the White Mountain Highway, forms the main north-south route through Bartlett. It enters from the south in concurrency with US 302 in the village of Intervale, then splits to the north on Pinkham Notch Road in the village of Glen, before leaving into the town of Jackson to the north. * NH 16A, the Intervale Resort Loop, runs parallel to NH 16 and provides access to the resort areas of Intervale. *US 302 enters town from the west at Hart's Location after descending through

Crawford Notch Crawford Notch is a major pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, located in Hart's Location. Roughly half of that town is contained in Crawford Notch State Park. The high point of the notch, at approximately above sea level, is at ...

. It enters the main village of Bartlett as Main Street. After passing the Attitash Mountain resort, it crosses the Saco River and joins NH 16 at the village of Glen. The two routes continue in concurrency southbound through the village of Intervale and enter Conway at the southern border.

References

External links

*
Bartlett Historical Society

BartlettNH.net
local information

{{authority control Towns in Carroll County, New Hampshire Towns in New Hampshire