Columbia 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. The population was 659 at the 2020 census, down from 757 at the 2010 census. It 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.

History

The township was originally chartered in 1762 and named "Preston", after

Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston PC (24 September 1648 – 22 December 1695) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1675 and 1689. He became a Jacobite conspirator, but his reputation ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Settlers failed to meet the terms of the original grant, so the plantation was transferred in 1770 to grantees including

Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet (1729 – 26 July 1804) was a Member of the Parliament of Great Britain for Linlithgow Burghs from 1772 to 1784 and a Director of the East India Company. Family He was a son of William Cockburn of Berwickshire and ...

, after which it was named "Cockburn Town", incorporated on December 16, 1797. In 1811, in the lead-up to the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, Governor John Langdon changed the name to Columbia. Although the surface is uneven and mountainous, the soil was of good quality. Maple sugar became an important product, and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

was cut and transported on

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels ...

s down the Connecticut River to markets. By 1859, when the population was 762, Columbia had four

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s, three

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

s, two

clapboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

machines, and a starch mill.

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 are water, comprising 0.55% of the town. It is drained by the east and west branches of Simms Stream. The highest point is the summit of Blue Mountain, 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 ...

. Columbia lies fully within the Connecticut River watershed. The town is served by

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 ...

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 750 people, 300 households, and 218 families living in the town. The population density was 12.3 people per square mile (4.8/km). There were 449 housing units at an average density of 7.4 per square mile (2.8/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 97.60% White, 0.13% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.27% Asian, and 1.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67%. Of the 300 households 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 21.3% of households were one person and 8.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.82. The age distribution was 24.8% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.4 males. The median household income was $36,964 and the median family income was $42,143. Males had a median income of $27,604 versus $19,732 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,859. About 4.0% of families and 7.3% 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 6.8% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Towns in Coös County, New Hampshire Berlin, New Hampshire micropolitan area New Hampshire populated places on the Connecticut River Towns in New Hampshire

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References

External links