Ellsworth 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 Grafton 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 93 at the 2020 census. Ellsworth is the only

dry town A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across the ...

in New Hampshire.

History

The town was originally known as "Trecothick", after

Barlow Trecothick Barlow Trecothick ( – 28 May 1775) was a City of London merchant brought up in the colonial Province of Massachusetts Bay who became one of the Members of Parliament for the City of London and was Lord Mayor of London in 1770. Early life Trec ...

, a

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 ...

ian who moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

, a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP), and a

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. He had a country estate at Addington, London, now called Addington Palace. The name of the town was changed to "Ellsworth" in 1802, in honor of Chief Justice

Oliver Ellsworth Oliver Ellsworth (April 29, 1745 – November 26, 1807) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, jurist, politician, and diplomat. Ellsworth was a framer of the United States Constitution, United States senator from Connecticut ...

. The first census of the town, in 1800, reported 47 residents.

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 0.58% of the town. The town is drained in the north by Hubbard Brook and in the south by West Branch Brook, except for the southwest corner, which is drained by Sucker Brook, a tributary of

Stinson Lake Stinson Lake is a water body located in the town of Rumney in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The lake is in the southern part of the White Mountains and is the largest lake in the White Mountain National Forest. Water from Stin ...

in neighboring Rumney. Hubbard and West Branch brooks flow east to the

Pemigewasset River The Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is in length and (with its tributaries) drains approximately . The name "Pemigewasset" comes from the Abenaki word ''bemijijoase ...

, while Stinson Lake drains south to the Baker River, a tributary of the Pemigewasset. Ellsworth lies fully within the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...

watershed. The highest point in Ellsworth is the summit of Mount Kineo in the northern part of town, 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 ...

. The entire town is 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 alre ...

, though with numerous private inholdings. The Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest occupies the northern part of the town, on the northern side of Mount Kineo.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 87 people in 32 households, including 19 families, in the town. The population density was 4.1 people per square mile (1.6/km). There were 72 housing units at an average density of 3.4 per square mile (1.3/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 96.55% White, and 3.45% Native American. Of the 32 households 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, none had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 18.8% of households were one person and 12.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.37. The age distribution was 29.9% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.3 males. The median household income was $33,750 and the median family income was $34,750. Males had a median income of $26,500 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,705. None of the population and none of the families 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 ...

References

External links

New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Towns in Grafton County, New Hampshire Towns in New Hampshire