Groton 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 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 population was 569 at the 2020 census.

History

It was originally named "Cockermouth" in honor of Charles Wyndham, Baron Cockermouth and

Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title Baron of Cockermouth, in Cumberland, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Sir Charles Wy ...

, who was

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Secretary of State for the Southern Department The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office. History Before 1782, the responsibilities of ...

from 1761 to 1763. Due to non-settlement the land was regranted in 1766, then renewed in 1772. In 1796, one of the later grantees, Samuel Blood, succeeded in renaming the town after his hometown,

Groton, Massachusetts Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. It is home to two prep schools: Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1 ...

. Groton's surface is uneven, although farmers found the soil arable for growing corn and potatoes. A branch of the Baker River in the north, together with several small streams feeding

Newfound Lake Newfound Lake is located in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. It is situated in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, in the towns of Alexandria, Bridgewater, Bristol, and Hebron. Its area of places it behind only Lake Winnipesa ...

in the south, provided

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a wa ...

for

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

. By 1859, when the population was 776, there were ten

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, two

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

s, and a shingle and

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 ...

manufacturer. Although not open to the public, the Palermo Mine in North Groton is noted for its

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

s. On August 4, 2009, Groton approved siting a

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

in the town. The wind farm was built by

Iberdrola Renewables Iberdrola Renovables was a subsidiary of Iberdrola, headquartered in Valencia, Spain, which included companies in the domains of renewable energy, particularly wind power. The firm was the world's largest renewable energy firm: it was the worl ...

. File:GrotonNH Library.jpg, Highway Department building (former library) File:SculpRocks.jpg, Sculptured Rocks, Cockermouth River File:Vivianite-266946.jpg,

Vivianite Vivianite () is a hydrated iron phosphate mineral found in a number of geological environments. Small amounts of manganese Mn2+, magnesium Mg and calcium Ca may substitute for iron Fe2+ in the structure.Gaines et al (1997) Dana’s New Minera ...

from North Groton File:Beryl-267004.jpg,

Beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several mete ...

from North Groton

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 the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which approximately are land and are water, comprising 0.16% of the town. The highest point in Groton is the summit of

Tenney Mountain Tenney Mountain is a mountain near Plymouth, 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 ...

, 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 standardised g ...

. The

Cockermouth River The Cockermouth River is a stream located in central New Hampshire in the United States. It is the longest tributary of Newfound Lake, part of the Pemigewasset River and ultimately Merrimack River watersheds. The river takes its name from the ...

, a tributary of

, flows from west to east across the center of the town. Groton 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 Mas ...

watershed.

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 456 people, 175 households, and 127 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 11.2 people per square mile (4.3/km²). There were 342 housing units at an average density of 8.4 per square mile (3.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.81%

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 on ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.88%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 1.10% from two or more races. There were 175 households, out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 2.9% had a single female head of household, and 27.4% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.98. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,083, and the median income for a family was $46,250. Males had a median income of $28,906 versus $25,417 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 $18,680. About 6.7% of families and 6.7% 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 3.9% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is within the

Newfound Area School District Newfound Area School District is a school district headquartered in Bristol, New Hampshire. The district area includes Bristol, Alexandria, Bridgewater, Danbury, Groton, Hebron, and New Hampton. Pierre Couture is the superintendent. History ...

. The district's secondary schools are Newfound Memorial Middle School, and

Newfound Regional High School Newfound Regional High School (NRHS) is a public secondary school in Bristol, New Hampshire, United States. Surrounding towns that attend NRHS are Alexandria, Bridgewater, Bristol, Danbury, Groton, Hebron, Hill, and New Hampton. The school is p ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

References

External links

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