Sharon 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 o ...

in Hillsborough 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 359 at the 2020 census. It was the long-time home to the Sharon Arts Center, a nonprofit which has ceased operations.

History

It was first settled in 1738 as part of "Peterborough Slip", an area which until 1768 included

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. In 1777, it petitioned to become part of

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

, but was denied. It was called "Sliptown" until 1791, when it was incorporated as Sharon. It took its name from

Sharon, Connecticut Sharon is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, in the northwest corner of the state. At the time of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,680. The ZIP code for Sharon is 06069. The urban center of the town is ...

, from which many settlers originated.New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
/ref> The topography is uneven and, in parts, mountainous. In 1823, the population was 400. By 1859, when the population was 229, the town had three

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, 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 ...

s. The principal occupation, however, was farming. File: Sharon Arts Center, Sharon NH.jpg, (Closed) Sharon Arts 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 th ...

, the town has a total area of , all of it recorded as land. The town is drained by several branches of the

Contoocook River The Contoocook River () is a river in New Hampshire. It flows from Contoocook Lake on the Jaffrey/ Rindge border to Penacook (just north of Concord), where it empties into the Merrimack River. It is one of only a few rivers in New Hampshire th ...

, which rise near the southeast corner of the town. Temple Mountain forms the eastern boundary of Sharon for several miles. Holt Peak on Temple 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 standardis ...

, is the highest point in Sharon.

Adjacent municipalities

(north) *

(east) *

New Ipswich New Ipswich is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,204 at the 2020 census. New Ipswich, situated on the Massachusetts border, includes the villages of Bank, Davis, Gibson Four Corners, Highbridge, New ...

(southeast) * Rindge (southwest) * Jaffrey (west)

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 360 people, 138 households, and 113 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 24.7 people per square mile (9.5/km). There were 159 housing units at an average density of 10.9 per square mile (4.2/km). The racial makeup of the town was 96.94%

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 ...

, 0.56%

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 ...

, 0.56% Native American, 1.11% Asian, and 0.83% from two or more races.

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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.28% of the population. 24.8% were of

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 ...

, 17.4% Irish, 6.4%

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

, 6.0%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, 5.7%

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

, 5.7%

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and 5.4% Polish ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. There were 138 households, out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.2% 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 ...

living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% were non-families. 14.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.6% 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 2.88. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 31.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 129.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $66,250, and the median income for a family was $75,325. Males had a median income of $51,071 versus $29,375 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 $29,478. About 1.8% of families and 3.8% 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 ...

, including none of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

P. J. O'Rourke Patrick Jake O'Rourke (November 14, 1947 – February 15, 2022) was an American libertarian political satirist and journalist. O'Rourke was the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute and a regular correspondent for ''T ...

(1947–2022),

political satirist Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where suc ...

and journalist *

Erazim Kohák Erazim Kohák (21 May 1933 – 8 February 2020) was a Czech philosopher and writer. His early education was in Prague. After communists took over Czechoslovakia in 1948, his family escaped to the United States. He died in February 2020 at the a ...

(1933–2020), educator, philosopher, writer * Gustavus Swan (1787–1860), politician, jurist, banker

References

External links

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