Antrim is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Hillsborough County,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders 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 2,651 at the 2020 census. The main village in the town, where 1,395 people lived at the 2020 census, is defined as the Antrim census-designated place (CDP) and is located at the intersection of

U.S. Route 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of U.S. Route 2, US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware in the south to Maine in the north and traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, N ...

and

New Hampshire Route 31 New Hampshire Route 31 (abbreviated NH 31) is a north–south state highway in southern New Hampshire. It runs from Mason, New Hampshire, Mason on the Massachusetts border, where, as Greenville Road, the road becomes Massachusetts Route 31. It ...

. The town of Antrim also includes the villages of Antrim Center, North Branch, and Clinton Village.

History

Settled in 1744 and incorporated on March 22, 1777, this town did not receive its incorporated name until 1778. It was named for

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

in the north of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, now part of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, which was the native home of the land's owner, Philip Riley. Scots-Irish settlers established a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church in Antrim in 1788. With falls providing water power, Great Brook was once lined with over twenty mills along its course from Gregg Lake to the Contoocook River. Commercial development centered on South Antrim, now the main village of Antrim.

Cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware) includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. While most cutlers ...

was the major industry in this town, beginning with the manufacturing of apple-paring machines in 1864. The manufacture of cutlery continued in Antrim through 1989. The town is now largely a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

and Hillsborough. The now-defunct Nathaniel Hawthorne College was in the area of town known as North Branch. The former college campus is now home to Hawthorne Academy.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 2.24% of the town. Antrim is drained by the Contoocook River and its North Branch, in addition to Great Brook. Gregg Lake and Willard Pond are in the west. Bald Mountain, elevation above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

and the highest point in Antrim, overlooks Willard Pond. Antrim 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 town center, defined as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP), covers an area of , about 12% of the area of the town. It includes the main village of Antrim (once known as South Antrim or South Village), plus parts of Clinton Village and Antrim Center.

Adjacent municipalities

* Windsor (north) * Hillsborough (northeast) * Deering (east) * Bennington (southeast) * Hancock (south) *

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

(southwest) * Stoddard (west)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,637 people, 1,055 households, and 727 families residing in the town. There were 1,329 housing units, of which 274, or 20.6%, were vacant. 197 of the vacant units were for seasonal or recreational use. The racial makeup of the town was 97.4%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.4%

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n, 0.04%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

or Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race, and 1.6% from two or more races. 1.2% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. Of the 1,055 households, 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were headed by

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, 22.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.8% were from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 33.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males. For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $64,830, and the median income for a family was $77,669. Male full-time workers had a median income of $50,991 versus $36,700 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $28,760. 11.0% of the population and 6.5% of families were below the poverty line. 14.3% of the population under the age of 18 and 3.0% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.

Education

Antrim is part of SAU (School Administrative Unit) #1, which is a school district that includes nine towns, better known as the Contoocook Valley Regional School District (ConVal). Students from Antrim attend the following public schools: *Elementary: Antrim Elementary School, located in Antrim *Middle: Great Brook School, located in Antrim *High: ConVal Regional High School,ConVal High School
/ref> located in

Festivals

In early fall the Antrim Home and Harvest festival takes place.

Sites of interest

* Antrim Historical Society & Museum * James A Tuttle Library * Avenue A * The Antrim Grapevine * The Antrim Grange * Memorial Park

Notable people

* Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson (1939–2022), musician * Steve Sawyer (1956–2019), environmentalist, activist, leader of

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

References

External links

*
James A. Tuttle Library

{{authority control Towns in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Populated places established in 1741 Populated places established in 1845 Towns in New Hampshire Scotch-Irish American culture in New Hampshire