Ashland 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
Grafton 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 1,938 at the
2020 census,
down from 2,076 at the 2010 census.
[United States Census Bureau]
American FactFinder
2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011. Located near the geographical center of the state, Ashland is home to Scribner-Fellows State Forest.
The main village of the town, where 1,082 people lived at the 2020 census, is defined as the
Ashland census-designated place (CDP) and is located at the junction of
U.S. Route 3 and
New Hampshire Route 25 with
NH Route 132.
History
Ashland was once the southwestern corner of
Holderness, chartered in 1751 by
colonial Governor
Benning Wentworth. However, hostilities during the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
delayed settlement, and in 1761, it was regranted as "New Holderness" (although "New" would be dropped in 1816). Settled in 1763, the town was predominantly
agricultural
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
except for Holderness Village on the
Squam River, with falls that drop about before meeting the
Pemigewasset River. The falls provided
water power for mills, and in 1770–1771, a
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 ...
and
gristmill were built. The Squam Lake Woolen Mill was established in 1840. Goods manufactured at local factories included
hosiery
Hosiery, (, ) also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the foot, feet and human leg, legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also ...
,
gloves, sporting equipment, wood products and
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...
.
The Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad
[Article in ''Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire'' (1875)](_blank)
/ref> entered in 1849, carrying freight
In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...
but also tourists bound for hotels on the Squam Lakes, to which they traveled by steamer up the Squam River. The interests of the industrialized settlement increasingly diverged from those of the farming community, however, and in 1868 Holderness Village was set off as Ashland, named for Ashland, the Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
estate of Henry Clay
Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...
. The last textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
mill, the L.W. Packard Company, would close in 2002, and Ashland is today a residential and resort community.
Image:Squam Lake House, Ashland, NH.jpg, Downtown
Image:Town Hall, Episcopal Church & Parish House, Ashland, NH.jpg, View of Town Hall
Image:Mill Dam, Ashland, NH.jpg, Mill dam
Image:Mills, Ashland, NH.jpg, View of the mills
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 4.63 of the town. Bounded on the west by the Pemigewasset River, Ashland is drained by the Squam River and Owl Brook. Little Squam Lake is on the eastern boundary. The highest point in Ashland is Hicks Hill, at 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 ...
. Ashland lies fully within the Merrimack River watershed.
The town is served by Interstate 93, U.S. Route 3, and state routes 25, 132 and 175.
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 2,076 people, 980 households, and 522 families residing in the town. There were 1,355 housing units, of which 375, or 27.7%, were vacant. 267 of the vacant units were for seasonal or recreational use. The racial makeup of the town was 96.1% 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 ...
, 0.4% 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, 1.3% 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, 0.0% 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 1.7% from two or more races. Of the population, 0.9% 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 980 households, 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were headed by married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were non-families. Of all households, 35.8% were made up of individuals, and 14.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12, and the average family size was 2.77.
In the town, 17.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.7% were from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 30.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.
For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $45,938, and the median income for a family was $52,106. Male full-time workers had a median income of $37,695 versus $27,130 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 $22,620. Of the population, 13.8% of the people and 8.6% of families were below the poverty line. Of the population, 17.7% under the age of 18 and 9.0% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.
Sites of interest
* Ashland Railroad Station (, 1891)
* Pauline E. Glidden Toy Museum ()
* Whipple House Museum (1837)
* St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 1899
Notable people
* James Frankland Briggs (1827–1905), US congressman
* Moses Cheney (1793–1875), abolitionist; member of the Underground Railroad
* Oren B. Cheney (1816–1903), founder of Bates College
* Person C. Cheney (1828–1901), US senator and the 43rd governor of New Hampshire
The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire.
The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...
* George Hoyt Whipple (1878–1976), pathologist; Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
winner
References
External links
*
Ashland Town Library
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1763
Towns in Grafton County, New Hampshire
Towns in New Hampshire