Dunbarton 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 Merrimack 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 3,005 at the 2020 census, up from 2,758 at the 2010 census.

History

Originally granted as "Gorham's-town" in 1735, and re-granted as "Starkstown" in 1748, the town was incorporated in 1765 as Dunbarton. The name came from

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, hometown to Archibald Stark, a prominent settler.

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 1.48% of the town. The town is drained to the northeast by tributaries of the Turkey River, to the southeast by Black Brook and its tributaries, and to the west by tributaries of the Piscataquog River. The entire town is 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 Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

. The highest point in Dunbarton is 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 ...

near NH Route 13 north of Dunbarton Center. The town claims to be the location of the geographic center of New England, based on a

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

calculation from 2008.

Adjacent municipalities

* Bow (northeast) * Hooksett (east) * Goffstown (south) * Weare (west) * Hopkinton (north)

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 2000, there were 2,226 people, 814 households, and 648 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 858 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.43%

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 ...

, 0.09%

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 ...

, 0.45% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races.

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 were 0.31% of the population. There were 814 households, out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were

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, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 14.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $65,081, and the median income for a family was $67,448. Males had a median income of $46,042 versus $31,641 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 $27,892. About 2.3% of families and 2.8% 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 2.4% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the ''Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects ...

(1917–1977), poet; buried in Stark Cemetery * John Ordway (1775–1817), sergeant in the

Corps of Discovery The Corps of Discovery was a specially established unit of the United States Army which formed the nucleus of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that took place between May 1804 and September 1806. The Corps was led jointly by Captain Meriwether Lewi ...

, helped lead the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

* Robert Rogers (1731–1795), commander of

Rogers' Rangers Rogers' Rangers was a company of soldiers from the Province of New Hampshire raised by Major Robert Rogers and attached to the British Army during the French and Indian War. The unit was quickly adopted into the New England Colonies army as an i ...

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 ...

;

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

* Caleb Stark (1759–1838), New Hampshire state senator; eldest son of General John Stark and his wife Molly Stark *

John Stark Major-General John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) was an American military officer who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Ba ...

(1728–1822), New Hampshire native who served as an officer in the British Army during the French and Indian war and a major general in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

during the American Revolution; known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on the John Green farm in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. An American ...

in 1777 *

Molly Stark Molly Stark, née Elizabeth Page (February 16, 1737 – June 29, 1814) was the wife of General John Stark, made famous by his battle cry during the American Revolutionary War. Described as "mother of 11 children, homemaker, patriot, and def ...

(1737–1814), wife of General John Stark, made famous by his battle cry during the American Revolutionary War; described as "mother of 11 children, homemaker, patriot, and defender of the household"

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Scottish-American culture in New Hampshire Towns in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Towns in New Hampshire