Eaton 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 Carroll County,

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 to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, United States. The population was 405 at the 2020 census. Eaton includes the villages of Eaton Center and Snowville.

History

Eaton was incorporated in 1766 by

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

Governor

Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. While serving as governor, Wentworth is best known for issuing several l ...

, and named for Governor

Theophilus Eaton Theophilus Eaton (January 7, 1658) was a wealthy New England Puritan merchant, first Governor of New Haven Colony, Connecticut, co founder of that same colony and co founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His brother, Nathaniel Eaton, w ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, a generous contributor to the funds needed to settle

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in 1630. He later formed a colony at

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, along with Reverend John Davenport and David Yale, great-grandfather of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

's founder,

Elihu Yale Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist. Although born in Boston, Massachusetts, he only lived in America as a child, spending the rest of his life in England, Wales and India ...

. The "Little White Church" is a town landmark. The village of Snowville is named for the Snow family, who started a

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 ...

there in 1825. Waukeela, a summer camp for girls, has been in Eaton for 90 years as of 2011. It occupies on Crystal Lake.

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 t ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 5.07% of the town.

Conway Lake Conway Lake is a water body with a maximum depth of , located in Carroll County in eastern New Hampshire, in the United States. The lake is located in the towns of Conway and Eaton, just to the east of the White Mountains, and is part of the Sa ...

is on the northern boundary, and Crystal Lake is in the center. Eaton lies fully within the

Saco River The Saco River (Abenaki: ''Sαkóhki'') is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean ...

watershed. The highest point in town is 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 standardise ...

on its southern boundary, just north of the summit of Cragged Mountain. Eaton is bounded on the east by the

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

state line.

Adjacent municipalities

Conway, New Hampshire Conway is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous community in the county, with a population of 9,822 at the 2020 census, down from 10,115 at the 2010 census. The town is on the southeastern edge of the Whi ...

(north) *

Brownfield, Maine Brownfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,631 at the 2020 census. Brownfield is home to the Stone Mountain Arts Center. History The area was once territory of the Pequawket Abenaki Indians, whose main ...

(east) * Porter, Maine (southeast) * Freedom, New Hampshire (south) *

Madison, New Hampshire Madison is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,565 at the 2020 census. Madison includes the village of Silver Lake and the village district of Eidelweiss. History The area was one of the first to have ...

(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 in ...

of 2000, there were 375 people, 157 households, and 111 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was 15.4 people per square mile (5.9/km²). There were 239 housing units at an average density of 9.8 per square mile (3.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.67%

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 o ...

, 0.27%

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 ...

, 0.27%

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 0.80% from two or more races. There were 157 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.85. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 38.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $46,429, and the median income for a family was $53,750. Males had a median income of $31,458 versus $23,750 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 $21,122. About 3.6% of families and 7.2% 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 7.6% of those under age 18 and 15.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

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