Goshen 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 Sullivan 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 796 at the 2020 census.

History

Incorporated in 1791, Goshen was first settled in 1768 as a part of Saville (now Sunapee). The name "Goshen" may have been taken from

Goshen, Connecticut Goshen is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,150 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. Geography Goshen is in central Litchfield County and is bordered to the ea ...

, where many residents had relatives.

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 0.41% of the town. Goshen is drained by the South Branch Sugar River and its tributaries Blood Brook and Gunnison Brook, and hence lies almost fully within the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

watershed. Most of the southeastern part of town is drained by Cherry Brook, one of the headwaters of the

Ashuelot River The Ashuelot River is a tributary of the Connecticut River, approximately long, in southwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of , including much of the area known as the Monadnock Region. It is the longest tr ...

, a southwestward-flowing tributary of the Connecticut, but a small area at the southeastern corner of town has the headwaters of the eastward-flowing West Branch Warner River, part of 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 long ridge of Mount Sunapee occupies the eastern edge of town. The highest point in Goshen is an unnamed knob on the ridge (near Goves Mountain) where the elevation reaches 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 ...

. New Hampshire Route 10 passes through the western part of the town, including Goshen village, and leads north to Newport and south to Keene.

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 ...

has its northern terminus at Route 10 and leads southeast to Hillsborough.

Adjacent municipalities

* Sunapee (north) * Newbury (east) *

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

(southeast at one point) *

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

(south) * Lempster (southwest) * Unity (west) * Newport (northwest)

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 741 people, 279 households, and 219 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 389 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.03%

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 ...

, 1.62% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 1.08% 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 0.40% of the population. There were 279 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.5% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.5% were non-families. 17.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $42,625, and the median income for a family was $45,208. Males had a median income of $33,333 versus $22,727 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 $20,561. About 6.9% of families and 8.8% 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 10.8% of those under age 18 and 21.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Goshen and the neighboring town of Lempster maintained a combined elementary and middle school, called Goshen-Lempster Cooperative School, located in Lempster. The school served kindergarten through eighth grade. The cooperative was dissolved in June 2016. The majority of Goshen elementary and middle-school aged children now attend Newport, NH schools; the Newport school system now acts as the anchor system for Goshen students. After eighth grade, students are given the choice of attending several neighboring high schools, including Newport High School, Sunapee Middle-High School, and Kearsarge Regional High School.

Notable person

John Williams Gunnison John Williams Gunnison (November 11, 1812 – October 26, 1853) was an American military officer and explorer. Biography Gunnison was born in Goshen, New Hampshire, in 1812 and attended Hopkinton Academy in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. He grad ...

(1812–1853), US Army officer, explorer of the American West

References

External links

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