Middleton 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 Strafford 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 1,823 at the 2020 census.

History

Granted by the Masonian Proprietors in 1749, the town was named after Sir

Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, PC (14 October 172617 June 1813) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action during the Seven Years' War. Middleton was given command of a guardship at the Nore, a Roy ...

, who was in charge of

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

service between

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

and the colonies. The land was first settled shortly before the Revolutionary War by settlers from

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

and Rochester. Soon after the war, its population was challenged when a number of

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

families led by the town auditor,

Nicholas Austin Nicholas Austin (1736–1821) was one of the first Quakers in the province of Quebec and the founder of a Quaker settlement named Austin in Bolton Township, Brome County, Quebec, "on the west side of Lake Memphremagog in the 1790s". Nicholas Austin ...

, left for the more peaceful setting of

Austin, Quebec Austin is a municipality on the western shore of Lake Memphremagog, part of the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. It was home to inventor Reginald Fessenden. It is named after Nicholas Austin ...

. Although the soil is rocky and unsuited for cultivation,

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

was made in considerable quantities, and

maple syrup Maple syrup is a sweet syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Ma ...

to some extent. Middleton was situated on the road between the New Hampshire

Seacoast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

and Wolfeboro, the location of colonial governor John Wentworth's summer home, "Kingswood". (Today the road survives as "Governors Road" in northern Rochester and Milton and continues as "Kings Highway" through Middleton.) Neglect of the road caused the governor to bill the proprietors for repairs he had to make for safe travel to Kingswood, built in 1771. Middleton was incorporated on March 4, 1778, and originally included Brookfield, which was split off in December 1794. Middleton's old Town Hall, located on King's Highway, was built in 1795 as a meetinghouse on Ridge Road. It was moved to its current location in 1812, jacked-up on the new site, and the Town Hall added underneath. The original

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

painting, a wrap-around landscape

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

of trees and scenery, was painted by John Avery in 1811 and touched up in 1841.

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 2.33% of the town. That water is primarily contained by Sunrise Lake, previously known as the Old Dump Reservoir, near the southern corner of the town. Sunrise Lake drains south toward the

Cocheco River The Cochecho River (incorrectly Cocheco River) is a tributary of the Piscataqua River, long, in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It rises in northern Strafford County and runs southeastward, through the town of Farmington and the cities of Roc ...

in Farmington, while the rest of the town drains eastward toward the Branch River, a tributary of the

Salmon Falls River The Salmon Falls River is a tributary of the Piscataqua River in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire. It rises at Great East Lake, Newichawannock Canal, and Horn Pond and flows south-southeast for approximately , forming the border b ...

Jones Brook Jones Brook is a stream in eastern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Branch River, which leads to the Salmon Falls River, part of the Piscataqua River watershed leading to the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocea ...

flows through the center of town and joins the Branch River in the northern part of Milton. The entire town is part of the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River to the Atlant ...

watershed. The Moose Mountains, which separate Middleton from Brookfield, have a series of peaks, including the highest point in Middleton at an elevation of 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 ...

. The town is served by

New Hampshire Route 153 New Hampshire Route 153 is a secondary north–south highway in Strafford and Carroll counties in eastern New Hampshire. The southern terminus is in Farmington at New Hampshire Route 11. The northern terminus is in Conway village (town of ...

Adjacent municipalities

* Brookfield (north) *

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

(northeast) * Milton (southeast) * Farmington (south) * New Durham (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 2000, there were 1,440 people, 514 households, and 389 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 706 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.54%

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 ...

, 0.14%

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 ...

, 0.21% Native American, 0.56% Asian, and 0.56% 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 0.35% of the population. There were 514 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% 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, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $43,942, and the median income for a family was $48,529. Males had a median income of $32,014 versus $26,336 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 $18,415. About 4.5% of families and 7.3% 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 5.6% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Towns in Strafford County, New Hampshire Populated places established in 1749 Towns in New Hampshire