Randolph is a heavily forested

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 ...

Coös County, New Hampshire Coös County (, with two syllables) or Coos County is the northernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 31,268, making it the least-populated ...

, United States, extending from the northern slopes of the White Mountains of the

Presidential Range The Presidential Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It contains the highest peaks of the Whites, the most notable of which are named for American presidents, followed by prominent ...

(to the south) to the Crescent Range and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(to the north), with

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...

cutting through the middle. The northern and southern parts of Randolph are within the

White Mountain National Forest The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had alre ...

and the Ice Gulch Town Forest, while the central part is the settled portion of town. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 328. Randolph is part of the Berlin, NH-VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Randolph was incorporated in 1824, after being originally granted as "Durand" in 1772. The town was named after John Randolph, a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

congressman and senator, and a descendant of

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

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 0.13% of the town. Randolph's geography is mountainous. The south side of the town includes the northern slopes of the Presidentials. The north side of the town includes four main mountains: Mount Crescent, Black Crescent Mountain, Mount Randolph and Pond Hill. Dividing the northerly slopes from the southerly slopes is U.S. Route 2. There are no trails maintained to the top of Black Crescent Mountain or Pond Hill. The highest point in Randolph is on the town's southern border, atop a knob on Howker Ridge, a spur of

Mount Madison Mount Madison is a mountain in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire in the United States. It is named after the fourth U.S. President, James Madison. Mountains in the Presidential Range are named for U.S. presidents, with the tallest (Mou ...

. The settled part of Randolph is divided into two main areas: Randolph "valley", where town hall is, and Randolph Hill, which has several roads all connected to a main road called Randolph Hill Road. Randolph Hill has the site of the Mt. Crescent House (hotel), which opened in 1883 as the "Randolph Hill House" and was torn down in 1971. Randolph also had "Ravine House" on Durand Road, straight north of the Appalachia trailhead. Other sections of town include the area west of Durand Road, which includes Valley Road and a number of houses along Route 2, towards Jefferson. The main Randolph train station was at Appalachia. Other, secondary stations included "Randolph East" on the Dolly Copp (or "Pinkham B") Road, and Bowman, at the height of land to the west.

Adjacent municipalities

(north) * Gorham (east) * Thompson and Meserve's Purchase (southeast) * Low and Burbank's Grant (south) * Jefferson (west) *

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

(northwest)

Climate

Temperatures in the summer can reach nearly , though that is exceedingly rare, with summer days seldom getting above the 80s (°F) and summer nights frequently being in the 50s or even the 40s. Temperatures in the winter can be below . Ice Gulch, in the forest in the northern part of Randolph, contains the largest known subalpine cold-air talus barren in

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 ...

, with a microclimate significantly colder than the rest of the town, containing ice blocks that sometimes survive the entire summer without melting.

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 339 people, 146 households, and 104 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was 7.2 people per square mile (2.8/km). There were 298 housing units at an average density of 6.3 per square mile (2.4/km). The racial makeup of the town was 96.46%

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 ...

, 0.88%

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 ...

, 0.29% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 1.77% 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 0.59% of the population. There were 146 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.2% 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, 1.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.74. In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.2% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $50,139, and the median income for a family was $52,083. Males had a median income of $40,625 versus $35,208 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 $25,092. About 2.0% of families and 1.8% 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 none of those under the age of eighteen or sixty-five or over. Many houses in Randolph are summer/vacation homes. Historically, vacationers tended to visit the hotels, reachable by horse-drawn carriage from the Randolph train station; but as the automobile became more popular, the hotels declined and private vacation homes became more prevalent. Vacationing in the far north was particularly advantageous before the

air conditioner Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

became common, as Randolph summers are rarely very hot—and never hot at all in the higher mountain areas.

Parks and recreation

The Randolph Mountain Club was founded in 1910, with the primary goal of restoring trails destroyed by logging. The club's mission is "to promote the enjoyment of the Randolph area through hiking, trail development and maintenance, upkeep of camps and shelters, and the sharing of the collective knowledge of its members." The club operates four camps in the White Mountain National Forest—two enclosed cabins and two semi-enclosed shelters—with a caretaker in residence year-round. There are two artificial lakes (or ponds) in Randolph: Durand Lake is present year-round, and Ravine House Pool exists in summer from the damming of a mountain stream. There are tennis courts near the Ravine House Pool. All of these facilities are owned by the Town of Randolph and maintained in cooperation with the Randolph Foundation.

Notable person

Bob Savage John Robert Savage (December 1, 1921 – July 26, 2013) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns of Major League Baseball (MLB) in parts of five seasons spanning 1942–1949. Li ...

(1921–2013), baseball pitcher during the 1940sBerlin Daily Sun obit for Savage
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References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Coös County, New Hampshire Berlin, New Hampshire micropolitan area Towns in New Hampshire