Sunapee 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 3,342 at the 2020 census. The town is home to part of Lake Sunapee and includes the village of Georges Mills.

History

Like many other towns, Sunapee went through name changes before its incorporation in 1781, including "Saville" in 1768, "Corey's Town", and then "Wendell", after John Wendell, a Masonian Proprietor. A village at the western edge of town and a marsh near Sunapee Middle-High School still bear Wendell's name. The name "Sunapee" was substituted for "Wendell" by the legislature in 1850. The town, Lake Sunapee and Mount Sunapee share the name which comes from the Algonquian words ''suna'' meaning "goose", and ''apee'', meaning "water". The Natives called the area "Lake of the Wild Goose" because it is shaped like a goose, with the beak being in Sunapee Harbor. Before Sunapee was a sizable tourist attraction, it was an industrial area. One factory produced 110 clothespins a minute. After the factories faded away, the major attraction became the pristine lake, once surrounded by a number of grand hotels. People used large ferries to get from hotel to hotel around the lake, but the ferries were mostly gone by 1915, when the automobile was widely introduced to the area. Lake Sunapee is the only lake in

with three working lighthouses, which were originally built in the 1890s by the Woodsum brothers and are currently maintained by the Lake Sunapee Protective Association.

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 16.31% of the town. Sunapee is drained by the Sugar River, the outlet of Lake Sunapee and a west-flowing tributary of the Connecticut River. The highest point in town is about 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 ...

, along the town's northern border, just north of Ledge Pond.

Adjacent municipalities

* Springfield (north) * New London (northeast) * Newbury (southeast) * Goshen (south) * Newport (southwest) *

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

(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 2010, there were 3,365 people, 1,443 households, and 973 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,431 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.6%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.3% some other race, and 1.0% 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 0.8% of the population. There were 1,443 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were headed by married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% were 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 19.6% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 32.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males. For the period 2007–2011, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $66,741, and the median income for a family was $78,973. Male full-time workers had a median income of $52,870 versus $42,784 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 $38,737. About 0.8% of families and 6.0% 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 5.7% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* John H. Bartlett (1869–1952), 57th

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...

* Ken Burns (born 1953), director and producer of documentary films, primarily distributed on PBS * Steven Tyler (born 1948), lead singer of American rock band

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

NewHampshire.com
January 21, 2012Oprah Winfrey Network
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References

External links

*
Lake Sunapee Protective Association

{{authority control Towns in Sullivan County, New Hampshire Towns in New Hampshire New Hampshire placenames of Native American origin