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Tamworth 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 Carroll 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 2,812 at the 2020 census. Tamworth includes the villages of Chocorua, South Tamworth, Wonalancet, and Whittier. 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 ...
is to the north. The town is home to Hemenway State Forest in the north and White Lake State Park in the southeast.


History

Granted in 1766 by colonial Governor
Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant, landowner and colonial administrator who served as the List of colonial governors of New Hampshire, governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. He is best known ...
, this town was named in honor of his close friend,
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Admiral Washington Shirley, Viscount Tamworth. The admiral's daughter, Selina Shirley, was instrumental in the founding of
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
. The village of Whittier, like Mount Whittier in Ossipee, is named for the poet
John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
. Arthur Treadwell Walden's Chinook Kennels raised sled dogs for Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd's
Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...
expeditions and the Army's search-and-rescue units. The Barnstormers Theatre summer playhouse was established here in 1931 by Francis Grover Cleveland, son of President
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
. He supported the theater until his death in 1995. Barnstormers is hailed as the oldest continuously running professional theater in the state. At the turn of the 20th century, many people traveled to the White Mountains of New Hampshire seeking haven from the noise of the cities and the business of urban life. Thinkers, artists and writers such as
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
and
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
, E.E. Cummings, friends and descendants of
Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe ( ; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as new lyrics to an existing song, and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers' Day Proclamation. She w ...
and many others vacationed in the Tamworth area. Inns and resorts, such as the Wonalancet Inn owned by Katherine Sleeper Walden, helped to encourage tourism and vacationing in the Tamworth area.


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 1.81% of the town. Tamworth is drained by the Bearcamp River and its tributaries the Chocorua, Wonalancet, and
Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIF ...
rivers. Chocorua Lake is to the north. The entire town is part of the Saco River watershed. The highest point in Tamworth is the summit of Black Snout Mountain at 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 ...
, located precisely at the southwest corner of the town, within the Ossipee Mountain range.


Climate


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 2,510 people, 1,074 households, and 675 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,662 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.05%
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 ...
, 0.16%
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 ...
, 0.24% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.36% from other races, and 1.00% 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 0.64% of the population. There were 1,074 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% 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, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.86. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $35,200, and the median income for a family was $41,121. Males had a median income of $30,389 versus $23,352 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 $17,961. About 7.1% of families and 9.5% 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 8.2% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.


Transportation

The Carroll County Transit "Blue Loon" Public Route began operating in January 2012 and new, 16-passenger, wheelchair accessible buses are now rolling through the county. The Carroll County Transit system includes an all-day flex-route connector service that originates in Wolfeboro (Bus Route # 2), runs north along Route 28 to West Ossipee and continues north along Route 16, traveling to Conway, and North Conway (Bus Route # 1). The service is provided using two buses running in opposite directions (Bus Routes # 1 & 2). Additionally, a fixed-route connector operates twice a day between West Ossipee and Laconia (Route #3). Transfer between the bus routes takes place in West Ossipee. As of December 2012, the Concord Coach bus stop in West Ossipee is available. This route connects the region with destinations as far south as
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and as far north as
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 ...
. Five New Hampshire State Routes cross Tamworth: * NH 16, the White Mountain Highway, is the main north-south through route in town, and has many businesses along the heavily-traveled route. It follows the eastern border of the town, and connects Ossipee in the south to Albany in the north. It passes White Lake State Park, then meets NH 113 in the village of Chocorua near Chocorua Lake, before entering Albany. * NH 25 enters from Sandwich in the west along Whittier Highway and joins NH 113 for a concurrency along Bearcamp Highway, closely following the Bearcamp River. In the village of Whittier, NH 113 leaves to the north, and NH 25 continues along the same road, entering Ossipee in the southeast corner of town. * NH 41 briefly crosses the extreme southeastern corner of town, connecting Ossipee in the south to Madison in the east. It is known locally as Plains Road. * NH 113 enters from Sandwich in the west in the village of South Tamworth, joins NH 25 in a concurrency along Bearcamp Highway, then leaves the highway in the village of Whittier and crosses the Bearcamp River on Tamworth Road. It meets the eastern terminus of NH 113A in the main village of Tamworth at the geographic center of town, where it turns east along Chocorua Road. It crosses NH 16 in the village of Chocorua, then crosses into Madison along Page Hill Road to the east. * NH 113A enters from Sandwich and takes a circuitous route through the town's sparsely populated northwestern corner, including the village of Wonalancet. It mostly encircles Hemenway State Forest before meeting its eastern terminus at the main village of Tamworth. It is known as Chinook Trail for its entire route.


Notable people

*
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
(1837–1908), 22nd and 24th
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
(summer resident) * John Davidson, entertainer *
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...
(1842–1910), psychologist, philosopher (died in the village of Chocorua, located within Tamworth) * Florence Luscomb (1887–1985), architect * Arthur Treadwell Walden (1871–1947), explorer, dog trainer * Katherine Sleeper Walden (1862–1949), environmental activist


Culture

The 1942 epic ''Look to the Mountain'', by LeGrand Cannon, Jr., takes place in Tamworth as 19-year-old Whit Livingston and his new wife, 16-year-old Melissa Butler, become the first white pioneer family to settle the area.


Commerce

The village of Chocorua in Tamworth is home to the stormwater modeling software company HydroCAD, Inc.


Sites of interest

* Barnstormers Theatre * Cook Memorial Library * Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm * Tamworth History Center * Tamworth Distilling


References


External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Towns in Carroll County, New Hampshire Populated places established in 1766 Towns in New Hampshire