Wentworth 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
Grafton 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 845 at the
2020 census,
down from 911 at the 2010 census. The town is home to
Plummer's Ledge Natural Area, and part of 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 in the northeast. The town has a picturesque
common
Common may refer to:
As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin.
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Com ...
, presided over by a
Federal-style church and bordered by antique homes.
History
It was granted by 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 ...
on November 1, 1766, to John Page and 60 others. Named for the governor himself,
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
/ref> Wentworth was settled and incorporated the same year. Many of the settlers arrived from Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, particularly Salisbury
Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
. With a pretty New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
common set atop an elevated tongue of land, the village has been noted since the 19th century for its charm; while in "... beauties of landscape, Wentworth has a more than ordinary share."[Austin J. Coolidge & John B. Mansfield, ''A History and Description of New England;'' Boston, Massachusetts](_blank)
/ref>
Farmers cultivated the rich soil on the intervales. The Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad diagonally crossed the town. With abundant water power
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kin ...
from the Baker River, Wentworth developed into a lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
-producing town with nine sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
s. But disaster struck on August 6, 1856, when dams on the Upper and Lower Baker ponds in Orford breached during a flood
A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
, releasing a wall of water down Pond Brook to the Baker River. It raced down the steep, rocky channel, then undermined and washed away Wentworth's riverside
mills
Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to:
As a name
* Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin
* Mills (given name)
*Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine
Places U ...
, houses, barns, sheds and roads. It widened the river by nearly .
Image:Wentworth_Common_Houses.JPG, Wentworth Common
Image:Wentworth Town Offices.JPG, Town offices
Image:Webster_Memorial_Library_Wentworth.JPG, Webster Memorial Library
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 , or 1.22%, are water. The town is drained by the Baker River and its South Branch, part of the Pemigewasset and 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 ...
watersheds. The highest point in Wentworth is Carr Mountain in the northeast corner of town, 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 ...
.
The town is crossed north to south by New Hampshire Route 25
New Hampshire Route 25 is a long east–west state highway in New Hampshire. It runs completely across the state from Vermont to Maine.
The western terminus of Route 25 is at the Vermont state line on the Connecticut River in Piermont, New Ham ...
and New Hampshire Route 118
New Hampshire Route 118 (abbreviated NH 118) is a secondary north–south highway in Grafton County, New Hampshire. NH 118 stretches from Woodstock in the White Mountains Region south to Canaan in the Upper Valley region.
The northern termi ...
. New Hampshire Route 25A starts at Routes 25 and 118 at the town center and proceeds west into Orford.
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 798 people, 310 households, and 220 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 19.2 people per square mile (7.4/km). There were 437 housing units at an average density of 10.5 per square mile (4.1/km). The racial makeup of the town was 97.62% 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 ...
, 0.38% 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 ...
, 0.25% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 1.63% 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 0.38% of the population.
There were 310 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% 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, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $44,219, and the median income for a family was $47,917. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $24,500 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 $18,258. About 6.1% of families and 7.9% 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 9.7% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Wentworth uses a town meeting
Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...
form of government administered by a three-member Board of Selectmen
The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...
serving staggered three-year terms, with one seat elected each year. In the New Hampshire General Court
The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members, and the upper house is the New Hampshire Senate with 24 me ...
, Wentworth is in the Grafton 11th and 16th House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
Districts, represented by Beth Folsom ( R) and Jeffrey Greeson (R), respectively. Wentworth is in Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
District 2, represented by Bob Giuda (R).
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Wentworth has a warm-summer humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Wentworth was on June 20, 2024, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 16–17, 2009.
Photo gallery
Image:Wentworth_Transfer_Station.JPG, Transfer station
Image:Wentworth Town Garage.JPG, Town garage
Image:Wentworth_Post_Office.JPG, Post office
Image:Wentworth_Congregational_Church.JPG, Congregational church
Image:Wentworth_Historical_Museum.JPG, Wentworth Historical Museum
Image:Wentworth_Town_Hall.JPG, Town Hall
Image:Webster Memorial Library Enterence.JPG, Webster Memorial Library
Image:Wentworth_Vol_Fire_Dept.JPG, Wentworth Vol. Fire Department
Notable people
* Charles Henry Turner (1861–1913), US congressman
* Thomas Whipple, Jr. (1787–1835), US congressman
References
External links
*
Webster Memorial Library
Wentworth Elementary School
{{authority control
Towns in Grafton County, New Hampshire
Towns in New Hampshire