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Wolfeboro 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, United States. The population was 6,416 at the 2020 census. A resort area situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee, Wolfeboro includes the village of Wolfeboro Falls.


History

The town was granted by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth in 1759 to four young men of
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, and named "Wolfeborough" in honor of English General James Wolfe, who had been victorious at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 during the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
. In 1763, were added to the reserved for the governor. Colonial Governor John Wentworth, Benning Wentworth's nephew, established an estate on the site, known as Kingswood. Built in 1771 beside what is now called Lake Wentworth, this was the first summer country estate in northern
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 ...
. Settled in 1768, the town was incorporated in 1770. Over the years Wolfeboro, whose town motto is "The Oldest Summer Resort in America", became a popular summer colony, particularly for families from
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 southern
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 ...
. Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco,
Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...
, Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon have spent time in Wolfeboro. In August 2007, then French president Nicolas Sarkozy vacationed there. In May 2014, it was discovered that 82-year-old police commissioner Robert Copeland had been overheard in a cafe two months earlier using a racial epithet to refer to then President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. Copeland acknowledged in an email to his colleagues that he did in fact use the word, saying "for this, I do not apologize — he meets and exceeds my criteria for such." At a subsequent meeting with residents, Copeland refused calls for his resignation. A few days later, he submitted his resignation.


Geography

The main village of Wolfeboro is located at the head of Wolfeboro Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee, at the junction of New Hampshire routes 28 and 109. Wolfeboro Falls is just to the north along Routes 28/109. 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 17.95% of the town. Wolfeboro is drained by the Smith River, which is the outlet of Lake Wentworth and an inlet of Lake Winnipesaukee. Via Winnipesaukee, the town is part of the Merrimack River watershed. The highest point in town is Moody Mountain, elevation 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 near the northern boundary. The town is home to Wentworth State Park, a state park on the shore of Lake Wentworth.


Adjacent municipalities

* Ossipee (north) * Wakefield (east) * Brookfield (east) * New Durham (southeast) * Alton (south) * Tuftonboro (west)


Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,269 people, 2,839 households, and 1,848 families residing in the town. There were 4,443 housing units, of which 1,604 (36.1%) were vacant. 1,322 of the vacant units were vacation properties or seasonal homes. The racial makeup of the town was 97.6% White, 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 ...
, 0.2% Native American, 0.8%
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race, and 1.0% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were
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. Of the 2,839 households in the town, 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were headed by married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18, and the average family size was 2.68. In the town, 17.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.8% were from 18 to 24, 15.8% were from 25 to 44, 33.5% were from 45 to 64, and 28.0% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males. For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $58,204, and the median income for a family was $68,409. Male full-time workers had a median income of $51,466 versus $41,288 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 $35,307. 7.4% of the population and 4.2% of families were below the poverty line. 10.4% of residents under the age of 18 were living in poverty, compare to 0.7% of those aged 65 or older.


Education

Wolfeboro is served by Kingswood Regional High School, located on Main Street southeast of the center of town. Adjoining the high school is Kingswood Regional Middle School. The two elementary schools located in the community are Carpenter and Crescent Lake. All of the aforementioned schools are part of the Governor Wentworth Regional School District, which includes five additional towns. The town is also home to Brewster Academy, a private preparatory school. The Wolfeboro Camp School, which converted the Hill School Camp, enrolls 200 students domestic and international.


Health care

Wolfeboro's largest health care facility is Huggins Hospital, a non-profit hospital that serves the communities of Alton, Brookfield, Effingham, Freedom, Madison, Moultonborough, New Durham, Ossipee, Sanbornville, Sandwich, Tamworth, Tuftonboro, Wakefield, Wolfeboro, and other surrounding towns. Huggins is a Critical Access Hospital (CAH). CAHs are hospitals with no more than 25 inpatient beds; Huggins has 25. Huggins has a relationship with the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Air Transport Service (DHART) that can provide trauma victims access to helicopter in as little as 20 minutes, so they can be transported to the Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center.


Historic images

File:Main Street, Wolfeboro, NH.jpg, View of Main Street in the fall Image:Wolfeboro Bay from Wolfeboro, NH.jpg, Wolfeboro Bay Image:Bird's-eye View, Wolfeboro, NH.jpg, Bird's-eye view in 1909 Image:Hobbs Landing, Wolfeboro, NH.jpg, Hobbs Landing Image:The Kingswood Club, Wolfeboro, NH.jpg, The Kingswood Club Image:Hotel Elmwood, Wolfeboro, NH.jpg, Hotel Elmwood Image:South Main Street, Wolfeboro, NH.jpg, South Main Street Image:Huggins Hospital, Wolfeboro, NH.jpg, Huggins Hospital in 1916 Image:Clark House, Wolfeboro, NH.jpg, Clark House Image:Pleasant_Valley_Hill_Camp.jpg, Road to Pleasant Valley and the Hill Camp


Sites of interest

* Clark House (1778) * Monitor Engine Company Firehouse * MS ''Mount Washington'' * New Hampshire Boat Museum * Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse () * Wright Museum of WWII History * Wolfeboro Public Library Postcard Archive On the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
: * Brewster Memorial Hall * Cotton Mountain Community Church * Libby Museum * Pickering House


Notable people

* Jeb Bradley (born 1952), Majority Leader of the New Hampshire Senate; US congressman (2003–2007) * Tim Corbin (born 1961), head coach of Vanderbilt Commodores baseball, two-time NCAA champion * James Foley (1973–), freelance war correspondent during the Syrian Civil War, he was abducted on November 22, 2012, in northwestern
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and subsequently beheaded in August 2014 purportedly as a response to American airstrikes in Iraq, thus becoming the first American citizen killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) * Robbie Ftorek (born 1952), former NHL head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins; current head coach of the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL * J. W. "Bill" Marriott, Jr. (born 1932), executive chairman and chairman of the board of Marriott International (summer resident) * Dennis Moran (1982–2013), a.k.a. "Coolio" and/or "Sinned", computer hacker * Mitt Romney (born 1947), 70th
governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...
, presidential candidate, U.S. senator from Utah (summer resident) * Mike Ryan (1941–2020), catcher with the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
, Philadelphia Phillies, and
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
* Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003), wife of
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
President Chiang Kai-shek * Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet (1737–1820), provincial governor of New Hampshire (summer resident)


References


External links

*
Wolfeboro Historical Society

Wolfeboro Public Library


from the NH Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau {{authority control Towns in Carroll County, New Hampshire 1759 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Towns in New Hampshire Populated places on Lake Winnipesaukee