Grafton County, New Hampshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Grafton County, New Hampshire | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of New Hampshire |
|
 New Hampshire's location in the USA |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1769 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Haverhill |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
4,533 km² (1,750 mi²) 4,438 km² (1,713 mi²) 95 km² (37 mi²), 2.10% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
81,743 18/km² |
Grafton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2000 census, the population is 81,743. Its county seat is North Haverhill, which is a village within the Town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices were located in downtown Woodsville (another village within the Town of Haverhill), and many listings still show Woodsville as the county seat. (The new courthouse is less than two miles from Woodsville.)
The county is the home of Dartmouth College and Plymouth State University. Progressive Farmer rated Grafton County fourth in their list of the "Best Places to Live in Rural America" in 2006[citation needed], citing low unemployment (despite slow economic growth), a favorable cost of living, and the presence of White Mountain National Forest, the state's only national forest.
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[edit] History
Grafton was one of the five counties originally identified for New Hampshire in 1769. It was named for Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, who had been a supporter of American causes in Parliament, and who was serving as British Prime Minister at the time. The county was organized at Woodsville in 1771, and originally included the entire northern frontier of New Hampshire, including a number of towns that are now in Vermont. In 1803, the northern area was removed for the formation of Coos County. The three counties to the south were Strafford, Hillsborough and Cheshire, and the eastern edge bordered the "District of Maine". As of 1797, the county was divided into 50 townships and 17 locations, and contained 23,093 inhabitants.[1]
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,533 km² (1,750 mi²). 4,438 km² (1,713 mi²) of it is land and 95 km² (37 mi²) of it (2.10%) is water.
Grafton County is heavily rural. About half of its total area is in the White Mountain National Forest. Squam Lake, featured in the film On Golden Pond, and the Old Man of the Mountain landmark are located here, as are Dartmouth College and the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Many of the 4,000-foot mountains of New Hampshire are within the county. The Appalachian Trail passes through parts of at least ten towns in the county.
[edit] Adjacent Counties
- Essex County, Vermont (north)
- Coos County (northeast)
- Carroll County (east)
- Belknap County (southeast)
- Merrimack County (south)
- Sullivan County (south)
- Windsor County, Vermont (southwest)
- Orange County, Vermont (west)
- Caledonia County, Vermont (northwest)
[edit] Politics and government
In the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore narrowly defeated George W. Bush, taking 47.41% of the vote to Bush's 46.81%. Other candidates got a combined 5.78%. In the 2004 presidential election John Kerry defeated George Bush by a wider margin: Kerry received 55.74% of the vote, while Bush received 43.17%.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 81,743 people, 31,598 households, and 20,254 families residing in the county. The population density was 18/km² (48/mi²). There were 43,729 housing units at an average density of 10/km² (26/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.76% White, 1.73% Asian, 0.53% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. 1.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 31,598 households out of which 29.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.40% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.90% were non-families. 27.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the county the population was spread out with 21.90% under the age of 18, 13.50% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,962, and the median income for a family was $50,424. Males had a median income of $31,874 versus $25,286 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,227. About 5.10% of families and 8.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.60% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
There are 38 towns and one city in Grafton County.
- *City
- **Unincorporated civil township
- ***Census-designated place
[edit] External links
- Grafton County profile, from University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension website
- Grafton County Economic Development Council
- Best Places to Live in 2006 from the Progressive Farmer website
- Politicians of Grafton County
- National Register of Historic places of Grafton County
[edit] References
- ^ Morse, Jedidiah: "The American Gazetteer", Thomas & Andrews, 1810
