Gilford, New Hampshire

Settled in 1778 and originally a part of Gilmanton, the town was first called Gunstock Parish. In 1812, Captain Lemuel B. Mason, who had fought in the 1781 Battle of Guilford Court House in North Carolina during the Revolutionary War and subsequently retired to Gunstock Parish, successfully proposed incorporation of a new town to be named Guilford after that battle. The name would later be contracted by clerical error. The original parish name is used by Gunstock Mountain and the ski resort located on it.^[2]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 53.7 square miles (139.1 km²), of which 38.9 sq mi (100.7 km²) is land and 14.8 sq mi (38.4 km²) is water, comprising 27.60% of the town. Belknap Mountain, elevation 2,384 feet (727 m) above sea level and the highest point in Gilford, is in the south. Much of the town is drained by the Gunstock River, a tributary of Lake Winnipesaukee. Gilford lies fully within the Merrimack River watershed.^[3]

New Hampshire Route 11 crosses the town from east to west, connecting Alton and Rochester to the east with Laconia to the west. NH 11 joins U.S. Route 3 near the western border of Gilford, and together they turn south on the Laconia Bypass, which is largely within the Gilford town limits, traveling southwest towards Tilton and Franklin. New Hampshire Route 11A is an alternate east-west route to NH 11, passing through the center of Gilford and by the entrance to Gunstock Mountain Resort. New Hampshire Route 11B leaves NH 11 near Sanders Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee and proceeds northwest to Weirs Beach in Laconia.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	1,816		—
1830	1,872		3.1%
1840	2,072		10.7%
1850	2,432		17.4%
1860	2,811		15.6%
1870	3,361		19.6%
1880	2,821		−16.1%
1890	3,585		27.1%
1900	661		−81.6%
1910	744		12.6%
1920	738		−0.8%
1930	783		6.1%
1940	996		27.2%
1950	1,251		25.6%
1960	2,043		63.3%
1970	3,219		57.6%
1980	4,841		50.4%
1990	5,867		21.2%
2000	6,803		16.0%
2010	7,126		4.7%
Est. 2015	7,167	^[4]	0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5]

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 6,803 people, 2,766 households, and 2,019 families residing in the town. The population density was 174.6 people per square mile (67.4/km²). There were 4,312 housing units at an average density of 110.6 per square mile (42.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.32% White, 0.19% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.

There were 2,766 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the town, the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $48,658, and the median income for a family was $56,554. Males had a median income of $38,839 versus $27,325 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,667. About 2.2% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the New Hampshire Senate, Gilford is in the 7th District, represented by Republican Harold French. On the New Hampshire Executive Council, Gilford is in the 1st District, represented by Republican Joe Kenney. In the United States House of Representatives, Gilford is in New Hampshire's 1st congressional district, represented by Democrat Carol Shea-Porter.

Sites of interest

Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook
John J. Morrill General Store (1857)
Benjamin Rowe House (c. 1838)
Union Meetinghouse (1834)
Gunstock Mountain Resort

Notable people

Glenn Cooper, internationally best-selling author and film producer
Stilson Hutchins, newspaper reporter and publisher (The Washington Post)
Megan Lyman, 2012 Miss New Hampshire
Penny Pitou, first US woman to win an Olympic medal in downhill skiing
Chris Sheridan, writer and television producer (Family Guy)

References

↑ United States Census Bureau, American FactFinder, 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
↑ Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 500.
↑ Foster, Debra H.; Batorfalvy, Tatianna N.; Medalie, Laura (1995). Water Use in New Hampshire: An Activities Guide for Teachers. U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Geological Survey.
↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gilford, New Hampshire.

Municipalities and communities of Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States
County seat: Laconia
City	Laconia
Towns	Alton Barnstead Belmont Center Harbor Gilford Gilmanton Meredith New Hampton Sanbornton Tilton
CDPs	Alton Belmont Meredith New Hampton Tilton Northfield‡
Other villages	Alton Bay Center Barnstead Gilmanton Ironworks Glendale Lakeport Lochmere Weirs Beach Winnisquam
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Merrimack River watershed
Tributaries	Artichoke River Assabet River Baboosic Brook Back River Baker River Bear Brook Beards Brook Beaver Brook Beebe River Big River Black Brook Blackwater River Cochichewick River Cockermouth River Cohas Brook Concord River Contoocook River East Branch Baker River East Branch Pemigewasset River Fowler River Frazier Brook Gridley River Gunstock River Lane River Little Massabesic Brook-Sucker Brook Little River (Barnstead) Little River (Haverhill) Little Suncook River Lost River Mad River Melvin River Merrymeeting River Middle Branch Piscataquog River Nashua River Newfound River Nissitissit River North Branch Contoocook River North Fork East Branch Pemigewasset River North Nashua River Nubanusit Brook Pemigewasset River Phillips Brook Piscataquog River Powwow River Purgatory Brook Quinapoxet River Red Hill River Salmon Brook Shawsheen River Shedd Brook Smith River Soucook River Souhegan River South Branch Baker River South Branch Piscataquog River South Branch Souhegan River South Nashua River Spicket River Squam River Squannacook River Stillwater River Stony Brook Sudbury River Suncook River Tioga River Trout Brook Turkey River Vine Brook Warner River West Branch Mad River West Branch Souhegan River West Branch Warner River Whitman River Winnipesaukee River
Lakes	Arlington Mill Reservoir Lake Attitash Ayers Island Reservoir Baboosic Lake Lake Boon Canobie Lake Cobbetts Pond Lake Cochichewick Lake Cochituate Contoocook Lake Country Pond Crystal Lake (Gilmanton) Crystal Lake (Manchester) Deering Reservoir Franklin Pierce Lake Great Pond Haggetts Pond Halfmoon Lake Harrisville Pond Highland Lake Hopkins Pond (Adder Pond) Island Pond (Derry) Island Pond (Stoddard) Jenness Pond Lake Kanasatka Little Squam Lake Locke Lake Lonesome Lake Lost Lake Massabesic Lake Lake Massasecum Merrymeeting Lake Mirror Lake Newfound Lake Northwood Lake Nubanusit Lake Opechee Bay Paugus Bay Pemigewasset Lake Penacook Lake Pleasant Lake (Deerfield) Pleasant Lake (New London) Potanipo Pond Powder Mill Pond Powwow Pond Profile Lake Lake Saltonstall Sebbins Pond Silver Lake (Hollis) Skatutakee Lake Lake Solitude Squam Lake Stinson Lake Suncook Lakes Sunset Lake Thorndike Pond Turkey Ponds Tuxbury Pond Wachusett Reservoir Walden Pond Lake Waukewan Weare Reservoir Webster Lake Lake Wentworth White Oak Pond Wickwas Lake Willard Pond Lake Winnipesaukee Winnisquam Lake
Towns	Acton Allenstown Amesbury Amherst Andover Ashland MA Ashland NH Atkinson Bedford MA Bedford NH Belmont Billerica Boscawen Bow Bridgewater Bristol Burlington Campton Canterbury Chelmsford Clinton Concord MA Concord NH Derry Dracut Fitchburg Framingham Franklin Gilford Goffstown Groton Groveland Hampstead Haverhill Hill Hillsborough Holderness Hollis Hooksett Hopkinton MA Hopkinton NH Hudson MA Hudson NH Kingston Laconia Lawrence Leominster Lexington Lincoln Litchfield Londonderry Lowell Lunenburg Manchester Marlborough Maynard Meredith Merrimac Merrimack Methuen Milford Nashua New Hampton Newburyport North Andover Northborough Northfield Pelham Pembroke Penacook Pepperell Peterborough Plaistow Plymouth Salem Salisbury Sanbornton Sudbury Suncook Tewksbury Thornton Tilton Tyngsborough Weare West Newbury Westborough Westford Windham Wolfeboro Woodstock
Landmarks	Amoskeag Falls Bear Brook State Park Belknap Mountains Blackwater Dam Egg Rock Franconia Notch State Park Franklin Falls Dam Gunstock Mountain Hannah Duston Memorial Hobo Railroad Lakes Region Lost River Reservation Middlesex Canal Minute Man National Historical Park Mount Major Mount Monadnock Mount Rowe Pawtucket Falls Pemigewasset Wilderness Sculptured Rocks Natural Area Wellington State Park White Mountains

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