Ashland, New Hampshire

Ashland is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,938 at the 2020 census, Located near the geographical center of the state, Ashland is home to Scribner-Fellows State Forest.

The main village of the town, where 1,082 people lived at the 2020 census, is defined as the Ashland census-designated place (CDP) and is located at the junction of U.S. Route 3 and New Hampshire Route 25 with NH Route 132.

History

Ashland was once the southwestern corner of Holderness, chartered in 1751 by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. However, hostilities during the French and Indian War delayed settlement, and in 1761, it was regranted as "New Holderness" (although "New" would be dropped in 1816). Settled in 1763, the town was predominantly agricultural except for Holderness Village on the Squam River, with falls that drop about before meeting the Pemigewasset River. The falls provided water power for mills, and in 1770–1771, a sawmill and gristmill were built. The Squam Lake Woolen Mill was established in 1840. Goods manufactured at local factories included hosiery, gloves, sporting equipment, wood products and paper.

The Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad entered in 1849, carrying freight but also tourists bound for hotels on the Squam Lakes, to which they traveled by steamer up the Squam River. The interests of the industrialized settlement increasingly diverged from those of the farming community, however, and in 1868 Holderness Village was set off as Ashland, named for Ashland, the Kentucky estate of Henry Clay. The last textile mill, the L.W. Packard Company, closed in 2002, and Ashland is today a residential and resort community.

Image:Squam Lake House, Ashland, NH.jpg|Downtown

Image:Town Hall, Episcopal Church & Parish House, Ashland, NH.jpg|View of Town Hall

Image:Mill Dam, Ashland, NH.jpg|Mill dam

Image:Mills, Ashland, NH.jpg|View of the mills

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Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 4.63 of the town.

The town is served by Interstate 93, U.S. Route 3, and state routes 25, 132 and 175.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,076 people, 980 households, and 522 families residing in the town. There were 1,355 housing units, of which 375, or 27.7%, were vacant. 267 of the vacant units were for seasonal or recreational use. The racial makeup of the town was 96.1% white, 0.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race, and 1.7% from two or more races. Of the population, 0.9% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 980 households, 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were headed by married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were non-families. Of all households, 35.8% were made up of individuals, and 14.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12, and the average family size was 2.77.

Sites of interest

Ashland Railroad Station (, 1891)
Pauline E. Glidden Toy Museum ()
Whipple House Museum (1837)
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 1899

Notable people

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James Frankland Briggs (1827–1905), US congressman
Moses Cheney (1793–1875), abolitionist; member of the Underground Railroad
Oren B. Cheney (1816–1903), founder of Bates College
Person C. Cheney (1828–1901), US senator and the 43rd governor of New Hampshire
George Hoyt Whipple (1878–1976), pathologist; Nobel Prize winner

References

External links

Ashland Town Library
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile