Bradford is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,662 at the 2020 census. to John Pierce and George Jaffrey of Portsmouth, it was settled in 1771 by Deacon William Presbury and family. Three years later other settlers arrived, several of them from Bradford, Massachusetts, after which the town was named "New Bradford". Later, it was called "Bradfordton", but upon incorporation by the General Court on September 27, 1787, it was officially named Bradford.

Parts of the town are hilly, but the largest portion is in a valley with varied soil. Streams provided water power for watermills. By 1859, when Bradford's population reached 1,341, industries included one woolen mill, one sash, blind and door factory, one wheelwright shop, two sawmills, one gristmill, one tannery, and one clothing mill.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 1.92% of the town.

The highest point in Bradford is an unnamed summit overlooking Ayers Pond on the town's western border. Knights Hill () and Rowes Hill () constitute a large, hilly mass occupying the southern portion of town.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,650 people, 667 households, and 471 families residing in the town. There were 917 housing units, of which 250, or 27.3%, were vacant. 203 of the vacant units were for seasonal or recreational uses. The racial makeup of the town was 97.5% white, 0.1% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race, and 1.6% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 667 households, 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were headed by married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47, and the average family size was 2.86.

Sites of interest

  • Bement Covered Bridge, built 1854
  • Bradford Bog
  • Bradford Center Meetinghouse
  • Bradford Pines State Forest
  • Bradford Town Hall
  • Lake Massasecum
  • Lake Todd
  • Warner River
  • West Branch Warner River

Notable people

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  • Odds Bodkin (born 1953), storyteller, musician
  • John Q. A. Brackett (1842–1918), 36th governor of Massachusetts
  • Will Cressy (1863-1930), performer, writer
  • John Milton Hawks (1826–1910), abolitionist, physician
  • Thorkild Jacobsen (1904–1993), Danish-American historian
  • Ghislaine Maxwell (born 1961), convicted sex offender, associate of Jeffrey Epstein
  • Mason Tappan (1817–1886), United States congressman, New Hampshire Attorney General
  • Bainbridge Wadleigh (1831–1891), United States senator

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Image:Depot, Bradford, NH.jpg|Concord & Claremont Railroad depot in 1906

Image:Bradford Hotel, Bradford, NH.jpg|The Bradford Hotel in 1906

Image:Lake Massasecum, Bradford, NH.jpg|Lake Massasecum in 1909

</gallery>

References

  • New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile