Jaffrey is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,320 at the 2020 census. It was one of the first towns established following the Masonian proprietors' purchase of undivided lands under the claim.

Settled about 1758, the town was regranted in 1767. It was incorporated in 1773 by Governor John Wentworth and named for George Jaffrey, member of a wealthy Portsmouth family.

Adjacent municipalities

  • Dublin (north)
  • Peterborough (northeast)
  • Sharon (east)
  • Rindge (south)
  • Fitzwilliam (southwest)
  • Troy (west)
  • Marlborough (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,457 people, 2,234 households, and 1,451 families residing in the town. There were 2,547 housing units, of which 313, or 12.3%, were vacant. 160 of the vacant units were for seasonal or recreational use. The racial makeup of the town was 96.2% white, 0.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.04% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.3% some other race, and 1.7% from two or more races. 1.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,234 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were headed by married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41, and the average family size was 2.95.

School system

Jaffrey, along with the town of Rindge, forms the Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District, also known as SAU 47. The public schools in the town are Jaffrey Grade School (grades PK–5), and Conant Middle High School (6–12). There is also a private high school, Victory High School (9–12).

Notable people

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  • Laban Ainsworth (1757–1858), minister
  • Lucy Barnes (1780–1809), writer
  • Vannevar Bush (1890–1974), engineer; played an instrumental role in the Manhattan Project
  • Andrew Card (born 1947), politician and former White House Chief of Staff
  • Willa Cather (1873–1947), author
  • Francis Joseph Christian (born 1942), retired auxiliary bishop, Diocese of Manchester
  • Walter S. Crosley (1871–1939), rear admiral in the United States Navy
  • Daniel Bateman Cutter (1808–1889),member of the New Hampshire General Court
  • Amos Fortune (–1801), early resident, tanner
  • Fannie Hillsmith (1911–2007), painter
  • Alfred B. Kittredge (1861–1911), US senator from South Dakota
  • James Laurence Laughlin (1850–1933), economist
  • Talcott Parsons (1902–1979), sociologist
  • Jedediah Sanger (1751–1829), founder of New Hartford, New York
  • Levi Spaulding (1791–1873), missionary
  • Oliver L. Spaulding (1833–1922), Civil War general, politician

References

  • Jaffrey Public Library
  • New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile