Lancaster is a town located along the Connecticut River in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The town is named after the city of Lancaster in England. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,218,

History

Granted as "Upper Coos" in 1763 by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth to Captain David Page of Petersham, Massachusetts, the town was settled in 1764 by his son, David Page Jr. and Emmons Stockwell. It was the first settlement north of Haverhill, New Hampshire, to the south, and originally included land in what is now Vermont. It would be named for Lancaster, Massachusetts, hometown of an early inhabitant. Reverend Joshua Weeks, a grantee of the town, was among the group of explorers who named the mountains of the Presidential Range. Other grantees were Timothy Nash and Benjamin Sawyer, who discovered Crawford Notch in 1771, making a shorter route to Portland, Maine, possible.

Many water-powered mills have come and gone, including sawmills, several potato starch mills, one of the largest gristmills in the state, and carriage factories. A granite quarry operated in the Kilkenny Range. With fertile meadows beside the Connecticut River, Lancaster was in 1874 the twelfth most productive agricultural town in the state. An extension of the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad shipped products to market, and brought tourists to the grand hotels in the area.

Just south of the village center is Mount Prospect, summer home to Senator John W. Weeks, who sponsored congressional legislation creating White Mountain National Forest. In 1910, he purchased several farms to assemble the estate. It is now Weeks State Park, which features a fire lookout and his mansion, open for tours during the summer. The Mount Prospect Ski Tow operates on the slope in winter, snow conditions permitting. Many of the White Mountains and Green Mountains can be seen from the stone observation tower built in 1912 atop the summit. The Presidential Range is to the southeast, with the Franconia Range to the south. Mount Weeks, elevation , is in the Kilkenny Range to the northeast. It is named for the senator, as is the Weeks Medical Center. Weeks Memorial Library, a Beaux Arts landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, was given by John W. Weeks in memory of his father, William Dennis Weeks.

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Image:Lancaster House in Lancaster, NH.jpg|Lancaster House in 1908

Image:Main Street in Lancaster, NH.jpg|Main Street

Image:Weeks Memorial Library, Lancaster, NH.jpg|Weeks Library

Image:Main Street, Lancaster, NH.jpg|Main Street

Image:Downtown Lancaster, NH 5.JPG|Downtown Lancaster in 2013

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Geography

thumb|left|Mount Prospect

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 2.19% of the town. The Connecticut River forms the northwest border of the town, as well as the border with Vermont. The town also includes Martin Meadow Pond. Lancaster's highest point is located on a western spur of Mount Cabot at above sea level.

Adjacent municipalities

  • Northumberland (north)
  • Stark (northeast)
  • Kilkenny (east)
  • Jefferson (southeast)
  • Whitefield (south)
  • Dalton (southwest)
  • Lunenburg, Vermont (west)
  • Guildhall, Vermont (northwest)

Climate

Lancaster has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with warm summers coupled with cool nights, and cold, snowy winters with annual snowfall averaging 70.3 inches (179&nbsp;cm).

Demographics

thumb|left|Mansion House in 1907

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,507 people, 1,399 households, and 880 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,687 housing units at an average density of 33.9 units/sq&nbsp;mi (13.1 units/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the town was 96.8% White, 0.3% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.03% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.4% some other race, and 1.1% from two or more races. 1.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,399 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were headed by married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35, and the average family size was 2.85.

Transportation

Lancaster is at the intersection of U.S. Route 2 and U.S. Route 3 and is the northern terminus of New Hampshire Route 135, which leads to Dalton and points beyond. A seldom-used railroad track of the Maine Central Railroad skirts the Connecticut River, and a branch at Coos Junction leaves for Jefferson and Waumbek Junction. The Mount Washington Regional Airport is located away in adjacent Whitefield. As of January 2006, Lancaster is also served by the Tri-Town Bus, a public transportation route connecting with Whitefield and Littleton.

thumb|upright|Benton Fountain in Lancaster, designed by [[Jacob Benton's wife, Louisa, in her husband's memory.]]

Notable people

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  • GG Allin (1956–1993), punk singer
  • Merle Allin (born 1955), punk bassist
  • Jacob Benton (1814–1892), congressman
  • Louisa Dow Benton (1831–1895), linguist
  • Edward E. Cross (1832–1863), Civil War-era colonel
  • Irving W. Drew (1845–1922), U.S. senator
  • William W. Field (1824–1907), Wisconsin legislator and farmer
  • Benjamin F. Goss (1823–1893), Wisconsin legislator
  • Edward D. Holton (1815–1892), Wisconsin legislator and businessman
  • Margaret Hutchins (1884–1961), American librarian and professor
  • Chester Bradley Jordan (1839–1914), 48th governor of New Hampshire
  • Ossian Ray (1835–1892), congressman
  • William C. Stokoe (1919–2000), linguist known for ASL research
  • John W. Weeks (1860–1926), U.S. senator, 48th United States Secretary of War
  • Sinclair Weeks (1893–1972), Secretary of Commerce during Eisenhower Administration
  • Benjamin F. Whidden (1813–1896), first U.S. ambassador to Haiti
  • Nathaniel White (1811–1880), businessman, social reformer, philanthropist, politician
  • Jared W. Williams (1796–1864), U.S. senator, congressman; 21st governor of New Hampshire

Sites of interest

  • John Wingate Weeks Historic Site & Lodge (1913)
  • Lancaster Historical Society Museum
  • Wilder-Holton House (1780)
  • Garland Mill (1856)

References

  • Lancaster Fair
  • New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile

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