The Greater Pittsfield
Chamber of Commerce
Pittsfield, NH
Incorporated 1966
The Greater
Pittsfield
Chamber of Commerce
Pittsfield, NH
Incorporated 1966
Greater Pittsfield Chamber Commerce - Area Towns
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Links to Local Information State Profiles/ Town Websites/ Other NH Links |
Barnstead
Chichester
Epsom
Gilmanton
Loudon
Northwood
Pittsfield
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Copyright © 2006 - Pittsfield Chamber of Commerce
Website Design by Bill Provencal
Date This Page Last Updated
April 09, 2010
Granted
in 1727, this community was one of several established to deal with rapidly
expanding population in the seacoast area. A majority of new settlers came from
either Barnstable on Cape Cod or Hampstead on Long Island, and the name
Barnstead is a conjunction of the two. Barnstead Parade, the town's central
highway, was located on the Province Road which ran between Portsmouth and the
Governor's summer house in Wolfeboro.
One
of seven towns granted in 1727 when New Hampshire was still a part of
Massachusetts. As were several other towns, it was named in honor of Thomas
Pelham Holles, Duke of Newcastle, Earl of Chichester, and England’s Secretary of
State (1724-1754). Holles was in charge of colonial policy, and was very
involved in relations between the American Colonies and England. The charter for
Chichester was a pattern for other town charters, requiring the planting and
cultivation of land, and building dwelling houses, roads, a schoolhouse, and a
church, all within three to five years.
One of
seven towns chartered by Massachusetts authorities in 1727 long before New
Hampshire became an independent province, when John Wentworth was Lieutenant
Governor of Massachusetts. The name most likely came from Epsom, England, home
of the Earl of Derby, who had established horse racing stables there at about
the same time the town was chartered. Epsom Downs became famous for its Derby
horse race. England's Epsom was also known for the curative value of its mineral
springs, the source of Epsom salts. 
This
town was chartered in 1727 by Lieutenant Governor John Wentworth of
Massachusetts, though it was not settled until 1761 due to threats of Indian
attack. The name Gilmantown was chosen because there were 24 Gilman family
members receiving land grants. At one time it was the second-largest town in the
state; only Portsmouth was larger. The original grant had more land than today's
town, with villages and parishes including Belmont, Gunstock Parish (Gilford),
Hurricane, Tioga, Factory Village, and Lakeport. The parish of Averytown was the
site of an unprofitable iron-mining enterprise, and is still known as Gilmanton
Iron Works.
This town
was originally part of a 1727 grant that included Canterbury and Northfield. It
was set off and incorporated as Loudon on petition of residents in 1773, who
felt that the distance to the meetinghouse and insufficient roads were an
obstacle to attending public worship and public affairs of the town. The name
Loudon was to honor John Campbell, fourth Earl of Loudoun, who fought with the
English army as an aide-decamp to the king during the Seven Years' War. Under
Lord Loudoun's orders Major Robert Rogers organized the famous Roger's Rangers
frontier fighters. One of Lord Loudoun's aides, John Loudoun McAdam, is known
for developing the "macadamizing" process of road surfacing.
First
settled in 1763, and known as the North Woods, a parish of Nottingham. It was
incorporated as a separate town upon agreement with Nottingham in 1773. In 1791,
the General Court of New Hampshire authorized a committee to survey and lay out
a road between Durham and Concord, which became the First New Hampshire
Turnpike. The road runs the length of Northwood, and the town's many taverns
accommodated travelers. At one time, there were some 12 sawmills in the town,
five of which were replaced by shoe factories.
For
many years, this territory was the unnamed northern parish of Chichester. In
1782, John Cram, William Chase, and Jonathan Leavitt Jr. petitioned the
legislature on behalf of residents for incorporation of a parish separate from
Chichester. The petition was granted in March 1782. Like Pittsburg in the north,
Pittsfield was named for William Pitt, Prime Minister of England, and a great
friend of the Colonies prior to the American Revolution, who had died in1778.
Pittsfield was home to Hiram Americanus Tuttle, Governor of New Hampshire,
1891-1893