Alstead, New Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Alstead is a town
in Cheshire County
, New Hampshire
, United States
. The population was 1,937 at the 2010 census. Alstead is home to Feuer State Forest.
Governor Jonathan Belcher
in 1735 as one in a line of nine forts intended to protect southwestern New Hampshire
from Indian
attack. It was granted as Newton in 1752 by Governor Benning Wentworth
, but would be incorporated in 1763 as Alstead. It was named for Johann Heinrich Alsted
, who compiled an early encyclopedia
that was popular at Harvard College
. Settled about 1764, Alstead would be one of the towns that wavered in its allegiance after the Revolutionary War
. It decided to join Vermont
in April 1781, but at the insistence of George Washington
, returned to New Hampshire authority early the next year.
Also known as Paper Mill Village, Alstead is the location of the state's first paper mill
. It was established in 1793 on the Cold River
by Ephraim and Elisha Kingsbury. Paper was then a rare and expensive product, made by chopping rags of linen
and cotton
cloth into pulp. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1880. While Alstead was basically an agricultural community, its streams and ponds once powered a variety of small mills. A turbine
water mill at East Alstead is probably the last of its type anywhere in the region.
Shedd-Porter Memorial Library, built in 1909-1910 in the Beaux-Arts style, was a gift to Alstead and Langdon
by native son John G. Shedd
, president of Marshall Field's
department store
in Chicago
. Another native son philanthropist
, Charles M. Vilas, gave a large public recreation area, school building and the only carillon
in Cheshire County.
On the weekend of October 8–9, 2005, parts of Alstead were devastated by a severe flood
. Heavy rain in Cheshire County caused the Cold River and its tributaries to swell, washing away homes, cars and 4 miles of Route 123
. Four inhabitants of the town were killed. A Save Our History
grant from The History Channel
provided funding to the Alstead Historical Society and several students of the local high school, who wrote and printed a book called Too Much Water, Too Much Rain, chronicling the disaster and its aftermath.
, the town has a total area of 39.3 square miles (101.8 km²), of which 38.8 square miles (100.5 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) is water, comprising 1.45% of the town. Alstead is drained by the Cold River. Lake Warren is in the east. The highest point in Alstead is Smith Hill, at 1795 feet (547.1 m) above sea level
). Alstead lies fully within the Connecticut River
watershed
.
The town is served by state routes 123
and 123A.
of 2000, there were 1,944 people, 771 households, and 534 families residing in the town. The population density
was 50.0 people per square mile (19.3/km²). There were 941 housing units at an average density of 24.2 per square mile (9.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.20% White, 0.21% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.51% Asian, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.51% of the population.
There were 771 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples
living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,191, and the median income for a family was $47,311. Males had a median income of $35,481 versus $23,785 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $20,444. About 3.5% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...
in Cheshire County
Cheshire County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 73,825 people, 28,299 households, and 18,790 families residing in the county. The population density was 104 people per square mile . There were 31,876 housing units at an average density of 45 per square mile...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 1,937 at the 2010 census. Alstead is home to Feuer State Forest.
History
The town was chartered by MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Governor Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher was colonial governor of the British provinces of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and New Jersey.-Early life:Jonathan Belcher was born in Cambridge, Province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1682...
in 1735 as one in a line of nine forts intended to protect southwestern New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
from Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
attack. It was granted as Newton in 1752 by Governor Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth was the colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766.-Biography:The eldest child of the John Wentworth who had been Lieutenant Governor, he was born and died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wentworth graduated from Harvard College in 1715...
, but would be incorporated in 1763 as Alstead. It was named for Johann Heinrich Alsted
Johann Heinrich Alsted
Johann Heinrich Alsted was a German Calvinist minister and academic, known for his varied interests: in Ramism and Lullism, pedagogy and encyclopedias, theology and millennarianism.-Life:...
, who compiled an early encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
that was popular at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. Settled about 1764, Alstead would be one of the towns that wavered in its allegiance after the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. It decided to join Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
in April 1781, but at the insistence of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, returned to New Hampshire authority early the next year.
Also known as Paper Mill Village, Alstead is the location of the state's first paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
. It was established in 1793 on the Cold River
Cold River (Connecticut River)
The Cold River is a 22.6 mile long river located in western New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound....
by Ephraim and Elisha Kingsbury. Paper was then a rare and expensive product, made by chopping rags of linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
and cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
cloth into pulp. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1880. While Alstead was basically an agricultural community, its streams and ponds once powered a variety of small mills. A turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
water mill at East Alstead is probably the last of its type anywhere in the region.
Shedd-Porter Memorial Library, built in 1909-1910 in the Beaux-Arts style, was a gift to Alstead and Langdon
Langdon, New Hampshire
Langdon is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 688 at the 2010 census.-History:First settled in 1773 by Seth Walker, Langdon was incorporated on January 11, 1787, when it was named after Governor John Langdon. The town is home to the Prentiss Bridge, the...
by native son John G. Shedd
John G. Shedd
John Graves Shedd was the second president and chairman of the board of Marshall Field & Company.Born on a New Hampshire farm, Shedd arrived in Chicago, Illinois in 1871 and began working as a stock clerk for Marshall Field. By 1901, he had worked his way up to a vice-presidency and took over as...
, president of Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Another native son philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, Charles M. Vilas, gave a large public recreation area, school building and the only carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
in Cheshire County.
On the weekend of October 8–9, 2005, parts of Alstead were devastated by a severe flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
. Heavy rain in Cheshire County caused the Cold River and its tributaries to swell, washing away homes, cars and 4 miles of Route 123
New Hampshire Route 123
New Hampshire Route 123 is a long secondary north–south state highway in southwestern New Hampshire. The southern terminus of the route is at the Massachusetts state line in Mason where, as Valley Road, the road continues as an unnumbered local road in the town of Townsend...
. Four inhabitants of the town were killed. A Save Our History
Save Our History
Save Our History is a program sponsored by The History Channel. It is a national history education and preservation program that raises awareness and support for preserving local and national heritage. It is partnered with Preserve America, a White House initiative created by Laura Bush on March 3,...
grant from The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
provided funding to the Alstead Historical Society and several students of the local high school, who wrote and printed a book called Too Much Water, Too Much Rain, chronicling the disaster and its aftermath.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 39.3 square miles (101.8 km²), of which 38.8 square miles (100.5 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) is water, comprising 1.45% of the town. Alstead is drained by the Cold River. Lake Warren is in the east. The highest point in Alstead is Smith Hill, at 1795 feet (547.1 m) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
). Alstead lies fully within the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.
The town is served by state routes 123
New Hampshire Route 123
New Hampshire Route 123 is a long secondary north–south state highway in southwestern New Hampshire. The southern terminus of the route is at the Massachusetts state line in Mason where, as Valley Road, the road continues as an unnumbered local road in the town of Townsend...
and 123A.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,944 people, 771 households, and 534 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 50.0 people per square mile (19.3/km²). There were 941 housing units at an average density of 24.2 per square mile (9.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.20% White, 0.21% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.51% Asian, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.51% of the population.
There were 771 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,191, and the median income for a family was $47,311. Males had a median income of $35,481 versus $23,785 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $20,444. About 3.5% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
- Sarah Hall BoardmanSarah Hall BoardmanSarah Hall Boardman , born in Alstead, New Hampshire, spent 20 years of her life in Burma doing missionary work. She and her husband George Boardman sailed to Burma in 1824, just one week after their wedding. She was widowed in 1831...
(1803–1845), missionary - Titus BrownTitus BrownTitus Brown was a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was born in Alstead, New Hampshire. He graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1811. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Reading, Vermont in 1814...
, congressman - Salma HaleSalma HaleSalma Hale was a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was born in Alstead, New Hampshire. He became a printer and in 1805 edited the Walpole Political Observatory. He studied law and was appointed clerk of the court of common pleas of Cheshire County...
, printer, congressman - Marion Nicholl RawsonMarion Nicholl RawsonMarion Nicholl Rawson was an artist, author, lecturer, and illustrator...
, author, lecturer, illustrator - John G. SheddJohn G. SheddJohn Graves Shedd was the second president and chairman of the board of Marshall Field & Company.Born on a New Hampshire farm, Shedd arrived in Chicago, Illinois in 1871 and began working as a stock clerk for Marshall Field. By 1901, he had worked his way up to a vice-presidency and took over as...
, merchant - Samuel ThomsonSamuel ThomsonSamuel Thomson was a self-taught American herbalist and founder of the alternative system of medicine known as "Thomsonian Medicine", which enjoyed wide popularity in the United States during the 19th century.-Early life:...
, founder of the Thomsonion System of Medicine