Lyme, New Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Lyme is a town in Grafton County
, New Hampshire
, United States
. The population was 1,716 at the 2010 census. Lyme is home to the Chaffee Natural Area. The Dartmouth
Skiway
is in the eastern part of town, near the village of Lyme Center
. The Appalachian Trail
also crosses the town in the east.
, including a band of Sokokis near Post Pond at a place they called Ordanakis. Later, it would be another of many towns granted by Colonial
Governor Benning Wentworth
along the Connecticut River
in 1761. The town encompasses land that, prior to the Lyme's founding, was called Tinkertown. Lyme takes its name from Old Lyme
, Connecticut
, which lies at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Most of the grantees were from Palmer
and Brimfield
in Massachusetts
, or from Londonderry
. In the late 1770s, the town petitioned (ultimately unsuccessfully) to join Vermont
.
Stagecoach
es traveling the old "Boston Turnpike" from Montreal in the 1830s passed through Lyme, stopping at the Lyme Inn (now Alden Country Inn), built in 1809. Next door to the inn is the 200-year-old Congregational Church
, with a steeple
bell cast by Paul Revere
(which is out of order and no longer tolls the hour). Behind the church is a row of horse sheds dating from 1810, each with the name of the original owner inscribed above the door. The scenic town common
is surrounded by antique architecture
.
, the town has a total area of 54.7 square miles (141.7 km²), of which 53.8 square miles (139.3 km²) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) is water, comprising 1.62% of the town. Lyme is drained by Hewes, Grant and Trout brooks, all flowing to the Connecticut River
, which forms the western boundary of the town (and of the state of New Hampshire).
The Lyme Green occupies the center of the village of Lyme, located about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of the Connecticut River.
Lyme is a rural town. The main ponds in the town are Post Pond, Pout Pond, Trout Pond, Cummins Pond, and Reservoir Pond. Holts Ledge is a cliff that views east and is home to the Dartmouth Skiway
. The edge of the cliff is fenced to protect falcons
and other wild animals. The highest point in town is the summit of Smarts Mountain
, at 3238 feet (986.9 m) above sea level
.
of 2000, there were 1,679 people, 678 households, and 475 families residing in the town. The population density
was 31.2 people per square mile (12.0/km²). There were 752 housing units at an average density of 14.0 per square mile (5.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.57% White, 0.42% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.06% from other races
, and 0.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.36% of the population.
There were 678 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples
living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $57,250, and the median income for a family was $64,531. Males had a median income of $40,789 versus $32,917 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $35,887. About 1.7% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
in Thetford
, Vermont
(across the Connecticut River), Hanover High School
in Hanover
, New Hampshire
(about 10 miles south of Lyme), Hartford High School in Hartford
, Vermont
, Lebanon High School
in Lebanon, New Hampshire
, St. Johnsbury Academy
in St. Johnsbury
, Vermont
or various private high schools. Typically attendance is split somewhat evenly between Thetford Academy and Hanover High, with the few remaining students going elsewhere.
Grafton County, New Hampshire
Grafton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2010 census, the population was 89,118. Its county seat is North Haverhill, which is a village within the town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices were located in downtown Woodsville, a...
, 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 1,716 at the 2010 census. Lyme is home to the Chaffee Natural Area. The Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
Skiway
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
is in the eastern part of town, near the village of Lyme Center
Lyme Center, New Hampshire
Lyme Center is an unincorporated village in the town of Lyme in Grafton County, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is located close to the geographic center of the town of Lyme, approximately east of New Hampshire Route 10 where it passes through the main village of Lyme.Lyme Center has a...
. The Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
also crosses the town in the east.
History
This was once a home to Abenaki IndiansIndigenous 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...
, including a band of Sokokis near Post Pond at a place they called Ordanakis. Later, it would be another of many towns granted by Colonial
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
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...
along 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...
in 1761. The town encompasses land that, prior to the Lyme's founding, was called Tinkertown. Lyme takes its name from Old Lyme
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Old Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Main Street of the town is a historic district. The town has long been a popular summer resort and artists' colony...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, which lies at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Most of the grantees were from Palmer
Palmer, Massachusetts
The Town of Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,140 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and Brimfield
Brimfield, Massachusetts
Brimfield is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,609 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
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...
, or from Londonderry
Londonderry, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,236 people, 7,623 households, and 6,319 families residing in the town. The population density was 555.8 people per square mile . There were 7,718 housing units at an average density of 184.6 per square mile...
. In the late 1770s, the town petitioned (ultimately unsuccessfully) 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...
.
Stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
es traveling the old "Boston Turnpike" from Montreal in the 1830s passed through Lyme, stopping at the Lyme Inn (now Alden Country Inn), built in 1809. Next door to the inn is the 200-year-old Congregational Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
, with a steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
bell cast by Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
(which is out of order and no longer tolls the hour). Behind the church is a row of horse sheds dating from 1810, each with the name of the original owner inscribed above the door. The scenic town common
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
is surrounded by antique architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
.
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 54.7 square miles (141.7 km²), of which 53.8 square miles (139.3 km²) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) is water, comprising 1.62% of the town. Lyme is drained by Hewes, Grant and Trout brooks, all flowing to 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...
, which forms the western boundary of the town (and of the state of New Hampshire).
The Lyme Green occupies the center of the village of Lyme, located about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of the Connecticut River.
Lyme is a rural town. The main ponds in the town are Post Pond, Pout Pond, Trout Pond, Cummins Pond, and Reservoir Pond. Holts Ledge is a cliff that views east and is home to the Dartmouth Skiway
Dartmouth Skiway
The Dartmouth Skiway is a ski area located about twenty minutes north of Dartmouth College in Lyme, New Hampshire. It has thirty trails from easiest to most difficult on over 100 acres of skiable area....
. The edge of the cliff is fenced to protect falcons
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
and other wild animals. The highest point in town is the summit of Smarts Mountain
Smarts Mountain
Smarts Mountain is a mountain located in Grafton County, New Hampshire. Smarts is flanked to the north by Mount Cube, at , and to the southwest by Holts Ledge, at . Although of only moderate elevation, Smarts is separated from the southwestern White Mountains by Oliverian Notch, a fairly low pass...
, at 3238 feet (986.9 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...
.
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 1,679 people, 678 households, and 475 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 31.2 people per square mile (12.0/km²). There were 752 housing units at an average density of 14.0 per square mile (5.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.57% White, 0.42% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.06% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.36% of the population.
There were 678 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% 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, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $57,250, and the median income for a family was $64,531. Males had a median income of $40,789 versus $32,917 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 $35,887. About 1.7% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Lyme has a public elementary school and a private elementary school. There are currently around 200 students attending the public elementary school. The school was ranked 11th out of 108 NH schools in NECAPS mathematics and reading testing in the middle school. Once a pupil reaches ninth grade, students from Lyme either attend Thetford AcademyThetford Academy
Thetford Academy is a historic independent school in Thetford, Vermont. It is the state's oldest secondary school.The co-educational school was founded in February 1819 by local citizens and was granted a charter by the legislature in October of the that same year...
in Thetford
Thetford, Vermont
Thetford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States in the Connecticut River Valley. The population was 2,617 at the 2000 census. Villages within the town include East Thetford, North Thetford, Thetford Hill, Thetford Center, Rices Mills and Post Mills. The town office is in Thetford...
, 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...
(across the Connecticut River), Hanover High School
Hanover High School (New Hampshire)
Hanover High School is the only public high school in the Dresden School District, in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. In 1963 it became the first interstate high school in the country as part of a bill that was the last ever signed into action by John F. Kennedy. Today it accepts students from...
in Hanover
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
, 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...
(about 10 miles south of Lyme), Hartford High School in Hartford
Hartford, Vermont
Hartford is a town in Windsor County in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is located on the New Hampshire border, at the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. It is the site of the confluence of the White River and the Connecticut River; the Ottauquechee River also flows through the town...
, 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...
, Lebanon High School
Lebanon High School (New Hampshire)
Lebanon High School is the sole high school in the Lebanon School District in New Hampshire. Ranging from grades 9-12, students are from the city of Lebanon and the towns of Grantham and Plainfield....
in Lebanon, New Hampshire
Lebanon, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,568 people, 5,500 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.4 people per square mile . There were 5,707 housing units at an average density of 141.4 per square mile...
, St. Johnsbury Academy
St. Johnsbury Academy
St. Johnsbury Academy is an independent, private, coeducational, non-profit boarding and day school located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, USA, enrolling students in grades 9-12. It was founded in 1842 by Thaddeus Fairbanks, and accepts the majority of its students through one of the nation's oldest...
in St. Johnsbury
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
St. Johnsbury is the shire town of Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 7,571 at the 2000 census. St. Johnsbury is located approximately northwest of the Connecticut River and south of the Canadian border.St...
, 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...
or various private high schools. Typically attendance is split somewhat evenly between Thetford Academy and Hanover High, with the few remaining students going elsewhere.
Sites of interest
- Academy Hall Museum
- Appalachian TrailAppalachian TrailThe Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
- Converse Free Library
- Dartmouth SkiwayDartmouth SkiwayThe Dartmouth Skiway is a ski area located about twenty minutes north of Dartmouth College in Lyme, New Hampshire. It has thirty trails from easiest to most difficult on over 100 acres of skiable area....
- Lyme Elementary School
- Lyme Congregational Church
- Post Pond