Grafton County, New Hampshire

Grafton County Education, Geography, and History

Grafton County is a county located in the state of New Hampshire. Based on 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 larger village within the town of Haverhill.

Grafton County is part of the Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Grafton County Name

Grafton County was named for Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, who had been a supporter of American causes in Parliament, and who was serving as British Prime Minister at the time.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts:

Grafton County History

Grafton was one of the five counties originally identified for New Hampshire in 1769. It was named for Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, who had been a supporter of American causes in Parliament, and who was serving as British Prime Minister at the time. The county was organized at Woodsville in 1771, and originally included the entire northern frontier of New Hampshire, including a number of towns that are now in Vermont. In 1803, the northern area was removed for the formation of Coos County. The three counties to the south were Strafford, Hillsborough and Cheshire, and the eastern edge bordered the "District of Maine". In 1797, the county contained 50 townships and 17 locations, and had a population of 23,093.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,750 square miles (4,500 km²), of which 1,709 square miles (4,430 km²) is land and 41 square miles (110 km²) (2.3%) is water. It is the second-largest county in New Hampshire by area.

Grafton County is heavily rural. About half of its total area is in the White Mountain National Forest. Squam Lake, featured in the film On Golden Pond, and the Old Man of the Mountain landmark are located here, as are Dartmouth College and the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Many of the 4,000-foot mountains of New Hampshire are within the county. The Appalachian Trail passes through parts of at least ten towns in the county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Essex County, Vermont (north)
• Coos County (northeast)
• Carroll County (east)
• Belknap County (southeast)
• Merrimack County (south)
• Sullivan County (south)
• Windsor County, Vermont (southwest)
• Orange County, Vermont (west)
• Caledonia County, Vermont (northwest)

Education

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