Editing Alstead, New Hampshire (section)

==History==

The town was chartered by [[Massachusetts]] Governor [[Jonathan Belcher]] in 1735 as one in a line of nine forts intended to protect southwestern New Hampshire from [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indian]] attack. It was granted as "Newton"<ref>{{cite web |title=Hayward's New England Gazetteer (1839) |url=http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/Haywards/frame027.html |publisher=Gedcomindex.com|access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref> or "Newtown"<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics and Gazetteer of New Hampshire (1875) |url=http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/New_Hampshire_1875/051.html |publisher=Gedcomindex.com |access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref> 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 [[American Revolutionary War|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.<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book  | last = Coolidge  | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield  | title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge  | year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| page = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n446 408]| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Formerly known as "Paper Mill Village", Alstead is the location of one of the state's first paper mills.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frink |first1=Helen |title=Alstead Through The Years |date=1992 |publisher=Alstead Historical Society}} Alstead was widely believed to be the site of the first paper mill until papers were discovered showing [[Exeter, New Hampshire|Exeter]] had a mill in 1778.</ref> It was established in 1793 on the [[Cold River (Connecticut River tributary)|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 [[Agriculture|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.<ref>[http://www.nh.searchroots.com/documents/History_Alstead_NH.txt History of Alstead, Cheshire County, New Hampshire]</ref>

[[Shedd-Porter Memorial Library]], built in 1909–1910 in the [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] style, was a gift to Alstead and [[Langdon, New Hampshire|Langdon]] by native son [[John G. Shedd]], president of [[Marshall Field's]] department store in [[Chicago]]. Another native son [[Philanthropy|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—at least {{convert|7|in}} in a 30-hour period—caused the Cold River and its tributaries to swell. The streamflows, which were swollen by the surge of water from Warren Brook, exceeded a 500-year recurrence interval. The storm created major property damage in Alstead, Langdon, and [[Walpole, New Hampshire|Walpole]] along the Cold River and Warren Brook. It washed away homes, cars, and {{convert|4|mi|0}} of [[New Hampshire Route 123|Route 123]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Olson |first1=Scott |title=Flood of October 8 and 9, 2005, on Cold River in Walpole, Langdon, and Alstead and on Warren Brook in Alstead, New Hampshire |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1221/ |website=U.S. Geological Survey}}</ref> Four inhabitants of the town were killed. A ''[[Save Our History]]'' grant from [[History (American TV network)|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'',<ref name="toomuch">{{cite book |last=Alstead Historical Society |title=Too Much Water, Too Much Rain |year=2006 |publisher=PublishingWorks |isbn=1-933002-38-7 }}</ref> chronicling the disaster and its aftermath.

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Image:Langdon Road, Alstead, NH.jpg|Langdon Road in 1910
Image:Street Scene, Alstead, NH.jpg|Street scene {{circa|1912}}
Image:Lake Warren, East Alstead, NH.jpg|Lake Warren in 1910
</gallery>