Editing Bennington, New Hampshire (section)

==History==

Situated in an area once called "Society Land", the town was formed from parts of [[Deering, New Hampshire|Deering]], [[Francestown, New Hampshire|Francestown]], [[Greenfield, New Hampshire|Greenfield]] and [[Hancock, New Hampshire|Hancock]].<ref name="1875Benn">[http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/New_Hampshire_1875/065.html ''Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire'' (1875)]</ref> It was named to commemorate the 1777 [[Battle of Bennington]], an [[American Revolutionary War]] battle fought in [[New York (state)|New York]] near [[Bennington, Vermont]]. The Vermont town in turn derived its name from New Hampshire governor [[Benning Wentworth]]. The town was incorporated in 1842.<ref name="1875Benn" /> The first census, taken in 1850, recorded 541 residents.

Located at the Great Falls of the [[Contoocook River]], which drop {{convert|70|ft|m}} over {{convert|1.2|mi|km}}, Bennington provided [[water power]] for [[watermill|mills]]. The first [[gristmill]] was built in 1782, with a [[cotton]] mill in 1810. A [[Tanning (leather)|tannery]] and tool manufacturing industry would follow. A factory with [[paper mill|paper-making]] machinery was established in 1835, located at or near the site of the present-day Monadnock Paper Mill. In 1858, the town's industries included a [[cutlery]] manufacturer, a gristmill, two paper mills, and a [[sawmill]]. Bennington also had quite a number of farms.

In 1874, plans were underway to build the Peterborough and Hillsborough railroad through Bennington.<ref name="1875Benn" />