Editing Columbia, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
The township was originally chartered in 1762 and named "Preston", after [[Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston]] of [[Scotland]]. Settlers failed to meet the terms of the original grant, so the plantation was transferred in 1770 to grantees including [[Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet]], after which it was named "Cockburn Town", incorporated on December 16, 1797.<ref>Article in [http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/New_Hampshire_1875/102.html ''Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire'' (1875)]</ref> In 1811, in the lead-up to the [[War of 1812]], Governor [[John Langdon (politician)|John Langdon]] changed the name to [[Columbia (personification)|Columbia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nh.searchroots.com/documents/coos-history/History_Columbia_NH.txt |title=History of Columbia, Coos County, New Hampshire |access-date=April 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718173325/http://www.nh.searchroots.com/documents/coos-history/History_Columbia_NH.txt |archive-date=July 18, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Although the surface is uneven and mountainous, the soil was of good quality. [[Maple sugar]] became an important product, and [[lumber]] was cut and transported on [[raft]]s down the [[Connecticut River]] to markets. By 1859, when the population was 762, Columbia had four [[sawmill]]s, three [[gristmill]]s, two [[clapboard]] machines, and a [[starch]] mill.<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| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n486 448]–449| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>