Editing Effingham, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
The town was settled by members of the Leavitt family of [[Hampton, New Hampshire|Hampton]], [[New Hampshire]], led by Captain John Leavitt, a soldier whose father, Moses, was a prosperous Hampton tavern keeper. From them the settlement first took the name "Leavitt's Town".<ref>Hunt, Elmer Munson (1970). ''New Hampshire Town Names and Whence They Came'', p. 52. Peterborough, New Hampshire: Noone House. {{ISBN|0-87233-009-5}}.</ref> In 1749, the land was granted by Governor [[Benning Wentworth]], and he renamed it "Effingham" for the [[Howard family]], who were [[Earl of Effingham|Earls of Effingham]] and who were related to the Wentworths by marriage. The town was incorporated in 1778.

North Effingham was set off in 1831 and incorporated as [[Freedom, New Hampshire|Freedom]]. By 1859, when the population was 1,252, Effingham Falls had developed into a small [[mill town]], with a [[woolen]] factory, five [[sawmill]]s, three [[gristmill]]s, and a [[carriage]] factory.<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/n523 483]–484| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Per a [[New Hampshire historical marker]], [[List of New Hampshire historical markers (76–100)#83|number 83]]: Effingham was home to the first [[normal school]] in New Hampshire, established in 1830 on the second floor of the [[Effingham Union Academy]] building, erected in 1819. [[James W. Bradbury]], later a [[U.S. senator]] from [[Maine]], took charge of the school only on condition that it should be for the "instruction and training of teachers". The idea was his own and, at that time, entirely novel.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geocities.ws/afka_bob/nhhistmk/nhhist083.htm |title=83. First Normal School in New Hampshire |website=geocities.ws |accessdate=February 5, 2024}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
Image:Post Office, Effingham, NH.jpg|Post Office in 1908
Image:Isaac Lord Mansion, Effingham, NH.jpg|Lord Mansion in 1908
Image:First Normal School in New England, Effingham, NH.jpg|Normal School in 1910
File:Freedom Road, Effingham Falls, NH.jpg|Effingham Falls in 1915
</gallery>