Editing Holderness, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
The Squam Lakes were a trade route for the [[Abenaki]] and early European settlers, who traveled the [[Squam River]] to the [[Pemigewasset River]], then to the [[Merrimack River]] and seacoast. In 1751, Thomas Shepard submitted a petition on behalf of 64 grantees to [[British North America|colonial]] Governor [[Benning Wentworth]] for 6 miles square on the Pemigewasset River. The governing council accepted, and the town was named after [[Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness|Robert Darcy]], [[Earl of Holderness|4th Earl of Holderness]]. The [[French and Indian War]], however, prevented settlement until after the 1759 [[Fall of Quebec]]. The land was regranted as "New Holderness" in 1761 to a group of [[New England]] families, and first settled in 1763. As proprietor of half the town, [[Samuel Livermore]] intended to create at New Holderness a great estate patterned after those of the [[England|English]] countryside. By 1790, the town had 329 residents, and in 1816, "New" was dropped from its name.<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/n569 529]–530| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Holderness became a [[farming]] and [[fishing]] community, except for the "business or flat iron area" located on the Squam River, which has falls that drop about {{convert|112|ft}} before meeting the Pemigewasset River. With [[water power]] to operate mills, the southwestern corner of town developed into an industrial center, to which the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad entered in 1849. But the mill village would be at odds with the agricultural community, especially when denied civic amenities including gaslights and sidewalks. Consequently, in 1868, it was set off as [[Ashland, New Hampshire|Ashland]].<ref name="Coolidge"/>

Tourists in the 19th century discovered the region's scenic mountains and lakes. Before the age of automobiles, they would depart the train in Ashland and board a [[Steamboat|steamer]], which traveled up the Squam River to rustic fishing camps or hillside hotels beside Squam Lake. Today, Holderness remains a popular resort area, where in 1981 the movie ''[[On Golden Pond (1981 film)|On Golden Pond]]'' was filmed.

In 1924, pioneer ornithologist [[Katharine (Clark) Harding Day]] studied a breeding population of the [[veery]] (''Catharus fuscescens'') in Holderness.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harding |first=Katherine C. |date=1925 |title=Semi-Colonization of Veeries |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43043331 |journal=Bulletin of the Northeastern Bird-Banding Association |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=4–7 |jstor=43043331 |issn=2375-5091}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Day|first=Katharine C.|date=1953|title=Home Life of the Veery|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4510427|journal=Bird-Banding|volume=24|issue=3|pages=100–106|doi=10.2307/4510427|jstor=4510427 |issn=0006-3630}}</ref>

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Image:Carnes Island, Holderness, NH.jpg|Carne's Island {{circa|1910}}
Image:Steamer Halcyon, Holderness, NH.jpg|Steamer ''Halcyon'' {{circa|1910}}
Image:The Asquam House, Holderness, NH.jpg|Asquam House in 1912. A "high-class modern hotel on Shepherd Hill on the shores of Asquam Lakes".<ref>{{cite news |title=The Asquam House |url=https://archive.org/stream/independen79v80newy#page/n45/mode/1up |newspaper=The Independent |date=Jul 6, 1914 |access-date=August 1, 2012}}</ref>
</gallery>