Editing Middleton, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
Granted by the [[John Mason (governor)|Masonian Proprietors]] in 1749, the town was named after Sir [[Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham]], who was in charge of [[convoy]] service between [[Barbados]] and the colonies. The land was first settled shortly before the [[American Revolution|Revolutionary War]] by settlers from [[Lee, New Hampshire|Lee]] and [[Rochester, New Hampshire|Rochester]]. Soon after the war, its population was challenged when a number of [[Quaker]] families led by the town auditor, [[Nicholas Austin]], left for the more peaceful setting of [[Austin, Quebec]]. Although the soil is rocky and unsuited for [[Tillage|cultivation]], [[cider]] was made in considerable quantities, and [[maple syrup]] to some extent.<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/n621 580]| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>

Middleton was situated on the road between the New Hampshire [[Seacoast Region (New Hampshire)|Seacoast]] and [[Wolfeboro, New Hampshire|Wolfeboro]], the location of colonial governor [[Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet|John Wentworth's]] summer home, "Kingswood". (Today the road survives as "Governors Road" in northern [[Rochester, New Hampshire|Rochester]] and [[Milton, New Hampshire|Milton]] and continues as "Kings Highway" through Middleton.<ref>Google Maps</ref>) Neglect of the road caused the governor to bill the proprietors for repairs he had to make for safe travel to Kingswood, built in 1771. Middleton was incorporated on March 4, 1778, and originally included [[Brookfield, New Hampshire|Brookfield]], which was split off in December 1794.<ref>[http://history.rays-place.com/nh/middleton-nh.htm History of Middleton, New Hampshire (1882)]</ref>

Middleton's old Town Hall, located on King's Highway, was built in 1795 as a [[meetinghouse]] on Ridge Road. It was moved to its current location in 1812, jacked-up on the new site, and the Town Hall added underneath. The original [[stucco]] painting, a wrap-around landscape [[mural]] of trees and scenery, was painted by John Avery in 1811 and touched up in 1841.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.middletonnh.gov/about-middleton| title=About Middleton| publisher=Town of Middleton| access-date=January 20, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Middleton NH 1755, from Library of Congress map.png|thumb|Middle Town, New Hampshire, from 1755 map]]