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== History == The main island on which the town sits is the largest of several at the mouth of the [[Piscataqua River]] and was originally called "Great Island". Settled in 1623, an earthwork defense was built on Fort Point which would evolve into [[Fort William and Mary]] (rebuilt in 1808 as Fort Constitution). Chartered in 1679 as a parish of [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire|Portsmouth]], it was incorporated on May 30, 1693, and was named "New Castle" after the fort. Until 1719 it included [[Rye, New Hampshire|Rye]], then called "Sandy Beach", which was set off as a parish. The principal industries were trade, tavern-keeping, and fishing. There was also agriculture, using the abundant [[seaweed]] as [[fertilizer]].<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| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| page = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n636 594]| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.}}</ref>{{rp|594β6}} Beginning on June 11, 1682, Great Island experienced a supernatural eventβa [[lithobolia]], or "[[Stone-Throwing Devil]]", recorded in a 1698 London pamphlet by Richard Chamberlain. On a Sunday night at about 10 o'clock, the tavern home of George Walton, an early settler and planter, was showered with stones thrown "by an invisible hand". Windows were smashed, and the spit in the fireplace leapt into the air, then came down with its point stuck in the back log. When a member of the household retrieved the spit, it flew out the window of its own accord. The gate outside was discovered off its hinges.<ref name=Palmer>Palmer, Ansell W., ed. ''Piscataqua Pioneers: Selected Biographies of Early Settlers in Northern New England'', pp. 446-7, Piscataqua Pioneers, [[Portsmouth, NH]], 2000. {{ISBN|0-9676579-0-3}}.</ref><ref name=Baker>Baker, Emerson W. ''The Devil of Great Island,'' [[Palgrave Macmillan]], New York, 2007.</ref>{{rp|7β12, 66β67}} Rev. [[Cotton Mather]] took an interest in the phenomenon, reporting that: :"This disturbance continued from day to day; and sometimes a dismal hollow whistling would be heard, and sometimes the trotting and snorting of a horse, but nothing to be seen.... A man was much hurt by some of the stones. He was a [[Quaker]], and suspected that a woman, who charged him with injustice in detaining some land from her did, by witchcraft, occasion these preternatural occurrences. However, at last they came to an end." The "Stone-Throwing Devil" created quite a sensation on Great Island. Hundreds of stones mysteriously rained down on George Walton's tavern, as well as onto him and others in the area over the entire summer. Yet no one ever came forward who saw anyone throwing the stones. Many other mysterious events also occurred at that time. Demonic voices were heard, and items were flung about inside Walton's tavern. Prominent Boston minister [[Increase Mather]] described the strange events in his book ''[[Illustrious Providences]].''<ref name=Baker/>{{rp|xiii, 4β5, 7β12}} George Walton, who was in a property boundary dispute with his neighbor, accused her of [[witchcraft]]. She, in turn, accused him of being a wizard. Others in the area may also have had reasons to throw stones at Walton. He was a [[Quaker]]. Quakers were looked upon with great suspicion by [[Puritans]], and just being a Quaker was a crime. Walton was a successful innkeeper, merchant, and lumberman, and became the largest landowner on the island. Walton was envied by his less industrious neighbors. He was involved in a number of lawsuits over business and property disputes. He also had two Native American employees, which would have caused great concern so soon after war with the Indians ([[King Philip's War]]) and because of the uneasy peace that existed. His tavern customers included a variety of rowdy outsiders, including "godless" fishermen, who were considered undesirables by others on the island. Regardless of what caused Walton and his inn to be the victim of a months-long rain of stones, it was the first major outbreak of apparent witchcraft in America.<ref name=Palmer/><ref name=Baker/>{{rp|4β5, 7β12, 48β51, 58, 66}} News of it traveled throughout America and England. Within a few years, accusations of witchcraft would occur in other New England towns, culminating in the famous [[Salem witch trials|witch trials]] in [[Salem, Massachusetts]].<ref name=Baker/>{{rp|177β201}} Fort William and Mary was the site of one of the first acts of the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]]. On the afternoon of December 14, 1774, colonists arrived aboard [[gundalow]]s (sailing barges) and raided the fort. Severely outnumbered, Captain John Cochran and the fort's five soldiers surrendered, whereupon the rebels loaded onto a boat 100 barrels of [[gunpowder]]. The boat was floated up the Piscataqua River and the powder offloaded for transport to inland towns, including [[Durham, New Hampshire|Durham]], where the ammunition was stored in the cellar of the [[Congregational church]]. The next day, the colonists returned to the fort and removed 16 of the lighter cannon and all [[small arms]]. The gunpowder was used at the 1775 [[Battle of Bunker Hill]].<ref name=Coolidge/>{{rp|474β477}} A new route to the island was created in 1821 when three bridges (now two bridges and a [[causeway]]) connected Frame Point in Portsmouth with the northwestern corner of Great Island. Previously, a bridge on the southwestern point had been the only way to reach New Castle without a boat. The community was then an overlooked fishing village, which helped preserve its colonial architecture. However, in 1874 the [[Wentworth by the Sea|Hotel Wentworth]] was built atop a hill with a view of Little Harbor and the ocean. After early financial difficulties, the establishment was purchased and elaborately refurbished in [[Second Empire (architecture)|Second Empire]] style by Portsmouth alemaker and hotelier [[Frank Jones (politician)|Frank Jones]]. It became the area's most fashionable resort, growing in size until it was a village unto itself. When President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] mediated the 1905 [[Treaty of Portsmouth]] to end the [[Russo-Japanese War]], [[diplomat|envoy]]s from both countries stayed at the Wentworth by the Sea, ferried by [[launch (boat)|launch]] to negotiations held at the [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]]. The hotel was a setting for the 1999 movie, ''[[In Dreams (film)|In Dreams]]''. <gallery> File:Boatswain Allen's House, New Castle, NH.jpg|Bo'sun Allen House {{circa|1905}} File:Fort Point Light, New Castle, NH.jpg|Fort Point Light {{circa|1908}} File:Gateway, Fort Constitution.jpg|Fort Constitution in 1905 File:Walbach Tower, New Castle, NH.jpg|Walbach Tower in 1908 File:Wentworth by the Sea, New Castle, NH.jpg|The Wentworth {{circa|1920}} File:U. S. Naval Prison from New Castle, NH.jpg|Piscataqua River {{circa|1913}} </gallery>
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