Editing Plainfield, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
The town was first settled by a group from [[Plainfield, Connecticut]]. It was one of the towns incorporated by [[Thirteen Colonies|colonial]] governor [[Benning Wentworth]] in 1761, at the beginning of the reign of King [[George III]]. A part of Plainfield known as "Meriden Parish", named for the farm of [[Massachusetts]] Governor [[Jonathan Belcher]], became the site of Kimball Union Academy, built in 1813.<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/n660 618]–619| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.}}</ref>

Plainfield lies on the northern edge of the enclave known as the [[Cornish Art Colony]], which existed between 1885 and 1930. [[Maxfield Parrish]] painted the stage backdrop in the [[Plainfield Town Hall]].<ref>[http://www.crjc.org/heritage/N08-16.htm Cornish Arts Colony in Cornish and Plainfield, New Hampshire 1885–1930]</ref> Parrish purchased land close to his parents' estate in 1898, at the age of 28, and relocated after leaving [[Philadelphia]]. He designed and built his home, The Oaks, over several years, eventually also designing and building an elaborate studio some distance behind the house. Parrish lived in Plainfield for 67 years, with the exception of a several-month period in [[Arizona]], and a nine-month period when he resided and worked in New York City.{{Citation needed|date=September 2013}} In 1910, [[Ernest Harold Baynes]] founded the Meriden Bird Club, the first institution of its type in the nation.

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Image:Congregational Church in Meriden, NH.jpg|Meriden Congregational Church in 1914
Image:Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, NH.jpg|View of Kimball Union Academy {{circa}} 1910
Image:Baxter Hall, Meriden, NH.jpg|Baxter Hall {{circa}} 1922
Image:Meriden Hill, Looking East, Meriden, NH.jpg|Meriden Hill {{circa}} 1908
</gallery>