Editing Wakefield, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
Initially a [[indigenous peoples of the Americas|native]] settlement, Wakefield was attacked by [[John Lovewell]] during [[Father Rale's War]]. Settled later by colonists from [[Dover, New Hampshire|Dover]] and [[Somersworth, New Hampshire|Somersworth]], the town was granted in 1749 by [[John Mason (governor)|John Mason]]. It was called "East Town" before being incorporated as Wakefield in 1774 by Governor [[Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet|John Wentworth]]. [[Wakefield]], in [[Yorkshire]], England, is near [[Wentworth Castle]], the home of the Wentworth ancestors.

The New Hampshire town developed as an important [[sledge]] and [[stagecoach|stage]] stop between the [[Seacoast Region (New Hampshire)|seacoast]] and the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]]. The Wakefield Inn, built in 1804 beside the principal [[trade route]] through Wakefield Corner, remains operating today.<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/n710 667]–668| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Although the soil was considered "stubborn", [[farmer]]s made it productive. [[Lumber]] became a chief product, and by 1859 there were five [[sawmill]]s, five [[gristmill]]s, and ten [[roof shingle|shingle]], [[clapboard (architecture)|clapboard]] and [[thickness planer|planing]] mills. [[Shoemaking]] was another local industry.<ref name="Coolidge"/> When the [[Portsmouth, Great Falls and Conway Railroad]] arrived in 1871,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jKEpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=Great+Falls+%26+Conway+Railroad&source=bl&ots=HWFtgzzwDx&sig=ybLF_hdYQCZAIEfiVt12iTphsCc&hl=en&ei=a5bES8vUK4L68Abrs9y4Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCYQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false} Francis B. C. Bradlee, ''The Eastern Railroad;'' The Essex Institute, Salem, Massachusetts 1922]</ref> the center of Wakefield shifted from Wakefield Corner to Sanbornville, which today remains the retail district of town.<ref>[http://www.uisgebeatha.org/unionhistorychapter1.html Louis E. Tibbetts, ''History of Union, New Hampshire (1775–1992)'']</ref>

<gallery>
Image:Bridge Street, Union, NH.jpg|Bridge Street in 1916 (Union)
Image:Bird's-eye View, Sanbornville, NH.jpg|Bird's-eye View in 1908 (Sanbornville)
Image:Davis House, East Wakefield, NH.jpg|Davis House Inn in 1909 (East Wakefield)
Image:Main Street, Wakefield, NH.jpg|Main Street in 1909
</gallery>