Editing Wentworth, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
It was granted by Governor [[Benning Wentworth]] on November 1, 1766, to John Page and 60 others. Named for the governor himself,<ref>[http://www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi/htmlprofiles/wentworth.html New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile]</ref> Wentworth was settled and incorporated the same year. Many of the settlers arrived from [[Massachusetts]], particularly [[Salisbury, Massachusetts|Salisbury]]. With a pretty [[New England]] common set atop an elevated tongue of land, the village has been noted since the 19th century for its charm; while in "... beauties of landscape, Wentworth has a more than ordinary share."<ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&dq=coolidge%20mansfield%20history%20description%20new%20england%201859&pg=PA675 Austin J. Coolidge & John B. Mansfield, ''A History and Description of New England;'' Boston, Massachusetts]</ref>

Farmers [[Tillage|cultivated]] the rich soil on the intervales. The Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad diagonally crossed the town. With abundant [[water power]] from the [[Baker River (New Hampshire)|Baker River]], Wentworth developed into a [[lumber]]-producing town with nine [[sawmill]]s. But disaster struck on August 6, 1856, when dams on the Upper and Lower Baker ponds in [[Orford, New Hampshire|Orford]] breached during a [[flash flood|flood]], releasing a wall of water down Pond Brook to the Baker River. It raced {{convert|3|mi|0}} down the steep, rocky channel, then undermined and washed away Wentworth's riverside
[[watermill|mills]], houses, barns, sheds and roads. It widened the river by nearly {{convert|90|ft}}.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

<gallery>
Image:Wentworth_Common_Houses.JPG|Wentworth Common
Image:Wentworth Town Offices.JPG|Town offices
Image:Webster_Memorial_Library_Wentworth.JPG|Webster Memorial Library
</gallery>