Editing Stoddard, New Hampshire

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Stoddard, New Hampshire
|nickname                 =
|motto                    =
|image_skyline            = Stone Arch Bridge - Stoddard, NH.jpg
|image_seal               = Stoddard Town Seal.png
|imagesize                =
|image_caption            = Stone Arch Bridge
|image_flag               =
|image_map                = Cheshire-Stoddard-NH.png
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Cheshire County, New Hampshire|Cheshire County]], New Hampshire
|settlement_type          = Town
|image_map1               =
|mapsize1                 =
|map_caption1             =
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[New Hampshire]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in New Hampshire|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Cheshire County, New Hampshire|Cheshire]]
|parts_type               = Villages
|parts                    = {{ubl|Stoddard|Mill Village}}
|government_type          =
|leader_title             = [[Board of selectmen|Board of Selectmen]] 
|leader_name              = {{ubl|Terri LaRoche, Chair|Robert Fee|Jason Kovarik}}
|leader_title1            = Town Administrator
|leader_name1             = Michelle L. Pong
|established_title        = [[Incorporation (municipal government)|Incorporated]]
|established_date         = 1774
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021">{{cite web |title=2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files – New Hampshire |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2021_Gazetteer/2021_gaz_cousubs_33.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 4, 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 137.4
|area_total_sq_mi         = 
|area_land_km2            = 131.9
|area_land_sq_mi          = 
|area_water_km2           = 5.5
|area_water_sq_mi         = 
|area_water_percent       = 3.99
|population_as_of         = 2020
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=&g=0600000US3300573700&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1| title=Stoddard town, Cheshire County, New Hampshire: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| access-date=November 4, 2021}}</ref>
|population_total         = 1374
|population_density_km2   = 10.4
|population_density_sq_mi = 
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = [[Eastern Daylight Time Zone|Eastern]]
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|coordinates              = {{coord|43|04|43|N|72|06|52|W|region:US-NH|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_m              = 
|elevation_ft             = 1427
|website                  = {{URL|www.stoddardnh.org}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]s
|postal_code              = 03464 (Stoddard)<br/>03457 ([[Nelson, New Hampshire|Nelson]])
|area_code                = [[Area code 603|603]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 33-73700
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0873725
|footnotes                =
}}

'''Stoddard''' is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Cheshire County, New Hampshire|Cheshire County]], [[New Hampshire]], United States. The population was 1,374 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]],<ref name="Census 2020"/> up from 1,232 at the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]].<ref name="2010-census-G001"/>

Between 1842 and 1873, the town was home to four glass manufacturers. The glass produced by these works, now known as '''Stoddard glass''', is noted for its deep amber colors and design. Stoddard glass products are highly prized by collectors.<ref>{{cite sign
	| title = Stoddard Glass
	| url = http://www.newhampshire.com/historical-markers/stoddard-glass.aspx
	| access-date =December 29, 2010
| date = 1968
	| medium = Historical marker no. 52
	| publisher = State of New Hampshire
	| location = Route 9, Stoddard, New Hampshire
}}</ref>

==History==
This territory was first granted in 1752 to Colonel Sampson Stoddard of [[Chelmsford, Massachusetts]], and others as "[[Mount Monadnock|Monadnock]] Number 7". It was known locally as "Limerick" before being incorporated as Stoddard in 1774, in honor of Colonel Stoddard.<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/n698 655]| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Colonel Stoddard was appointed to survey southwestern New Hampshire by the colonial government, receiving several land grants for the service. One of his surveying assistants was [[Benjamin Pierce (governor)|Benjamin Pierce]], father of U.S. President [[Franklin Pierce]]. Colonel Stoddard never lived in the town of Stoddard.<ref>{{cite book
	| title = On the Trail of Stoddard Glass
	| last = Field
	| first = Anne E.
	| publisher = William L. Bauhan
	| location = Dublin, New Hampshire
	| year = 1975
	| isbn = 0-87233-021-4
	| others = Joseph Binko (photos)
	| page = 16
}}</ref>

The town was first settled in 1768 by John and Martha Taggart, immigrants from [[Derry]], Ireland. Three years later, the Richardson family joined the Taggarts in Stoddard. By 1774, the town had 24 residents.<ref>Field, ''Stoddard Glass'', pp. 16–17</ref>

The first census taken in Stoddard, in 1790, reported 701 residents.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1790f-02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050122122607/http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1790f-02.pdf |archive-date=January 22, 2005 |url-status=live| title=Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: New Hampshire| publisher=Government Printing Office| year=1907| access-date=April 11, 2011}}</ref>  The town's first schoolhouses were built in 1792.<ref name="glass17">Field, ''Stoddard Glass'', p. 17</ref>  The first post office was established in 1822; Isaac Duncan was the first Postmaster.<ref name="glass17"/>

In 1800, Stoddard's 1,148 residents outnumbered those of the nearby county seat of [[Keene, New Hampshire|Keene]]. During Stoddard's glass-manufacturing years, 800 people were employed by the industry.<ref name="glass19">Field, ''Stoddard Glass'', p. 19</ref> After the Stoddard glass industry ended in the early 1870s, the town's population declined; by 1960, the census recorded 146 residents.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nh.gov/oep/programs/DataCenter/2010Census/index.htm| title=Population of NH Towns and Counties 1960–2010| publisher=NH Office of Energy and Planning – State Data Center| date=March 23, 2011| access-date=April 11, 2011}}</ref> {{As of|2010}}, the town had 1,232 residents.<ref name="2010-census-G001">{{cite web
	| url = http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_G001&prodType=table
	| title = Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Stoddard town, Cheshire County, New Hampshire
	| work = American FactFinder
	| publisher = United States Census Bureau
	| access-date = April 9, 2011
| year = 2010
	| archive-url = https://archive.today/20200212211950/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_G001&prodType=table
	| archive-date = February 12, 2020
| url-status = dead
	}}</ref>

===Stoddard glass===
Between 1840 and 1873, Stoddard was a center of glass manufacturing, home to four glass factories whose products are prized by collectors today. The town's abundant forests fed the industry's need for the {{convert|1200|F|C|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} temperatures necessary to melt sand into glass. Stoddard also had plenty of clear, fine sand. The sand's trace minerals gave Stoddard glass its unique hues: [[manganese]] produced the olive green and amber colors most closely associated with Stoddard glass, and [[oxide]] of gold created a red-amber glass.<ref name="glass19"/>

The glass houses were located in two settlements within Stoddard: Joseph Foster's and the South Stoddard Glass Company were located in South Stoddard, which was located near the present-day intersection of state Routes 9 and 123. The Granite Glass Company and the New Granite Glass Works were located in Mill Village, near the present town center.<ref>Field, ''Stoddard Glass'', p. 26</ref>

Among the wide variety of glass pieces turned out by the glass houses were [[Freemasonry|Masonic]] flasks, containers for liquor and [[patent medicine]]s, and bottles for [[mineral water]] bottled in [[Saratoga Springs, New York]].<ref>Field, ''Stoddard Glass'', 28–37.</ref> However, the fame of Stoddard glass does not come primarily from these commercial items, but from the "off-blown" pieces made by [[glassblowing|glassblowers]] at the end of the workday using leftover glass. These items, sometimes called "whimseys", could be anything desired by the glassblower, and were the property of the glassblower.<ref>Field, ''Stoddard Glass'', p. 40.</ref>

Several factors led to the demise of Stoddard's glass industry in the early 1870s. Other manufacturers had mastered the chemistry needed to create clear glass in quantity; gas and coal were now viable fuels for glassworks, eliminating the need for nearby forests; and improvements in mechanical manufacturing techniques made hand-blown glass economically unviable.<ref>Field, ''Stoddard Glass'', pp. 19–20</ref> The [[silica]] in Stoddard's sand prevented its use in making clear glass, which was in high demand after it became viable for bottles and glassware following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref>Field, ''Stoddard Glass'', p. 32.</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|137.4|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|131.9|sqkm|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|5.5|sqkm|order=flip}} are water, comprising 3.99% of the town.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021"/> The western portion of the town is drained by tributaries of the [[Ashuelot River]], which flows to the [[Connecticut River]]. The central and eastern portions of town drain to the [[North Branch Contoocook River|North Branch]] of the [[Contoocook River]] and eventually to the [[Merrimack River]]. Major water bodies in the town include [[Highland Lake (Stoddard, New Hampshire)|Highland Lake]] and [[Island Pond (Stoddard, New Hampshire)|Island Pond]] in the northeast and [[Granite Lake (New Hampshire)|Granite Lake]] on the southern border.

The [[Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway]] passes through the western side of the town (near Center Pond) and continues onward toward the highest point in Stoddard, the summit of [[Pitcher Mountain]] (at {{convert|2162|ft|m}} above sea level).

The town is crossed by [[New Hampshire Route 9]] from northeast to southwest, and by [[New Hampshire Route 123]], which passes through the town center, from southeast to northwest.

===Adjacent municipalities===
{{US Census population
|1790= 701
|1800= 1148
|1810= 1132
|1820= 1203
|1830= 1159
|1840= 1006
|1850= 1105
|1860= 944
|1870= 667
|1880= 553
|1890= 400
|1900= 367
|1910= 257
|1920= 213
|1930= 113
|1940= 218
|1950= 200
|1960= 146
|1970= 242
|1980= 482
|1990= 622
|2000= 928
|2010= 1232
|2020= 1374
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="Census 2020"/><ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 4, 2016  }}</ref>
}}
* [[Washington, New Hampshire|Washington]] (north)
* [[Windsor, New Hampshire|Windsor]] (northeast)
* [[Antrim, New Hampshire|Antrim]] (east)
* [[Nelson, New Hampshire|Nelson]] (south)
* [[Sullivan, New Hampshire|Sullivan]] (southwest)
* [[Gilsum, New Hampshire|Gilsum]] (west)
* [[Marlow, New Hampshire|Marlow]] (northwest)

==Demographics==
As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 928 people, 400 households, and 268 families residing in the town.  The population density was 18.2 people per square mile (7.0/km{{sup|2}}).  There were 939 housing units at an average density of 18.5 per square mile (7.1/km{{sup|2}}).  The racial makeup of the town was 96.88% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.32% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.29% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.43% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.11% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.22% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.75% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 400 households, out of which 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.5% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 30.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.9 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $37,639, and the median income for a family was $48,125. Males had a median income of $31,343 versus $25,227 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,617.  About 5.3% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
Residents of Stoddard attending public high and middle schools go to [[Keene High School]] and [[Keene Middle School]], respectively, in [[Keene, New Hampshire|Keene]]. Public elementary school students attend James M. Faulkner Elementary School in Stoddard.

==See also==
{{portal|New Hampshire}}
*[[List of New Hampshire historical markers (26–50)#27|New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 27]]: Stone Arch Bridge
*[[List of New Hampshire historical markers (51–75)#52|New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 52]]: Stoddard Glass

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Official|www.stoddardnh.org}}
* [https://www.jfes.us/ James Faulkner Elementary School]
* [https://www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/products/cp/profiles-htm/stoddard.htm New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile]

{{Geographic location
 | Centre    = Stoddard
 | North     = [[Washington, New Hampshire|Washington]]
 | Northeast = [[Windsor, New Hampshire|Windsor]]
 | East      = [[Antrim, New Hampshire|Antrim]]
 | Southeast = [[Antrim, New Hampshire|Antrim]]
 | South     = [[Nelson, New Hampshire|Nelson]]
 | Southwest = [[Sullivan, New Hampshire|Sullivan]]
 | West      = [[Gilsum, New Hampshire|Gilsum]]
 | Northwest = [[Marlow, New Hampshire|Marlow]]
}}

{{Cheshire County, New Hampshire}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Stoddard, New Hampshire| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Cheshire County, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Towns in New Hampshire]]