Editing Washington, New Hampshire

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Washington, New Hampshire
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_skyline      = WashingtonNHCenter.jpg
| image_seal         = 
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = Washington [[Congregational church|Congregational Church]], Center School, and Town Hall (from left)
| image_flag         = 
| image_map          = Sullivan County New Hampshire incorporated and unincorporated areas Washington highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 260px
| map_caption        = Location in [[Sullivan County, New Hampshire|Sullivan County]] and the state of [[New Hampshire]]
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = State
| subdivision_name1  = [[New Hampshire]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in New Hampshire|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Sullivan County, New Hampshire|Sullivan]]
| parts_type         = Villages
| parts              = {{ubl|Washington|East Washington}}
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = [[Board of selectmen|Board of Selectmen]]
| leader_name        = {{ubl|Don Revane, Chair|Gary Kendall|Mark Florence}}
| established_title  = [[Incorporation (municipal government)|Incorporated]]
| established_date   = 1776
| 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=January 10, 2022}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 123.5
| area_total_sq_mi   = 
| area_land_km2      = 118.4
| area_land_sq_mi    = 
| area_water_km2     = 5.1
| area_water_sq_mi   = 
| area_water_percent = 4.16
| population_as_of   = 2020
| population_note    = 
| population_total   = 1192
| population_density_km2 = 10.1
| 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|10|35|N|72|05|51|W|region:US-NH|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m        = 459
| elevation_ft       = 1507
| website            = {{URL|www.washingtonnh.org}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 03280
| area_code          = [[Area code 603|603]]
| area_code_type     = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 33-78980
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 0873747
| footnotes          = 
| name               = 
}}
'''Washington''' is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Sullivan County, New Hampshire]], United States. The population was 1,192 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US3301978980|title=Census - Geography Profile: Washington town, Sullivan County, New Hampshire|access-date=December 25, 2021}}</ref> Situated in a hilly, rocky, forested area, and with 26 lakes and ponds, Washington is a picturesque resort area. It is home to [[Pillsbury State Park]].

== History ==

[[Image:Church & School, Washington, NH.jpg|thumb|left|Congregational Church & School {{circa|1920}}]]
[[File:Washington NH Sign.jpg|thumb|left|The sign for Washington]]
Granted in 1735 by [[Thirteen Colonies|colonial]] governor [[Jonathan Belcher]] of [[Massachusetts]], the town was one of the fort towns designated to protect the colonies from [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native]] attack, named "Monadnock Number 8". In 1751, the town was granted by Governor [[Benning Wentworth]] as "New Concord". As the grant was never settled, the charter was revoked. Reuben Kidder of [[New Ipswich, New Hampshire|New Ipswich]] acquired the grant, naming it "Camden". The first settlers arrived in 1768 and built log houses. By 1773, the community had 132 inhabitants. On December 13, 1776, the newly established American revolutionary government incorporated the town as "Washington", after [[George Washington]]—one of the first named in his honor.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kK8wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pIoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4852%2C1627103 | title=Washington, Va., Oldest Of Name | work=The Free Lance-Star | date=October 3, 1932 | access-date=May 2, 2015 | pages=3}}</ref>

By 1830, the population had grown to 1,135. Using [[water power]] from the streams, mills manufactured lumber, barrel staves, shingles, chair parts, bobbins, whip sockets, hosiery, bricks and washboards. [[Gristmill]]s ground grain. Sheep farms, producing [[wool]] and [[Lamb and mutton|mutton]], were an important business. In 1840, there were 200 farms. Tubbs Union Academy was founded in 1849, and although it did not last long, the school once enrolled over 100 students from [[New Hampshire]] and beyond. The first [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] church was established in Washington in 1862. In 1886, the town produced 53 tons of [[maple sugar]].

The railroad era brought tourists, and hotels were built on the lakes and ponds;{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}} however, with 19th-century migration to the [[Midwest]], the town's population dwindled. As of 1960, it contained only 162 inhabitants. Washington has since grown, as its scenic environment attracts tourists and retirees.{{fact|date=December 2024}} The town contains several examples of early architecture, including the Town Hall, built as a meetinghouse in 1787, the [[Congregational church]] built in 1840, and the first [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] built {{circa|1843}}.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.firstadventistchurch.org/history| title=Washington, New Hampshire, Church| work=Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia| date=1976| page=1575| publisher=Review and Herald Publishing Association| access-date=August 7, 2018}}</ref>

== Geography ==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], Washington has a total area of {{convert|123.5|sqkm|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|118.4|sqkm|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|5.1|sqkm|order=flip}} are water, comprising 4.16% of the town.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021"/> The town sits in a highland area atop a watershed divide. The [[Ashuelot River]], part of the [[Connecticut River]] watershed, drains the western side of the town, including [[Ashuelot Pond]] in the southwest. Bog Brook drains the center of the town from north to south, flowing into [[Highland Lake (Stoddard, New Hampshire)|Highland Lake]] near the southern border. The lake is part of the [[Contoocook River]] watershed, as are [[Beards Brook]] and Woodward Brook on the eastern side of town, and by the Contoocook River are therefore part of the [[Merrimack River]] watershed.

[[Lovewell Mountain]], located northeast of the town center and with an elevation of {{convert|2496|ft|m}}, is the highest point in town. As Edwin A. Charlton writes in ''New Hampshire As It Is'' (1855), the mountain "received its name from Captain [[John Lovewell]], who was accustomed to ascend it for the purpose of discovering the [[wigwam]]s of the [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]], and who, on one occasion, killed seven Indians near its summit." The Washington Town Common, elevation {{convert|1507|ft|m}}, is the highest town center in the state. (The town hall of [[Clarksville, New Hampshire|Clarksville]] in northern New Hampshire is located at a higher elevation—{{convert|1980|ft|m}}—but there is no other village development there.)

===Adjacent municipalities===
* [[Goshen, New Hampshire|Goshen]] (north)
* [[Bradford, New Hampshire|Bradford]] (northeast)
* [[Hillsborough, New Hampshire|Hillsborough]] (east)
* [[Windsor, New Hampshire|Windsor]] (southeast)
* [[Stoddard, New Hampshire|Stoddard]] (south)
* [[Marlow, New Hampshire|Marlow]] (southwest)
* [[Lempster, New Hampshire|Lempster]] (northwest)

== Demographics ==
{{US Census population
|1790= 545
|1800= 819
|1810= 820
|1820= 992
|1830= 1135
|1840= 1103
|1850= 1053
|1860= 897
|1870= 839
|1880= 682
|1890= 569
|1900= 464
|1910= 360
|1920= 308
|1930= 245
|1940= 278
|1950= 168
|1960= 162
|1970= 248
|1980= 411
|1990= 628
|2000= 895
|2010= 1123
|2020= 1192
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<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>
}}
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 895 people, 370 households, and 277 families residing in the town.  The population density was 19.7 people per square mile (7.6/km{{sup|2}}).  There were 925 housing units at an average density of 20.4 per square mile (7.9/km{{sup|2}}).  The racial makeup of the town was 98.21% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.34% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], and 1.45% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.45% of the population.

There were 370 households, out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.8% were married couples living together, 4.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.73.

In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 21.9% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.8 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $43,125, and the median income for a family was $50,000. Males had a median income of $34,688 versus $26,333 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $20,540.  About 3.1% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

== Notable people ==
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* [[John C. Lord]] (1805–1877), Presbyterian minister
* [[Sylvanus Thayer]] (1785–1872), US Army colonel; known as the "[[United States Military Academy|Father of West Point]]"
* [[Carroll D. Wright]] (1840–1909), first US Commissioner of Labor; fifth president of the [[American Statistical Association]]; first president of [[Clark University|Clark College]]

== References ==

{{portal|New Hampshire}}
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|www.washingtonnh.org}}
* [http://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/pillsbury-state-park Pillsbury State Park]
* [http://www.ultimate.com/washington/ Information on Washington, New Hampshire]
* [https://www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/products/cp/profiles-htm/washington.htm New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile] 
* [https://www.firstadventistchurch.org/ Washington Seventh-day Adventist Church]

{{Geographic location
 | Centre    = Washington
 | North     = [[Goshen, New Hampshire|Goshen]]
 | Northeast = [[Bradford, New Hampshire|Bradford]]
 | East      = [[Hillsborough, New Hampshire|Hillsborough]]
 | Southeast = [[Windsor, New Hampshire|Windsor]]
 | South     = [[Stoddard, New Hampshire|Stoddard]]
 | Southwest = [[Marlow, New Hampshire|Marlow]]
 | West      = [[Lempster, New Hampshire|Lempster]]
 | Northwest = 
}}

{{Sullivan County, New Hampshire}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Washington, New Hampshire| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Sullivan County, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Towns in New Hampshire]]