Fremont, New Hampshire

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Fremont is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,739 at the 2020 census,<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021"/> up from 4,283 at the 2010 census.<ref>United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census website, 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011.</ref> Fremont is crossed by the Rockingham Recreation Trail (a rail trail) and NH Route 107.

History

Settled in the 1720s, Fremont was originally part of Exeter. The area was once famous for its heavy growth of high-quality eastern white pine trees, reserved for use as masts of the Royal Navy. But residents began to use the wood for home construction. When in 1734 David Dunbar, surveyor-general, visited the Copyhold Mill to inspect fallen lumber, local citizens assembled, discharged firearms, and convinced Dunbar to leave. Dunbar returned emboldened with 10 men, but was forced to flee to a local tavern after citizens disguised as Indians attacked them. This insurrection became known as the Mast Tree Riot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn

The town was granted in 1764 by colonial governor Benning Wentworth as "Poplin". In 1853, Poplin petitioned the state legislature to change the name. In 1854, it became "Fremont" after General John C. Frémont,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the first candidate of the Republican Party in the presidential election of 1856.

The town is noted for the unspoiled Fremont Meeting House, built in 1800 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1993. The town was once home to the largest brickyard in the state, producing five million bricks a year, and to the downtown Spaulding & Frost Cooperage, established in 1874, one of the oldest operating wooden barrel manufacturers in the country.

B-52 crash

On August 10, 1959, a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashed in Fremont.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The aircraft, serial number 54-2682,<ref name=ASN/> had departed Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During flight at Template:Convert, the crew heard several loud bangs, the radar system became inoperative, and the plane began to vibrate. As the vibrations became more severe, the plane began to lose altitude, and the pilot ordered the crew to bail out at Template:Convert. The pilot remained with the aircraft for several additional minutes, then ejected. The plane crashed into Spruce Swamp at 2:50Template:Nbspp.m. local time. The pilot and seven crew members all survived.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The crash was attributed to a failure of the radome on the nose of the aircraft.<ref name=ASN>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert are land and Template:Convert are water, comprising 1.30% of the town.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021"/> The highest point in Fremont is an unnamed summit, with an elevation of Template:Convert above sea level, near the town's western border. The town is drained by the Exeter River, except for the northernmost part which is drained by headwaters of the Piscassic River. Fremont lies fully within the Piscataqua River (Coastal) watershed.<ref name=watershed>Template:Cite book</ref>

Adjacent municipalities

Epping (north)
Brentwood (east)
Kingston (southeast)
Danville (south)
Sandown (southwest)
Chester (southwest)
Raymond (northwest)

Demographics

Template:US Census population

File:Fremont Meeting House, Fremont NH.jpg

Fremont Meeting House

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 3,510 people, 1,165 households, and 983 families residing in the town. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,201 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the town was 98.15% White, 0.06% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.51% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.77% of the population.

There were 1,165 households, out of which 44.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.1% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.6% were non-families. 10.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.20.

File:Exeter River at Sand Hill, Fremont, NH.jpg

The Exeter River at Sand Hill in 1913

In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 38.0% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $62,171, and the median income for a family was $63,808. Males had a median income of $45,560 versus $27,964 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,082. About 3.8% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Two New Hampshire state routes cross Fremont.

NH 107 crosses from Raymond in the northwest to Brentwood in the southeast, following Main Street through the center of town.
NH 111A enters from Danville in the south, runs along Danville Road north to Main Street, then joins a concurrency with NH 107 running east, before leaving along Middle Road to the north shortly before entering Brentwood.

Sites of interest

Rockingham Recreation Trail: Fremont Branch
Fremont Meeting House (1800), also known as the Poplin Meeting House, one of only two 18th century twin-porch meeting houses in New England<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Fremont Town Hall (1911), the only tin-sided town hall in New Hampshire<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1820 Country Market and Deli, fourth-oldest country store in New Hampshire and tenth-oldest in New EnglandTemplate:Citation needed

Notable people

Lee Bergere (1918–2007), actor known for his work on Dynasty; lived in Fremont for some time before his death
Dan Itse (born 1958), former New Hampshire State Representative from Rockingham County
The Shaggs, American all-female rock and outsider music band formed in Fremont in 1968