Benton, New Hampshire

History

The town was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth on January 31, 1764, to Theophilus Fitch and others. It was named "Coventry" after Coventry, Connecticut, hometown to many of the settlers, who arrived shortly after the beginning of the Revolution. At the suggestion of Governor Isaac Hill, the name was changed on December 4, 1840, to Benton, in honor of Thomas Hart Benton, the Missouri senator who championed American westward expansion.

With a rough and mountainous terrain, the town was not suited for agriculture. But Benton had water power sites and abundant forests. By 1859, when the population was 478, there were five sawmills producing a large quantity of lumber. The Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad ran through the town, which once included the village of Glencliff.

Atop Mount Moosilauke in 1860 was built the Prospect House, later renamed the Tip Top House, a stone hotel with accommodations for 35 hikers. A carriage road was built to the summit in 1870, so the hotel was enlarged in 1872 to accommodate 50 guests. In 1920, the hotel and land were given to Dartmouth College, but in 1942, the Tip Top House burned.

Geography

Benton is in northwestern New Hampshire, in the northern part of Grafton County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 125.4 km2, of which 124.8 km2 are land and 0.6 km2 are water, comprising 0.47% of the town. It is drained primarily by Oliverian Brook and the Wild Ammonoosuc River; the Baker River drains the southeastern corner. The Oliverian Brook and Wild Ammonoosuc portion of the town is within the Connecticut River watershed, while the small part in the southeastern corner is in the Merrimack River watershed. The highest point in town is the summit of Mount Moosilauke, at 4802 ft above sea level.

The northern corner of Benton is crossed by New Hampshire Route 116.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Benton has a warm-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Benton was 95 F on July 15, 1995, while the coldest temperature recorded was -29 F on January 27, 1994.

|Jan record high F = 64 |Feb record high F = 63 |Mar record high F = 78 |Apr record high F = 88 |May record high F = 89 |Jun record high F = 93 |Jul record high F = 95 |Aug record high F = 94 |Sep record high F = 93 |Oct record high F = 81 |Nov record high F = 71 |Dec record high F = 65

|Jan avg record high F = 48.6 |Feb avg record high F = 50.2 |Mar avg record high F = 60.7 |Apr avg record high F = 76. |May avg record high F = 81.9 |Jun avg record high F = 86.8 |Jul avg record high F = 87.6 |Aug avg record high F = 86.0 |Sep avg record high F = 81.7 |Oct avg record high F = 73.5 |Nov avg record high F = 63.8 |Dec avg record high F = 52.8 |year avg record high F = 89.3

|Jan avg record low F = -15.6 |Feb avg record low F = -10.9 |Mar avg record low F = -3.7 |Apr avg record low F = 18.0 |May avg record low F = 28.0 |Jun avg record low F = 36.2 |Jul avg record low F = 43.1 |Aug avg record low F = 40.0 |Sep avg record low F = 30.8 |Oct avg record low F = 22.2 |Nov avg record low F = 9.4 |Dec avg record low F = -7.7 |year avg record low F = -17.9

|Jan record low F = -29 |Feb record low F = -26 |Mar record low F = -18 |Apr record low F = 3 |May record low F = 18 |Jun record low F = 27 |Jul record low F = 32 |Aug record low F = 29 |Sep record low F = 22 |Oct record low F = 12 |Nov record low F = -2 |Dec record low F = -28

|Jan snow depth inch = 11.0 |Feb snow depth inch = 12.0 |Mar snow depth inch = 11.5 |Apr snow depth inch = 3.4 |May snow depth inch = 0.0 |Jun snow depth inch = 0.0 |Jul snow depth inch = 0.0 |Aug snow depth inch = 0.0 |Sep snow depth inch = 0.0 |Oct snow depth inch = 0.4 |Nov snow depth inch = 2.1 |Dec snow depth inch = 9.0 |year snow depth inch = 16.6

|access-date = February 14, 2023 |access-date = February 14, 2023

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 314 people, 91 households, and 59 families residing in the town. The population density was 6.5 PD/sqmi. There were 155 housing units at an average density of 3.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 97.45% White, 0.32% Asian, and 2.23% from two or more races.

There were 91 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.8% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 32.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $34,167, and the median income for a family was $40,417. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $22,188 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,220. About 3.8% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

References

1. "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files – New Hampshire". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Benton town, Grafton County, New Hampshire: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau.
3. [http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/New_Hampshire_1875/066.html Article in ''Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire'' (1875)]
4. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&dq=coolidge%20mansfield%20history%20description%20new%20england%201859&pg=PA422 Austin J. Coolidge & John B. Mansfield, ''A History and Description of New England;'' Boston, Massachusetts 1859]
5. Child, Hamilton. "Gazetteer of Grafton County, N.H., 1709-1886".
6. [https://archive.org/details/chronicleswhite01kilbgoog/page/n320 Frederick Wilkinson Kilbourne, ''Chronicles of the White Mountains;'' Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York 1916]
7. Foster, Debra H.. (1995). "Water Use in New Hampshire: An Activities Guide for Teachers". U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Geological Survey.
8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
9. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].