Wentworth, New Hampshire

History

It was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth on November 1, 1766, to John Page and 60 others. Named for the governor himself, Wentworth was settled and incorporated the same year. Many of the settlers arrived from Massachusetts, particularly 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."

Farmers cultivated the rich soil on the intervales. The Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad diagonally crossed the town. With abundant water power from the Baker River, Wentworth developed into a lumber-producing town with nine sawmills. But disaster struck on August 6, 1856, when dams on the Upper and Lower Baker ponds in Orford breached during a flood, releasing a wall of water down Pond Brook to the Baker River. It raced 3 mi down the steep, rocky channel, then undermined and washed away Wentworth's riverside mills, houses, barns, sheds and roads. It widened the river by nearly 90 ft.

Image:Wentworth_Common_Houses.JPG|Wentworth Common Image:Wentworth Town Offices.JPG|Town offices Image:Webster_Memorial_Library_Wentworth.JPG|Webster Memorial Library

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 109.0 sqkm, of which 107.7 sqkm are land and 1.3 sqkm, or 1.22%, are water. The town is drained by the Baker River and its South Branch, part of the Pemigewasset and Merrimack River watersheds. The highest point in Wentworth is Carr Mountain in the northeast corner of town, at 3453 ft above sea level.

The town is crossed north to south by New Hampshire Route 25 and New Hampshire Route 118. New Hampshire Route 25A starts at Routes 25 and 118 at the town center and proceeds west into Orford.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 798 people, 310 households, and 220 families residing in the town. The population density was 19.2 people per square mile (7.4/km). There were 437 housing units at an average density of 10.5 per square mile (4.1/km). The racial makeup of the town was 97.62% White, 0.38% African American, 0.25% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population.

There were 310 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $44,219, and the median income for a family was $47,917. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $24,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,258. About 6.1% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Wentworth uses a town meeting form of government administered by a three-member Board of Selectmen serving staggered three-year terms, with one seat elected each year. In the New Hampshire General Court, Wentworth is in the Grafton 11th and 16th House Districts, represented by Beth Folsom (R) and Jeffrey Greeson (R), respectively. Wentworth is in Senate District 2, represented by Bob Giuda (R).

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Wentworth has a warm-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Wentworth was 98 F on June 20, 2024, while the coldest temperature recorded was -25 F on January 16–17, 2009.

|Jan record high F = 60 |Feb record high F = 64 |Mar record high F = 85 |Apr record high F = 90 |May record high F = 95 |Jun record high F = 98 |Jul record high F = 96 |Aug record high F = 97 |Sep record high F = 96 |Oct record high F = 86 |Nov record high F = 78 |Dec record high F = 65

|Jan avg record high F = 46.6 |Feb avg record high F = 50.7 |Mar avg record high F = 58.6 |Apr avg record high F = 73.1 |May avg record high F = 86.4 |Jun avg record high F = 89.2 |Jul avg record high F = 90.8 |Aug avg record high F = 88.9 |Sep avg record high F = 86.1 |Oct avg record high F = 73.6 |Nov avg record high F = 63.8 |Dec avg record high F = 50.0 |year avg record high F = 92.5

|Jan avg record low F = -11.4 |Feb avg record low F = -8.8 |Mar avg record low F = -0.7 |Apr avg record low F = 19.3 |May avg record low F = 28.3 |Jun avg record low F = 38.1 |Jul avg record low F = 45.5 |Aug avg record low F = 44.4 |Sep avg record low F = 32.8 |Oct avg record low F = 23.3 |Nov avg record low F = 12.6 |Dec avg record low F = -0.8 |year avg record low F = -15.1

|Jan record low F = -25 |Feb record low F = -24 |Mar record low F = -13 |Apr record low F = 5 |May record low F = 19 |Jun record low F = 30 |Jul record low F = 42 |Aug record low F = 38 |Sep record low F = 26 |Oct record low F = 17 |Nov record low F = -4 |Dec record low F = -15

|Jan snow depth inch = 11.7 |Feb snow depth inch = 16.7 |Mar snow depth inch = 13.3 |Apr snow depth inch = 5.5 |May snow depth inch = 0.1 |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 = 0.3 |Nov snow depth inch = 2.6 |Dec snow depth inch = 9.7 |year snow depth inch = 18.2

|access-date = November 27, 2022 |access-date = November 27, 2022

Photo gallery

Image:Wentworth_Transfer_Station.JPG|Transfer station Image:Wentworth Town Garage.JPG|Town garage Image:Wentworth_Post_Office.JPG|Post office Image:Wentworth_Congregational_Church.JPG|Congregational church Image:Wentworth_Historical_Museum.JPG|Wentworth Historical Museum Image:Wentworth_Town_Hall.JPG|Town Hall Image:Webster Memorial Library Enterence.JPG|Webster Memorial Library Image:Wentworth_Vol_Fire_Dept.JPG|Wentworth Vol. Fire Department

Notable people

· Only people who already have a Wikipedia article may appear here. This establishes notability. · The article must mention how they are associated with Wentworth, whether born, raised, or residing. · The fact of their association should have a reliable source cited. · Alphabetical by last name please. · All others will be deleted.

• Charles Henry Turner (1861–1913), US congressman
• Thomas Whipple, Jr. (1787–1835), US congressman

References

References

1. "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files – New Hampshire". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Wentworth town, Grafton County, New Hampshire: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau.
3. United States Census Bureau, [https://www.census.gov U.S. Census website], 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
4. [http://www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi/htmlprofiles/wentworth.html New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile]
5. [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]
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
7. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].