Canaan, New Hampshire | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Canaan, NH, from the west | |
 Seal | |
| Motto: "Land of Milk and Honey" | |
 Location inGrafton County,New Hampshire | |
| Coordinates:43°38′48″N72°00′37″W / 43.64667°N 72.01028°W /43.64667; -72.01028 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Hampshire |
| County | Grafton |
| Incorporated | 1761 |
| Villages |
|
| Government | |
| • Select Board |
|
| • Town Administrator | Chet Hagenbarth |
| Area | |
• Total | 55.1 sq mi (142.8 km2) |
| • Land | 53.4 sq mi (138.2 km2) |
| • Water | 1.8 sq mi (4.6 km2) 3.20% |
| Elevation | 945 ft (288 m) |
| Population (2020)[2] | |
• Total | 3,794 |
| • Density | 71/sq mi (27.5/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP code | 03741 |
| Area code | 603 |
| FIPS code | 33-08980 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0873557 |
| Website | www |
Canaan is atown inGrafton County,New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,794 at the2020 census.[2] It is the location ofMascoma State Forest. Canaan is home to theCardigan Mountain School, the town's largest employer.
The main village of the town, where 442 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as theCanaan census-designated place (CDP), and is located at the junction ofU.S. Route 4 withNew Hampshire Route 118.
Chartered in 1761 by GovernorBenning Wentworth, the town was named after the hometown of many early settlers,Canaan, Connecticut, which had been named byPuritans for the biblical land ofCanaan. It was settled in the winter of 1766–1767 by John Scofield, who arrived with all his belongings on a handsled. The land was filled with rocks, making agriculture difficult. The town constructed a broad road for its main street on a stretch of level land.[3]
In 1828 attorneyGeorge Kimball helped organize building the town'sCongregational church. He was among the New Englandabolitionists who foundedNoyes Academy in March 1835, one of the first schools in the region to admit students of all races. It opened with 28 white students, drawn largely from local families, and 17 black students; most of the latter came from outside the town and across theNortheastern United States. Many local residents opposed bringing blacks into the town. On August 10, 1835, five hundred white men from Canaan and nearby towns used "nearly 100 yoke ofoxen" to pull the building off its foundation, then burned it. Fearing for their safety, the black students left town, as did Kimball, who moved toAlton, Illinois.[4]
Canaan Union Academy was built on the site and was limited to white students; it operated for the next 20 years.[3] After the academy's closing, residents sympathetic tofugitive slaves operated a station of theUnderground Railroad to help the people reachCanada or settle in New England.[5]
TheNorthern Railroad (predecessor of theBoston & Maine Railroad) was constructed to the town in 1847, spurring development.Water poweredmills were built on the streams. By 1859, the population had reached 1,682, and Canaan had onegristmill, threelath andclapboard mills, and onetannery.[6]
TheCanaan train wreck occurred on September 15, 1907. Four miles (6.4 km) west of Canaan Station, the southboundQuebec toBoston express, crowded with passengers returning from theSherbrooke Fair, collided head-on with a northbound Boston & Mainefreight train. The accident claimed 26 lives, and 17 others were seriously injured.[7] The accident was found to be due to a mistake made by a dispatcher, who mis-identified a train in one of his communications.[8] It remains the train wreck with the largest loss of life in New Hampshire history.[8]
On June 2, 1923, the Great Canaan Fire burned 48 homes and businesses, destroying the heart of Canaan Village (East Canaan).
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 55.1 square miles (142.8 km2), of which 53.4 square miles (138.2 km2) are land and 1.8 square miles (4.6 km2) are water, comprising 3.20% of the town.[1] Canaan is drained by theMascoma River and its tributary, theIndian River, which flows past Canaan village.Canaan Street Lake is in the center, andGoose Pond is in the northwest.
Mount Cardigan, overlooking Canaan village, lies to the east in the neighboring town ofOrange. A mountain road leads from Canaan to a trailhead in Cardigan Mountain State Forest, where hiking trails on the west slope of the mountain lead to the 3,155-foot (962 m) bare-rock summit. The highest point in Canaan is the top of an unnamed ridge (approximately 2,270 feet (690 m) abovesea level) in the northeastern corner of town, overlooking Derby Pond.
Canaan lies almost fully within theConnecticut Riverwatershed, except for the northeastern corner of the town, which drains north to theBaker River and is part of theMerrimack River watershed.[9]
The town is crossed byU.S. Route 4 andNew Hampshire Route 118.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 483 | — | |
| 1800 | 835 | 72.9% | |
| 1810 | 1,094 | 31.0% | |
| 1820 | 1,198 | 9.5% | |
| 1830 | 1,428 | 19.2% | |
| 1840 | 1,576 | 10.4% | |
| 1850 | 1,682 | 6.7% | |
| 1860 | 1,762 | 4.8% | |
| 1870 | 1,877 | 6.5% | |
| 1880 | 1,762 | −6.1% | |
| 1890 | 1,417 | −19.6% | |
| 1900 | 1,444 | 1.9% | |
| 1910 | 1,408 | −2.5% | |
| 1920 | 1,236 | −12.2% | |
| 1930 | 1,301 | 5.3% | |
| 1940 | 1,377 | 5.8% | |
| 1950 | 1,465 | 6.4% | |
| 1960 | 1,507 | 2.9% | |
| 1970 | 1,923 | 27.6% | |
| 1980 | 2,456 | 27.7% | |
| 1990 | 3,045 | 24.0% | |
| 2000 | 3,319 | 9.0% | |
| 2010 | 3,909 | 17.8% | |
| 2020 | 3,794 | −2.9% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[2][10] | |||
As of thecensus[11] of 2010, there were 3,909 people, 1,588 households, and 1,105 families residing in the town. The population density was 73.5 inhabitants per square mile (28.4/km2). There were 1,930 housing units at an average density of 36.3 per square mile (14.0/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.1%White, 0.1%African American, 0.2%Native American, 1.0%Asian, 0.2%some other race, and 1.3% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 0.8% of the population.[12]
There were 1,588 households, of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were headed bymarried couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42, and the average family size was 2.81.[12]
In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 33.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males.[12]
For the period 2007–2011, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $62,226, and the median income for a family was $63,930. Male full-time workers had a median income of $46,250 versus $37,287 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $26,964. About 4.5% of families and 6.4% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.[13]
In 2014 the largest ancestry groups reported in Canaan wereEnglish (17.8%), "American" (17.4%),French orFrench Canadian (14.2%), andIrish (12.6%).[14]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Places adjacent to Canaan, New Hampshire | |
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Municipalities and communities ofGrafton County, New Hampshire,United States | ||
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| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Township | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other villages | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
