Lancaster, New Hampshire | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Lancaster from the southwest | |
 Seal | |
| Motto: "The friendly town in the friendly state" | |
 Location inCoös County, New Hampshire | |
| Coordinates:44°29′20″N71°34′09″W / 44.48889°N 71.56917°W /44.48889; -71.56917 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Hampshire |
| County | Coös |
| Incorporated | 1763 |
| Villages |
|
| Government | |
| • Select Board |
|
| • Town Manager | Jessica Cyr |
| Area | |
• Total | 132.3 km2 (51.1 sq mi) |
| • Land | 129.4 km2 (50.0 sq mi) |
| • Water | 2.9 km2 (1.1 sq mi) 2.19% |
| Elevation | 263 m (863 ft) |
| Population (2020)[2] | |
• Total | 3,218 |
| • Density | 24.9/km2 (64/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP code | 03584 |
| Area code | 603 |
| FIPS code | 33-40420 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0873640 |
| Website | www |
Lancaster is atown located along theConnecticut River inCoös County,New Hampshire, United States. The town is named after the city ofLancaster in England. As of the2020 census, the town population was 3,218,[2] the second largest in the county afterBerlin. It is thecounty seat of Coös County and gateway to theGreat North Woods Region of the state. Lancaster, which includes the villages of Grange and South Lancaster, is home toWeeks State Park and the Lancaster Fair. Part of theWhite Mountain National Forest is in the eastern portion. The town is part of theBerlin, NH−VTMicropolitan Statistical Area.
The main village in town, where 1,941 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as theLancaster census-designated place (CDP) and is located at the junctions ofU.S. Route 3 andU.S. Route 2, along theIsrael River.
Lancaster is the site of thePorcupine Freedom Festival, an annualliberty-themed festival of theFree State Project that draws thousands of visitors each year.[3][4]
Granted as "Upper Coos" in 1763 bycolonial GovernorBenning Wentworth to Captain David Page ofPetersham, Massachusetts, the town was settled in 1764 by his son, David Page, Jr. and Emmons Stockwell. It was the first settlement north ofHaverhill, New Hampshire, 50 miles (80 km) to the south, and originally included land in what is nowVermont. It would be named forLancaster, Massachusetts, hometown of an early inhabitant. Reverend Joshua Weeks, a grantee of the town, was among the group of explorers who named the mountains of thePresidential Range. Other grantees were Timothy Nash and Benjamin Sawyer, who discoveredCrawford Notch in 1771, making a shorter route toPortland, Maine, possible.
Manywater-powered mills have come and gone, includingsawmills, severalpotato starch mills, one of the largestgristmills in the state, andcarriage factories. Agranite quarry operated in the KilkennyRange. With fertile meadows beside the Connecticut River, Lancaster was in 1874 the twelfth most productive agricultural town in the state. An extension of the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad shipped products to market, and brought tourists to the grand hotels in the area.
Just south of the village center is Mount Prospect, summer home toSenatorJohn W. Weeks, who sponsored congressional legislation creating White Mountain National Forest. In 1910, he purchased several farms to assemble the 420-acre (170 ha) estate. It is nowWeeks State Park, which features afire lookout and his mansion, open for tours during the summer. TheMount Prospect Ski Tow operates on the slope in winter, snow conditions permitting. Many of theWhite Mountains andGreen Mountains can be seen from the stoneobservation tower built in 1912 atop the 2,059-foot (628 m) summit. The Presidential Range is to the southeast, with theFranconia Range to the south.Mount Weeks, elevation 3,900 ft (1,200 m), is in the Kilkenny Range to the northeast. It is named for the senator, as is the Weeks Medical Center. Weeks Memorial Library, aBeaux Arts landmark listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2000, was given by John W. Weeks in memory of his father, William Dennis Weeks.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 51.1 square miles (132.3 km2), of which 50.0 square miles (129.5 km2) are land and 7.5 square kilometres (2.9 sq mi) are water, comprising 2.19% of the town.[1]
Lancaster is drained by theIsrael River, and is fully within theConnecticut Riverwatershed.[5] The Connecticut River forms the northwest border of the town, as well as the border withVermont. The town also includes Martin Meadow Pond. Lancaster's highest point is located on a western spur ofMount Cabot at 3,290 feet (1,000 m) abovesea level.
Lancaster has ahumid continental climate (Dfb) with warm summers coupled with cool nights, and cold, snowy winters with annual snowfall averaging 70.3 inches (179 cm).
| Climate data for Lancaster, New Hampshire (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1892–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 62 (17) | 64 (18) | 81 (27) | 90 (32) | 91 (33) | 95 (35) | 95 (35) | 94 (34) | 93 (34) | 82 (28) | 73 (23) | 62 (17) | 95 (35) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 25.3 (−3.7) | 28.7 (−1.8) | 38.1 (3.4) | 52.2 (11.2) | 66.3 (19.1) | 75.0 (23.9) | 79.5 (26.4) | 77.9 (25.5) | 70.3 (21.3) | 56.5 (13.6) | 42.9 (6.1) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 53.6 (12.0) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 14.4 (−9.8) | 16.2 (−8.8) | 26.1 (−3.3) | 40.2 (4.6) | 52.8 (11.6) | 62.1 (16.7) | 67.0 (19.4) | 65.3 (18.5) | 57.7 (14.3) | 45.5 (7.5) | 33.9 (1.1) | 22.0 (−5.6) | 41.9 (5.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 3.4 (−15.9) | 3.7 (−15.7) | 14.1 (−9.9) | 28.2 (−2.1) | 39.3 (4.1) | 49.3 (9.6) | 54.4 (12.4) | 52.6 (11.4) | 45.1 (7.3) | 34.5 (1.4) | 24.9 (−3.9) | 13.0 (−10.6) | 30.2 (−1.0) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −39 (−39) | −40 (−40) | −28 (−33) | −1 (−18) | 18 (−8) | 28 (−2) | 32 (0) | 28 (−2) | 21 (−6) | 8 (−13) | −9 (−23) | −36 (−38) | −40 (−40) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.43 (62) | 2.03 (52) | 2.21 (56) | 3.15 (80) | 3.76 (96) | 4.37 (111) | 4.20 (107) | 4.13 (105) | 3.59 (91) | 4.18 (106) | 2.85 (72) | 2.90 (74) | 39.80 (1,011) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 17.9 (45) | 17.8 (45) | 11.6 (29) | 4.0 (10) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.6 (1.5) | 4.6 (12) | 19.5 (50) | 76.1 (193) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 14.0 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 13.2 | 12.6 | 11.2 | 14.1 | 13.6 | 16.2 | 159.0 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 12.6 | 10.2 | 7.1 | 2.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 5.3 | 12.5 | 51.3 |
| Source:NOAA[6][7] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 161 | — | |
| 1800 | 440 | 173.3% | |
| 1810 | 717 | 63.0% | |
| 1820 | 844 | 17.7% | |
| 1830 | 1,187 | 40.6% | |
| 1840 | 1,316 | 10.9% | |
| 1850 | 1,559 | 18.5% | |
| 1860 | 2,020 | 29.6% | |
| 1870 | 2,248 | 11.3% | |
| 1880 | 2,721 | 21.0% | |
| 1890 | 3,373 | 24.0% | |
| 1900 | 3,190 | −5.4% | |
| 1910 | 3,054 | −4.3% | |
| 1920 | 2,819 | −7.7% | |
| 1930 | 2,887 | 2.4% | |
| 1940 | 3,095 | 7.2% | |
| 1950 | 3,113 | 0.6% | |
| 1960 | 3,138 | 0.8% | |
| 1970 | 3,166 | 0.9% | |
| 1980 | 3,401 | 7.4% | |
| 1990 | 3,522 | 3.6% | |
| 2000 | 3,280 | −6.9% | |
| 2010 | 3,507 | 6.9% | |
| 2020 | 3,218 | −8.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[2][8] | |||
As of thecensus of 2010, there were 3,507 people, 1,399 households, and 880 families residing in the town. The population density was 70.4 inhabitants per square mile (27.2/km2). There were 1,687 housing units at an average density of 33.9 units/sq mi (13.1 units/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.8% White, 0.3%African American, 0.7%Native American, 0.6%Asian, 0.03% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.4% some other race, and 1.1% from two or more races. 1.7% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.[9]
There were 1,399 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were headed bymarried couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35, and the average family size was 2.85.[9]
In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 20.2% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.[9]
For the period 2007–2011, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $40,455, and the median income for a family was $53,542. Male full-time workers had a median income of $48,438 versus $30,000 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $28,245. 13.0% of the population and 10.4% of families were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of people under the age of 18 and 19.2% age 65 or older.[10]
Lancaster is at the intersection ofU.S. Route 2 andU.S. Route 3 and is the northern terminus ofNew Hampshire Route 135, which leads toDalton and points beyond. A seldom-usedrailroad track of theMaine Central Railroad skirts theConnecticut River, and a branch atCoos Junction leaves forJefferson and Waumbek Junction. TheMount Washington Regional Airport is located 11 miles (18 km) away in adjacentWhitefield. As of January 2006, Lancaster is also served by the Tri-Town Bus, a public transportation route connecting withWhitefield andLittleton.[11]
Places adjacent to Lancaster, New Hampshire | |
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