Litchfield, New Hampshire

Originally known as Naticook, the name was changed to Brenton's Farm in 1729 when the land was granted to William Brenton, colonial governor of Rhode Island. The town was incorporated in 1734. After Brenton's death in 1749, the land was granted to another group of settlers and named Litchfield after George Henry Lee, Earl of Lichfield.

Wiseman Claget moved to his substantial estates here shortly before the Revolution. He was involved in the temporary government serving as the only Solicitor General, the post being abolished shortly before his death in 1784.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.4 square miles (40 km²), of which 15.1 sq mi (39 km²) is land and 0.3 sq mi (0.78 km²) is water, comprising 2.27% of the town. The highest point in Litchfield is the summit of Rocky Hill, at 357 feet (109 m) above sea level. The town is bordered to the north by Manchester, to the east by Londonderry in Rockingham County, to the south by Hudson, and to the west by Merrimack, with the Merrimack River separating the two towns. There is no bridge connecting Litchfield and Merrimack; the closest river crossings are to the south between Nashua and Hudson, and to the north between Manchester and Bedford.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	357		—
1800	372		4.2%
1810	382		2.7%
1820	465		21.7%
1830	505		8.6%
1840	481		−4.8%
1850	447		−7.1%
1860	352		−21.3%
1870	345		−2.0%
1880	291		−15.7%
1890	252		−13.4%
1900	243		−3.6%
1910	255		4.9%
1920	213		−16.5%
1930	286		34.3%
1940	341		19.2%
1950	427		25.2%
1960	721		68.9%
1970	1,420		96.9%
1980	4,150		192.3%
1990	5,516		32.9%
2000	7,360		33.4%
2010	8,271		12.4%
Est. 2015	8,448	^[2]	2.1%
U.S. Decennial Census^[3]

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 7,360 people, 2,357 households, and 2,031 families residing in the town. The population density was 487.5 people per square mile (188.2/km²). There were 2,389 housing units at an average density of 158.3 per square mile (61.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.72% White, 0.53% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.

There were 2,357 households out of which 53.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.3% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.8% were non-families. 9.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the town the population was spread out with 33.4% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 37.8% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 3.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $73,302, and the median income for a family was $76,931. Males had a median income of $46,809 versus $33,488 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,203. About 2.2% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

There are three public schools in Litchfield:

Griffin Memorial School (K-4)
Litchfield Middle School (5-8)
Campbell High School (9-12)

Transportation

Two New Hampshire state highways cross Litchfield:

New Hampshire Route 3A closely parallels the Merrimack River, entering the town from Hudson in the south, and leaving the town into Manchester in the north. It is known as the Charles Bancroft Highway through the town.
New Hampshire Route 102 crosses the extreme southeastern corner of town, known as Derry Road locally. It enters Hudson at both borders.

Though the town borders Merrimack on the west, it cannot be directly accessed as there are no bridges across the river. Access to Londonderry, to the east of Litchfield, is primarily via Hillcrest Road, which is the main east-west thoroughfare across central Litchfield.

Litchfield has no air or rail transport within the town limits. The nearest commercial airport is Manchester–Boston Regional Airport along the border of Londonderry and Manchester, which is close to the northern border of Litchfield. The nearest rail service is the Lowell Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail which can be accessed at the Charles A. Gallagher Transit Terminal in Lowell, Massachusetts. The nearest Amtrak stations are Boston's North Station or South Station.

Municipal services

The Town of Litchfield operates a waste management and transfer station on Hillcrest Road, located near the geographical center of Litchfield and the "new" town hall and police station. The historical center of Litchfield is on the Charles Bancroft Highway (New Hampshire Route 3A). Today the fire station, the first church in Litchfield and the Litchfield Historical Society are located there in and around the old town hall.

Several public parks, including Darrah Pond, Parker Park and Litchfield State Forest, are open year round to the public.

The Litchfield Mosquito District was featured on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The episode featured segments from a televised town meeting from September 17, 2015, which had no members of the public in attendance. ^[5]

Notable people

Clifton Clagett, US congressman^[6]

References

↑ United States Census Bureau, American FactFinder, 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
↑ krimola (2016-03-07), Mosquito Control District Meeting - Sept 17, 2015, retrieved 2016-04-08
↑ "CLAGETT, Clifton, (1762 - 1829)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 19, 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Litchfield, New Hampshire.

Municipalities and communities of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States

County seats: Manchester and Nashua

Cities	Manchester Nashua

Towns	Amherst Antrim Bedford Bennington Brookline Deering Francestown Goffstown Greenfield Greenville Hancock Hillsborough Hollis Hudson Litchfield Lyndeborough Mason Merrimack Milford Mont Vernon New Boston New Ipswich Pelham Peterborough Sharon Temple Weare Wilton Windsor

CDPs	Amherst Antrim Bennington East Merrimack Goffstown Greenville Hancock Hillsborough Hudson Milford Peterborough Pinardville Wilton

Other villages	Grasmere Reeds Ferry West Peterborough

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