Grafton County, New Hampshire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grafton County
U.S. county
Grafton County Courthouse in Haverhill
Location within the U.S. state of New Hampshire
New Hampshire's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Founded	1769
Named for	Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton
Seat	Haverhill
Largest city	Lebanon
Area
• Total	1,749.7 sq mi (4,532 km2)
• Land	1,708.6 sq mi (4,425 km2)
• Water	41.1 sq mi (106 km2)  2.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	91,118
• Estimate  (2022)	91,126
• Density	53.3/sq mi (20.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd
Website	co.grafton.nh.us

Grafton County is a county in the state of New Hampshire, USA. In 2020, about 91,118 people lived here. The main town, or county seat, is Haverhill. The county offices moved to North Haverhill in 1972.

Grafton County is part of the Claremont-Lebanon, NH–VT Micropolitan Statistical Area. This means it's a smaller urban area with strong ties to nearby towns.

This county is home to two important colleges: Dartmouth College and Plymouth State University. In 2006, Progressive Farmer magazine said Grafton County was one of the "Best Places to Live in Rural America." They liked its low unemployment and the beautiful White Mountain National Forest.

History of Grafton County

Grafton was one of the first five counties created in New Hampshire in 1769. It was named after Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton. He was the British Prime Minister at the time and supported the American colonies in Parliament.

The county was officially set up in Haverhill in 1771. It used to be much bigger, covering all of northern New Hampshire. Some towns now in Vermont were even part of it! In 1803, the northern part became Coos County. By 1797, Grafton County had 50 towns and about 23,093 people.

Geography of Grafton County

Grafton County covers about 1,750 square miles. Most of this area, about 1,709 square miles, is land. The rest, about 41 square miles, is water. It is the second-largest county in New Hampshire by size.

This county is very rural, meaning it has lots of open land and small towns. About half of its area is part of the beautiful White Mountain National Forest. You can find Squam Lake here, which was featured in the movie On Golden Pond. The famous Old Man of the Mountain landmark was also here before it fell in 2003.

Many of New Hampshire's tallest mountains, called "4,000-footers," are in Grafton County. The famous Appalachian Trail, a long hiking path, also goes through many towns in the county.

Neighboring Counties

Protected Natural Areas

• White Mountain National Forest (part)

Population in Grafton County

In 2010, there were 89,118 people living in Grafton County. About 93.6% of the people were white. Other groups included 3.0% Asian, 0.9% Black or African American, and 0.4% American Indian. About 1.8% of the people were of Hispanic or Latino background.

The average age of people in the county was 41.2 years old.

Towns and Communities

City

• Lebanon

Towns

Township

• Livermore

Census-Designated Places

Villages

Education

Grafton County has many school districts. They are organized to serve students from kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12), or just secondary (high school), or elementary (younger grades).

Unified (K-12) School Districts:

Secondary (High School) School Districts:

Elementary School Districts:

Images for kids

• 

  Grafton County Courthouse in Haverhill

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Grafton para niños