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
• Density	53.3/sq mi (20.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd

Grafton County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,118. Its county seat is North Haverhill, a village within the town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices were in downtown Woodsville, a larger village within the town of Haverhill.

Grafton County is part of the Claremont-Lebanon, NH–VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The county is the home of Dartmouth College and Plymouth State University. Progressive Farmer rated Grafton County fourth in its list of the "Best Places to Live in Rural America" in 2006, citing low unemployment (despite slow economic growth), a favorable cost of living, and the presence of White Mountain National Forest, the state's only national forest.

History

Grafton was one of the five counties originally identified for New Hampshire in 1769. It was named for Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, who had been a supporter of American causes in Parliament, and who was serving as British Prime Minister at the time. The county was organized at Woodsville in 1771, and originally included the entire northern frontier of New Hampshire, including a number of towns that are now in Vermont. In 1803, the northern area was removed for the formation of Coos County. The three counties to the south were Strafford, Hillsborough and Cheshire, and the eastern edge bordered the "District of Maine". In 1797, the county contained 50 townships and 17 locations, and had a population of 23,093.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,750 square miles (4,500 km²), of which 1,709 square miles (4,430 km²) is land and 41 square miles (110 km²) (2.3%) is water. It is the second-largest county in New Hampshire by area.

Grafton County is heavily rural. About half of its total area is in the White Mountain National Forest. Squam Lake, featured in the film On Golden Pond, and the Old Man of the Mountain landmark are located here, as are Dartmouth College and the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Many of the 4,000-foot mountains of New Hampshire are within the county. The Appalachian Trail passes through parts of at least ten towns in the county.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

• White Mountain National Forest (part)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 89,118 people, 35,986 households, and 22,074 families in the county. The population density was 52.2 inhabitants per square mile (20.2/km²). There were 51,120 housing units at an average density of 29.9 per square mile (11.5/km²). The county's racial makeup was 93.6% white, 3.0% Asian, 0.9% black or African American, 0.4% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 23.6% were English, 18.7% were Irish, 10.9% were German, 6.6% were Italian, 5.8% were Scottish, 5.8% were French Canadian, and 5.0% were American.

Of the 35,986 households, 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.7% were non-families, and 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age was 41.2 years.

The median household income was $53,075 and the median family income was $66,253. Males had a median income of $43,566 versus $33,535 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,170. About 5.1% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Lebanon

Towns

Township

• Livermore

Census-designated places

Villages

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Grafton para niños