Jaffrey, New Hampshire Facts for Kids

The main part of town, called the Jaffrey census-designated place (CDP), had 3,058 residents in 2020. This area is found along the Contoocook River. It's also where U.S. Route 202 meets New Hampshire routes 124 and 137.

History of Jaffrey
- Jaffrey's Appeal to Artists and Writers
Geography of Jaffrey
Population and People
Schools in Jaffrey
Notable People from Jaffrey
Images for kids
See also

History of Jaffrey

Old Baker Home, which was the oldest house in Jaffrey in 1905

Jaffrey was first given to soldiers from Rowley, Massachusetts, in 1736. They were returning from a war in Canada. Back then, the town was known as Rowley-Canada. In 1749, it was renamed Monadnock No. 2. People sometimes called it Middle Monadnock or Middletown. This was one of the first towns created after the Mason family bought large areas of land.

People started settling in Jaffrey around 1758. The town was officially recognized again in 1767. In 1773, Governor John Wentworth made it an official town. He named it after George Jaffrey, who came from a rich family in Portsmouth. George Jaffrey's son helped design the official seal for Dartmouth College.

The Contoocook River was very important for the town. Its flowing water provided power for mills. These mills helped the town grow and become successful. You can still see this success in the beautiful old buildings, like the Town Meetinghouse, which was built in 1775.

Jaffrey's Appeal to Artists and Writers

Starting in the 1840s, many tourists began visiting Jaffrey. They loved the beautiful scenery, especially around Mount Monadnock. Several hotels were built at the base of the mountain for these visitors. Mount Monadnock is still very popular with hikers today.

Famous writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Rudyard Kipling all climbed Mount Monadnock. In 1845, Emerson was so inspired by his visit that he wrote a poem called Monadnoc.

Jaffrey is also known because of a book called Amos Fortune, Free Man. This biography was written by Elizabeth Yates in 1950. It won the Newbery Medal in 1951, which is a big award for children's books. Amos Fortune was born in Africa and was enslaved. He later bought his freedom and the freedom of his wife. He started a business making leather in Jaffrey.

Amos Fortune is buried in the local cemetery. Other famous people buried there include Hannah Davis, who was known for making special boxes, and Willa Cather, a famous author who spent summers in Jaffrey.

Geography of Jaffrey

Jaffrey covers about 40.0 square miles (104.1 square kilometers) in total. Most of this area, about 38.3 square miles (99.5 square kilometers), is land. The rest, about 1.7 square miles (4.6 square kilometers), is water. The town center itself is smaller, covering about 2.6 square miles (6.7 square kilometers).

You can find Thorndike Pond in the northern part of town. Contoocook Lake is located on the southern border. Mount Monadnock is the highest point in Jaffrey. It stands at about 3,165 feet (965 meters) above sea level and is in the northwest.

Most of Jaffrey is part of the Merrimack River watershed. This means that water from this area flows into the Contoocook River, which then flows into the Merrimack River. A small part of the town in the northwest belongs to the Ashuelot River watershed, which is part of the larger Connecticut River watershed.

Jaffrey is in the southeast part of Cheshire County. It shares borders with several other towns:

Dublin to the north
Peterborough and Sharon to the east (these are in Hillsborough County)
Rindge to the south
Troy and Marlborough to the west

Population and People

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	1,235	—
1800	1,341	8.6%
1810	1,336	−0.4%
1820	1,339	0.2%
1830	1,354	1.1%
1840	1,411	4.2%
1850	1,497	6.1%
1860	1,453	−2.9%
1870	1,256	−13.6%
1880	1,267	0.9%
1890	1,469	15.9%
1900	1,801	22.6%
1910	1,895	5.2%
1920	2,303	21.5%
1930	2,485	7.9%
1940	2,879	15.9%
1950	2,911	1.1%
1960	3,154	8.3%
1970	3,353	6.3%
1980	4,349	29.7%
1990	5,361	23.3%
2000	5,476	2.1%
2010	5,457	−0.3%
2020	5,320	−2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

In 2010, Jaffrey had 5,457 people living in 2,234 households. About 30.9% of these households had children under 18. The average household had 2.41 people.

About 24% of the population was under 18 years old. Around 15.3% of residents were 65 or older. The median age in town was 41.5 years.

Schools in Jaffrey

Jaffrey and the nearby town of Rindge work together for their schools. They form the Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District, also known as SAU 47.

The public schools in Jaffrey are:

Jaffrey Grade School, which teaches students from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade.
Conant Middle High School, for students in grades 6 through 12.

There is also a private high school in town called Victory High School, which serves grades 9-12.

Notable People from Jaffrey

Many interesting people have connections to Jaffrey:

Laban Ainsworth (1757–1858), a minister.
Lucy Barnes (1780–1809), a writer.
Vannevar Bush (1890–1974), an engineer, inventor, and scientist. He played a big part in the Manhattan Project.
Andrew Card (born 1947), a politician who was once the White House Chief of Staff.
Willa Cather (1873–1947), a famous author.
Francis Joseph Christian (born 1942), a retired bishop.
Walter S. Crosley (1871–1939), a rear admiral in the United States Navy.
Amos Fortune (around 1710–1801), an early resident who was a tanner. He is the subject of the book Amos Fortune, Free Man.
Fannie Hillsmith (1911–2007), a painter.
Alfred B. Kittredge (1861–1911), a US senator from South Dakota.
James Laurence Laughlin (1850-1933), an economist.
Talcott Parsons (1902–1979), a sociologist.
Jedediah Sanger (1751–1829), who founded New Hartford, New York.
Levi Spaulding (1791–1873), a missionary.
Oliver L. Spaulding (1833–1922), a Civil War general and politician.