Sunapee, New Hampshire Facts for Kids

Sunapee is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. In 2020, about 3,342 people lived there. The town is home to part of Lake Sunapee. It also includes the village of Georges Mills.

History of Sunapee
Geography of Sunapee
- Towns Near Sunapee
People of Sunapee
Famous People from Sunapee
Images for kids
See also

History of Sunapee

Sunapee Village in 1909

Sunapee had a few different names before it became an official town in 1781. It was called "Saville" in 1768, then "Corey's Town," and later "Wendell." It was named Wendell after John Wendell, who was an important landowner.

Today, a village on the west side of town and a marsh near Sunapee Middle-High School still have Wendell's name. The name "Sunapee" replaced "Wendell" in 1850. The town, Lake Sunapee, and Mount Sunapee all share this name.

The name comes from words in an Algonquian language, spoken by Native Americans. Suna means "goose," and apee means "water." Native Americans called the area "Lake of the Wild Goose." This is because the lake looks like a goose, with its "beak" at Sunapee Harbor.

Sunapee in 2005

Before Sunapee became a popular place for tourists, it was an industrial area. One factory there could make 110 clothespins every minute!

When the factories closed, the beautiful lake became the main attraction. Many large hotels used to be around the lake. People traveled between these hotels on big ferries. However, by 1915, most ferries were gone because cars became common.

Lake Sunapee is special because it's the only lake in New Hampshire with three working lighthouses. These lighthouses were built in the 1890s. They are still taken care of by the Lake Sunapee Protective Association.

Geography of Sunapee

Sunapee covers about 65.2 square kilometers (25.2 square miles) in total. About 54.5 square kilometers (21.0 square miles) is land. The other 10.6 square kilometers (4.1 square miles) is water. This means about 16.31% of the town is water.

The Sugar River flows through Sunapee. This river is the outlet of Lake Sunapee. It flows west and joins the Connecticut River. The highest point in Sunapee is about 488 meters (1,600 feet) above sea level. This spot is along the town's northern border, near Ledge Pond.

Towns Near Sunapee

Sunapee shares its borders with several other towns:

Springfield (to the north)
New London (to the northeast)
Newbury (to the southeast)
Goshen (to the south)
Newport (to the southwest)
Croydon (to the northwest)

People of Sunapee

Sunapee Safety Services facility, completed August 2006

In 2010, there were 3,365 people living in Sunapee. There were 1,443 households and 973 families. The population density was about 61.3 people per square kilometer.

Most people in Sunapee are White (97.6%). A small number of people are African American (0.2%), Native American (0.3%), or Asian (0.6%). About 1.0% of people are from two or more races. About 0.8% of the population is Hispanic or Latino.

Sunapee Harbor around 1905

About 27.1% of households had children under 18 living with them. Most households (55.2%) were married couples living together. About 7.9% had a female head of household with no husband. About 32.6% were not families.

The average household had 2.31 people. The average family had 2.74 people.

The population in Sunapee is spread out by age:

19.6% are under 18 years old.
6.7% are from 18 to 24 years old.
21.7% are from 25 to 44 years old.
32.8% are from 45 to 64 years old.
19.1% are 65 years or older.

The median age in Sunapee was 46.2 years. For every 100 females, there were about 98.1 males.

George's Mills around 1905

From 2007 to 2011, the average yearly income for a household was about $66,741. For a family, it was about $78,973. The average income per person in the town was $38,737.

About 0.8% of families and 6.0% of all people lived below the poverty line. This included 5.7% of those under 18 and 2.3% of those 65 or older.

Famous People from Sunapee

John H. Bartlett (1869–1952), who was the 57th governor of New Hampshire.
Ken Burns (born 1953), a director and producer of documentary films. His films are often shown on PBS.
Steven Tyler (born 1948), the lead singer of the famous American rock band Aerosmith.