Effingham, New Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Effingham is a town
in Carroll County
, New Hampshire
, United States
. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 1,465. Effingham includes the villages of Effingham Falls, Effingham (Lord's Hill), Center Effingham (Drake's Corner), and South Effingham. Pine River State Forest is in the south.
, led by Captain John Leavitt, a soldier whose father, Moses, was a prosperous Hampton tavern keeper. From them the settlement first took the name Leavitt's Town. In 1749, the land was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth
, and he renamed it Effingham for the Howard family, who were Earls of Effingham
and who were related to the Wentworths by marriage. The town was incorporated in 1778. North Effingham would be set off in 1831 and incorporated as Freedom
. By 1859, when the population was 1,252, Effingham Falls had developed into a small mill town
, with a woolen
factory, five sawmill
s, three gristmill
s, and a carriage
factory.
Effingham was home to the first normal school
in New Hampshire
, established in 1830 on the second floor of the Effingham Union Academy Building, erected in 1819. James W. Bradbury
, later a Maine
senator, took charge of the school only on condition that it should be for the "instruction and training of teachers." The idea was his own and, at that time, entirely novel.
, the town has a total area of 39.6 square miles (102.6 km²), of which 38.4 square miles (99.5 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) is water, comprising 2.98% of the town. Green Mountain, elevation 1884 feet (574.2 m) above sea level
, is the highest point in town. Effingham is drained by the Ossipee River
and the Ossipee's tributaries, the Pine
and South
rivers. Province Lake
lies partially within the town's borders to the south, and small portions of Ossipee Lake
(Broad Bay and Berry Bay) are contained to the north. The community is bounded on the east by the Maine state line, and on the north by the Ossipee River. Effingham lies fully within the Saco River
watershed
.
The town is served by state routes 25
and 153
.
of 2000, there were 1,273 people, 490 households, and 336 families residing in the town. The population density
was 33.0 people per square mile (12.7/km²). There were 791 housing units at an average density of 20.5 per square mile (7.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.35% White, 0.39% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.08% from other races
, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.39% of the population.
There were 490 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples
living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 106.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,000, and the median income for a family was $38,000. Males had a median income of $29,650 versus $22,188 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $17,089. About 8.1% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...
in Carroll County
Carroll County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,666 people, 18,351 households, and 12,313 families residing in the county. The population density was 18/km² . There were 34,750 housing units at an average density of 14/km²...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 1,465. Effingham includes the villages of Effingham Falls, Effingham (Lord's Hill), Center Effingham (Drake's Corner), and South Effingham. Pine River State Forest is in the south.
History
The town was settled by members of the Leavitt family of HamptonHampton, New Hampshire
Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,976 at the 2010 census. Located beside the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton is home to Hampton Beach, a summer tourist destination....
, led by Captain John Leavitt, a soldier whose father, Moses, was a prosperous Hampton tavern keeper. From them the settlement first took the name Leavitt's Town. In 1749, the land was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth was the colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766.-Biography:The eldest child of the John Wentworth who had been Lieutenant Governor, he was born and died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wentworth graduated from Harvard College in 1715...
, and he renamed it Effingham for the Howard family, who were Earls of Effingham
Earl of Effingham
Earl of Effingham, in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1837 for Kenneth Alexander Howard, 11th Baron Howard of Effingham. This branch of the Howard family descends from the noted naval commander and politician Lord William Howard, eldest son...
and who were related to the Wentworths by marriage. The town was incorporated in 1778. North Effingham would be set off in 1831 and incorporated as Freedom
Freedom, New Hampshire
Freedom is a town located in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,489 at the 2010 census. The town's eastern boundary runs along the Maine state border. Ossipee Lake, with a resort and camps, is in the southwest of the town....
. By 1859, when the population was 1,252, Effingham Falls had developed into a small mill town
Mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
, with a woolen
Woolen
Woolen or woollen is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn...
factory, five sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s, three gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
s, and a carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
factory.
Effingham was home to the first normal school
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, established in 1830 on the second floor of the Effingham Union Academy Building, erected in 1819. James W. Bradbury
James W. Bradbury
James Ware Bradbury was a United States Senator from Maine.Born in Parsonsfield, Maine, he attended the common schools and Gorham Academy...
, later a Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
senator, took charge of the school only on condition that it should be for the "instruction and training of teachers." The idea was his own and, at that time, entirely novel.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 39.6 square miles (102.6 km²), of which 38.4 square miles (99.5 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) is water, comprising 2.98% of the town. Green Mountain, elevation 1884 feet (574.2 m) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, is the highest point in town. Effingham is drained by the Ossipee River
Ossipee River
The Ossipee River is an river in eastern New Hampshire and western Maine in the United States. It is a tributary of the Saco River, which flows southeast to the Atlantic Ocean at Saco, Maine....
and the Ossipee's tributaries, the Pine
Pine River (New Hampshire)
The Pine River is a 19.2 mile long river located in eastern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of Ossipee Lake, part of the Saco River watershed leading to the Atlantic Ocean.- Course :...
and South
South River (Ossipee River)
The South River is a 10.6 mile long river in eastern New Hampshire and western Maine in the United States. It is a tributary of the Ossipee River, which flows east to the Saco River and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean....
rivers. Province Lake
Province Lake
Province Lake is a water body located on the border between New Hampshire and Maine in the United States. Approximately of the lake lie in the towns of Effingham and Wakefield, New Hampshire, with the remainder in Parsonsfield, Maine...
lies partially within the town's borders to the south, and small portions of Ossipee Lake
Ossipee Lake
Ossipee Lake is located in Carroll County in eastern New Hampshire, in the communities of Ossipee and Freedom. At 3,245 acres, it is the sixth-largest lake located entirely in New Hampshire. The lake is fed by the West Branch , the Bearcamp and Lovell rivers , and the Pine River...
(Broad Bay and Berry Bay) are contained to the north. The community is bounded on the east by the Maine state line, and on the north by the Ossipee River. Effingham lies fully within the Saco River
Saco River
The Saco River is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Saco Bay, from its source. It supplies drinking water to roughly 250,000...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.
The town is served by state routes 25
New Hampshire Route 25
New Hampshire Route 25 is a long east–west state highway in New Hampshire. It runs completely across the state from Vermont to Maine.The western terminus of Route 25 is at the Vermont state line on the Connecticut River in Piermont, where the road continues west as Vermont Route 25...
and 153
New Hampshire Route 153
New Hampshire Route 153 is a long secondary north–south highway in Strafford and Carroll counties in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The road runs from Farmington north to Conway....
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,273 people, 490 households, and 336 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 33.0 people per square mile (12.7/km²). There were 791 housing units at an average density of 20.5 per square mile (7.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.35% White, 0.39% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.08% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.39% of the population.
There were 490 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 106.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,000, and the median income for a family was $38,000. Males had a median income of $29,650 versus $22,188 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $17,089. About 8.1% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.