Weare, New Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Weare is a town in Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 380,841 people, 144,455 households, and 98,807 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 149,961 housing units at an average density of 171 per square mile...

, 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...

. The population was 8,785 at the 2010 census. It is close to two important New Hampshire cities, Manchester
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...

 and Concord
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

.

History

It was granted to veterans of the Canadian
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

 wars in 1735 by Governor Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher was colonial governor of the British provinces of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and New Jersey.-Early life:Jonathan Belcher was born in Cambridge, Province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1682...

, who named it Beverly-Canada after their hometown, Beverly
Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. But the charter was ruled invalid because of a prior claim by the Masonian proprietors, who granted it as Hale's Town to Ichabod Robie in 1749. It was also known as Robie's Town or Weare's Town before being incorporated 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...

 in 1764 as Weare, after Meshech Weare
Meshech Weare
Meshech Weare was an American farmer, lawyer and revolutionary statesman from Seabrook, New Hampshire. He served as the first President of New Hampshire from 1776 to 1785.-Family life:...

, who served as the town's first clerk.

In 1834, Moses Cartland founded Clinton Grove Academy, the first Quaker seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 in the state. A cousin of John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...

, Cartland named the village where the school was located Clinton Grove, in honor of Dewitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal...

, chief sponsor of the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

. The original academy served as a private high school. The complex, which included a classroom building, boarding house, barn and sheds, burned in 1872. Classes were then held in the Quaker meetinghouse across the common
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...

 until 1874, when a new building was completed. It would serve as the Weare school district from 1877 to 1938.

On September 21, 1938, following several days of heavy rain, the New England Hurricane of 1938
New England Hurricane of 1938
The New England Hurricane of 1938 was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869...

 passed through the center of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

. The additional rains from the storm caused the Deering Reservoir
Deering Reservoir
Deering Reservoir is a water body located in Hillsborough County in southern New Hampshire, United States, in the town of Deering. The lake serves as the headwaters to the Piscataquog River, which flows east to the Merrimack River in Manchester....

 dam to breach, releasing a wall of water that rushed down to the Weare Reservoir
Weare Reservoir
Weare Reservoir is a impoundment on the Piscataquog River in Hillsborough County in southern New Hampshire, in the town of Weare. The reservoir is also known as Lake Horace....

 dam. Although the dam held, the flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...

 broke through the land at the side of the dam, releasing millions of gallons of reservoir water. The raging river, completely out of control, washed away everything in its path, leaving parts of Weare devastated. Many active mills
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...

 were destroyed in the disaster.

In response to the disaster and seasonal flooding, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the 2000 feet (609.6 m) long Everett Dam, as part of the Hopkinton-Everett Flood Control Project, which had been authorized by Congress to prevent a recurrence of the devastating flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

s. The overall project was completed in 1963 at a total cost of $21,400,000. The dam required the village of East Weare to be permanently abandoned, and formed Everett Lake.

In 2005, the town was proposed as the site of the Lost Liberty Hotel
Lost Liberty Hotel
The Lost Liberty Hotel or Lost Liberty Inn was a proposed hotel to be built on the site of United States Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter's properties in Weare, New Hampshire. The proposal was a reaction to the Supreme Court's Kelo v. New London decision in which Souter joined the...

, currently a farmhouse owned by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter
David Souter
David Hackett Souter is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J...

. The effort to seize Souter's property for the project, in retaliation for a June, 2005 court ruling he supported concerning eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...

, received international media coverage. However, at the February 4, 2006 deliberative session of the town meeting
Town meeting
A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....

, a warrant article that would have empowered town officials to take the property was amended by residents in a way that made the March 14, 2006 ballot measure moot
Moot
Moot may refer to:* from Moot as an Old English language term for meeting:**Folkmoot**Jamtamót, the old assembly of Jämtland**Witenagemot, the High Council of Anglo-Saxon England...

.

Notable inhabitants

  • Gene Robinson
    Gene Robinson
    Vicki Gene Robinson is the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Robinson was elected bishop in 2003 and entered office in March 2004...

    , Episcopal bishop
    Bishop
    A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

  • David Souter
    David Souter
    David Hackett Souter is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served from 1990 until his retirement on June 29, 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat vacated by William J...

    , associate justice
    Associate Justice
    Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...

     of the U.S. Supreme Court

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 59.9 square miles (155.1 km²), of which 58.8 sq mi (152.3 km²) is land and 1 sq mi (2.6 km²) is water, comprising 1.74% of the town. Weare is drained by the Piscataquog River
Piscataquog River
The Piscataquog River is a river located in southern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Merrimack River, which flows to the Gulf of Maine....

, which is impounded by Lake Horace
Weare Reservoir
Weare Reservoir is a impoundment on the Piscataquog River in Hillsborough County in southern New Hampshire, in the town of Weare. The reservoir is also known as Lake Horace....

 in the northwest and by Everett Lake in the northeast. The three highest summits in Weare form a cluster near the center of town. From south to north, they are Mount Dearborn, at 1211 feet (369.1 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...

, Mine Hill 1211 feet (369.1 m), and Mount Wallingford, approximately 1210 feet (368.8 m).

The town is crossed by New Hampshire Route 77
New Hampshire Route 77
New Hampshire Route 77 is a long secondary north–south highway in Hillsborough and Merrimack counties in southern New Hampshire. It runs from Dunbarton to New Boston....

, New Hampshire Route 114
New Hampshire Route 114
New Hampshire Route 114 is a long secondary north–south highway in central New Hampshire. The highway runs between Bedford, in Hillsborough County and Grantham, in Sullivan County....

 and New Hampshire Route 149
New Hampshire Route 149
New Hampshire Route 149 is a long secondary east–west state highway in Hillsborough County in the southern part of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The road runs between the towns of Weare and Hillsborough....

.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
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 7,776 people, 2,618 households, and 2,117 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 132.1 people per square mile (51.0/km²). There were 2,828 housing units at an average density of 48.1 per square mile (18.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.25% White, 0.17% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.22% 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 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.

There were 2,618 households out of which 48.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.0% 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, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.1% were non-families. 13.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the town the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 36.8% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $59,924, and the median income for a family was $62,661. Males had a median income of $38,986 versus $27,643 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 $22,217. About 1.5% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Weare has one elementary school, Center Woods Elementary School
Center Woods Elementary School
-Center Woods Elementary School:Center Woods Elementary School is a coeducational public elementary school in Weare, New Hampshire. It is part of School Administrative Unit 24, and is administered by the Weare School District....

, serving children in kindergarten through fourth grade.

Weare Middle School
Weare Middle School
Weare Middle School is a coeducational public middle school in Weare, New Hampshire serving the community of Weare. It is part of School Administrative Unit 24, and is administered by the Weare School District....

 serves children from fifth through eighth grade. Construction on a new middle school facility began in late 2005.

High school students in Weare attend John Stark Regional High School
John Stark Regional High School
John Stark Regional High School PrincipalChris MoscaAsst. PrincipalsBrian Emery, Tina TanguaySchool typePublic Founded1987LocationWeare, Hillsborough County, New HampshireEnrollment913Campus surroundingsRural...

.

External links

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