New Ipswich, New Hampshire | ||
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Town | ||
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Location in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire |
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Coordinates: 42°44′53″N 71°51′15″W / 42.74806°N 71.85417°WCoordinates: 42°44′53″N 71°51′15″W / 42.74806°N 71.85417°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | New Hampshire | |
County | Hillsborough | |
Incorporated | 1762 | |
Government | ||
• Board of Selectmen | Rebecca Doyle, Chair David Lage Timothy Johnson II |
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• Town Administrator | Joanne Meshna | |
Area | ||
• Total | 33.1 sq mi (85.6 km2) | |
• Land | 32.8 sq mi (84.8 km2) | |
• Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2) 0.97% | |
Elevation | 1,106 ft (337 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 5,099 | |
• Density | 150/sq mi (60/km2) | |
Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | |
ZIP code | 03071 | |
Area code(s) | 603 | |
FIPS code | 33-51940 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0873681 | |
Website | http://www.townofnewipswich.org/ |
New Ipswich is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,099 at the 2010 census. New Ipswich, situated on the Massachusetts border, includes the villages of Bank, Davis, Gibson Four Corners, Highbridge, New Ipswich Center, Smithville, and Wilder, though these village designations no longer hold the importance they did in the past. The Wapack Trail passes through the community.
New Ipswich was granted in 1735 to 60 inhabitants of Ipswich, Massachusetts, from whence the name is derived, by Colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher and the General Court (Assembly) of Massachusetts. As was customary, tall white pine trees were reserved for use as masts by the Royal Navy. Settlement began in 1738, when Abijah Foster arrived with his wife and infant daughter. In 1762, Governor Benning Wentworth incorporated the town as "Ipswich", and then in 1766 as "New Ipswich". New Ipswich Academy, later renamed Appleton Academy after benefactor Samuel Appleton, was chartered in 1789, the second oldest in New Hampshire after Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter. It would also serve as high school for the nearby communities of Mason and Greenville. Appleton Academy closed in 1968. In 1969, construction of Mascenic Regional High School was completed in New Ipswich.
The Souhegan River provided water power for mills, and in 1801, the first woolen mill in the state was established at New Ipswich, followed in 1804 by the first cotton mill. Other early factories produced glass, potash and linseed oil. Cabinet making craftsmen produced elegant furniture. The town's affluence would be expressed in fine architecture, an example of which is the Barrett House, used as a setting for the 1979 Merchant Ivory film of The Europeans by Henry James. Bypassed by the railroad, the early mill town was preserved.