Wentworth, New Hampshire
| Wentworth, New Hampshire | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Wentworth Common
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 Location in Grafton County, New Hampshire |
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| Coordinates: 43°52′08″N 71°54′36″W / 43.86889°N 71.91000°WCoordinates: 43°52′08″N 71°54′36″W / 43.86889°N 71.91000°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Hampshire |
| County | Grafton |
| Incorporated | 1766 |
| Government | |
| • Board of Selectmen | Chris Bassingthwaite, Chair Peter Santom Raymond Youngs |
| Area | |
| • Total | 42.0 sq mi (108.7 km2) |
| • Land | 41.4 sq mi (107.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2) 1.21% |
| Elevation | 630 ft (192 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 911 |
| • Density | 22/sq mi (8.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 03282 |
| Area code(s) | 603 |
| FIPS code | 33-80500 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0873752 |
| Website | www |
Wentworth is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 911 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Plummer's Ledge Natural Area, and part of the White Mountain National Forest is in the northeast. The town has a picturesque common, presided over by a Federal style church and bordered by antique homes.
It was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth on November 1, 1766 to John Page and 60 others. Named for the governor himself, Wentworth was settled and incorporated the same year. Many of the settlers arrived from Massachusetts, particularly Salisbury. With a pretty New England common set atop an elevated tongue of land, the village has been noted since the 19th century for its charm; while in "... beauties of landscape, Wentworth has a more than ordinary share."
Farmers cultivated the rich soil on the intervales. The Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad diagonally crossed the town. With abundant water power from the Baker River, Wentworth developed into a lumber producing town with nine sawmills. But disaster struck on August 6, 1856, when dams on the Upper and Lower Baker ponds in Orford breached during a flood, releasing a wall of water down Pond Brook to the Baker River. It raced three miles (4.8 km) down the steep, rocky channel, then undermined and washed away Wentworth's riverside mills, houses, barns, sheds and roads. It widened the river by nearly 90 feet (27 meters).
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