Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

History

The town was granted by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth in 1759 to four young men of Portsmouth, and named Wolfeborough in honor of English General James Wolfe, who had been victorious at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. In 1763, 2,300 acres (930 ha) were added to the 60 acres (24 ha) reserved for the governor. Colonial Governor John Wentworth, his nephew, established an estate on the site, known as Kingswood. Built in 1771 beside what is now called Lake Wentworth, this was the first summer country estate in northern New England. Settled in 1768, the town was incorporated in 1770.

Over the years Wolfeboro, whose town motto is "The Oldest Summer Resort in America", became a popular summer colony, particularly for families from Boston and southern New Hampshire. Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, Kurt Vonnegut, Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon have spent time in Wolfeboro. In August 2007, French president Nicolas Sarkozy vacationed there.

In May 2014, it was discovered that 82-year-old police commissioner Robert Copeland had been overheard in a cafe two months earlier using a racial epithet to refer to President Barack Obama. Copeland acknowledged in an email to his colleagues that he did in fact use the word, saying "for this, I do not apologize — he meets and exceeds my criteria for such." At a subsequent meeting with residents, Copeland refused calls for his resignation. A few days later, he submitted his resignation.

Geography

The main village of the town, where 2,838 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Wolfeboro census-designated place (CDP), and is located at the head of Wolfeboro Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee, at the junction of New Hampshire routes 28 and 109.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 58.5 square miles (152 km²), of which 47.9 square miles (124 km²) is land and 10.6 square miles (27 km²) is water, comprising 18.09% of the town. Wolfeboro is drained by the Smith River, which is the outlet of Lake Wentworth and an inlet of Lake Winnipesaukee. The highest point in town is Moody Mountain, elevation 1,420 feet (430 m) above sea level, located near the northern boundary.

The main village of Wolfeboro, a census-designated place, has a total area of 7.3 sq mi (19 km²). 7.0 sq mi (18 km²) of it is land and 0.3 sq mi (0.78 km²) of it, or 3.56%, is water.

Wolfeboro is home to Wentworth State Park, a 50-acre (0.20 km²) state park on the shore of Lake Wentworth.

Town center

As of the 2010 Census, there were 2,838 people, 1,353 households, and 795 families residing in the census-designated place corresponding to the central village of Wolfeboro. There were 1,858 housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 96.5% White, 0.2% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.0% from other races, and 0.2% from two or more races. 1.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the 2000 census, there were 1,304 households out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 7.4% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 39.2% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.78.

Also in 2000, the CDP population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 27.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males.

The median income for a household in 2000 was $42,853, and the median income for a family was $51,005. Males had a median income of $36,950 versus $30,688 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,466. 4.6% of the population and 1.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 4.9% are under the age of 18 and 4.3% are 65 or older.

Demographics

As of the 2000 Census,, there were 6,083 people, 2,574 households, and 1,722 families residing in the town. The population density was 125.9 people per square mile (48.6/km²). There were 3,903 housing units at an average density of 31.2 persons/km² (80.8 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 99.13% White, 0.16% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races, and 0.23% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,574 households out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 7.1% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 33.1% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the town, the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $44,013, and the median income for a family was $53,269. Males had a median income of $36,433 versus $29,850 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,361. 6.3% of the population and 3.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 9.0% are under the age of 18 and 2.9% are 65 or older.

Notable people

Education

Wolfeboro is served by Kingswood Regional High School, located on Main Street southeast of the center of town. Adjoining the high school is Kingswood Regional Middle School. The two elementary schools located in the community are Carpenter and Crescent Lake. All of the aforementioned schools are part of the Governor Wentworth Regional School District, which includes five additional towns. The town is also home to Brewster Academy, a private preparatory school.

Health care

Wolfeboro's largest health care facility is Huggins Hospital, a non-profit hospital that serves the communities of Alton, Brookfield, Effingham, Freedom, Madison, Moultonborough, New Durham, Ossipee, Sanbornville, Sandwich, Tamworth, Tuftonboro, Wakefield, Wolfeboro, and other surrounding towns. Huggins is a Critical Access Hospital (CAH). CAHs are hospitals with no more than 25 inpatient beds; Huggins has 25. Huggins has a relationship with the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Air Transport Service (DHART) that can provide trauma victims access to helicopter in as little as 20 minutes, so they can be transported to the Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center.

Sites of interest