Weare, New Hampshire
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| Weare, New Hampshire | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Hampshire |
| County | Hillsborough County |
| Incorporated | 1764 |
| Government | |
| - Board of Selectmen | Leon Methot, Chairman Heleen Kurk Joseph Fiala Donna Osborne Thomas Clow |
| Area | |
| - Town | 59.9 sq mi (155.1 km²) |
| - Land | 58.8 sq mi (152.4 km²) |
| - Water | 1.0 sq mi (2.7 km²) |
| Elevation | 633 ft (193 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Town | 7,776 |
| - Density | 132.1/sq mi (51.0/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| Website: www.weare.nh.gov | |
Weare is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA. The population was 7,776 at the 2000 census. As of July 2006, it is estimated to be home to 8,730 people. Its rapid growth is largely due to the fact that it is close to two important New Hampshire cities, Manchester and Concord.
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[edit] History
Starting as a 1735 grant by Massachusetts Colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher to soldiers in the Canadian wars, this town was named "Beverly-Canada," for the soldiers' hometown of Beverly, Massachusetts. It then went through the names "Halestown," "Robiestown," and "Wearestown." In 1764, it was incorporated by Governor Benning Wentworth as "Weare," in honor of Meshech Weare, who served as the town's first clerk.
In 1834, Moses Cartland founded "Clinton Grove Academy," the first Quaker seminary in the state. A cousin of John Greenleaf Whittier, Cartland named the village where the school was located "Clinton Grove," in honor of Dewitt Clinton, chief sponsor of the Erie Canal. 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 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, a hurricane moving up from the West Indies passed through the center of New England. The additional heavy rains from the hurricane caused the failure of the Deering Reservoir dam, which resulted in a wall of raging water to rush down to the Weare Reservoir dam. Although the dam held, the rushing water broke through the land at the side of the dam, releasing the millions of gallons of water in the reservoir. The raging river, completely out of control, washed away everything in its path, leaving parts of Weare devastated. Many active mills were destroyed in the disaster.
In response to the disaster and seasonal flooding, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the 2,000-foot 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 floods. 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, currently a farmhouse owned by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter. The effort to seize Souter's property for the project, in retaliation for a June, 2005 court ruling he supported concerning eminent domain, received international media coverage. However, at the February 4, 2006 deliberative session of the town meeting, 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. Irrespective of the town warrant vote in March, the land taking for the proposed hotel will not happen.
[edit] Notable inhabitants
- Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, Episcopal bishop
- David Souter, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 155.1 km² (59.9 mi²). 152.4 km² (58.8 mi²) of it is land and 2.7 km² (1.0 mi²) of it is water, comprising 1.74% of the town. Weare is drained by the Piscataquog River, which is impounded by 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 (1,211 feet / 369 meters above sea level), Mine Hill (1,211 feet), and Mount Wallingford (approximately 1,210 feet).
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 7,776 people, 2,618 households, and 2,117 families residing in the town. The population density was 51.0/km² (132.1/mi²). There were 2,828 housing units at an average density of 18.6/km² (48.1/mi²). 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, 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 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 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.
[edit] Education
Weare has one elementary school, Center Woods Elementary School, serving children in kindergarten through fourth grade.
Weare Middle School 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.
[edit] External links
- Weare, NH Official Website
- Center Woods Elementary School
- Weare Middle School
- John Stark Regional High School
- New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
- Clough State Park
- Hopkinton-Everett Lake
- Weare Free Press - local community newspaper
- Website for the people of Weare
