1823 Statistics and Profile

The following Statistics and Profile was published in 1823. It provides an interesting picture of Hillsborough County at that time. In 1823, the county consisted of 42 townships, a small number of which no longer exist. For example, Nottingham-West became Hudson just 7 years after this gazetteer was published. It also gives the researcher an overview of the prominent types of manufactories, mills, and number of schools, in each of the townships. It reports that Weare had the largest number of school houses (23) and meeting-houses, at that time, while New-Boston held the largest number of saw-mills by far (25); Goffstown the most grain-mills (8); and Boscawen had the largest number of carding machines in addition to the greatest number of taverns. ––Ann Mensch

Hillsborough county is situated between 42° 41' and 43° 32' N. latitude. Its greatest length is 52 miles; its greatest breadth, from the E. line of Manchester to the W. line of Hancock, is 32 miles; and its least breadth, from the W. line of New-London to Pemigewasset river, is about 15 miles. It contains 11245 square miles, or 796,800 acres. It has Grafton county on the N., Rockingham on the E., the state of Massachusetts on the S., and Cheshire county on the W. The surface of this county is generally uneven, though there are but few lofty mountains. The Kearsarge and Ragged mountains in the N. part are the highest elevations, and from their summits, there is an extensive prospect. Lyndeborough mountain in the township of Lyndeborough, Sunapee mountain in Fishersfield, the Unconcoonock in Goffstown, Crotched in Francestown and Society-Land, are of considerable altitude. These will be noticed under the towns in which they are situated. This section of New-Hampshire is well watered. The noble and majestic Merrimack has a course of more than 20 miles in this county. In Boscawen, it receives the Contoocook, a river of considerable length and importance, watering several towns in the west part of the county. At Dunstable the Nashua, a beautiful stream from Massachusetts, discharges its waters into the Merrimack. Between the mouths of these rivers, the Souhegan and Piscataquog, streams of much value and consequence to the manufacturing interests, discharge themselves into the Merrimack; the former in the township of Merrimack; the latter in Bedford. Part of two large collections of water denominated lakes are situated in this county. The southern part of lake Sunapee is in the N. W. part of the township of Fishersfield; and the W. part of lake Massabesick is on the E. boundary of Manchester. Besides these, there are numerous ponds interspersed through the whole extent of territory. Some of the largest of these are Chance pond in Andover, Pleasant pond in New-London, Todd's pond in Fishersfield, Gregg's pond in Antrim, Pleasant pond in Francestown, Babboosuck pond in Amherst, and Potanipo in Brookline. There are several mineral springs which have been found serviceable in cutaneous affections, but no one has yet acquired general celebrity. Minerals have been found in various places, but not in great abundance. The manufactures in this county in 1810, were as follows, viz. 56 tanneries, at which 6150 hides and 12,000 skins were tanned; 2 distilleries, producing 5000 gallons of spirit; 1 paper-mill, making $12,000 worth of paper; 38 fulling mills, fulling 126,500 yds. of cloth, and dressing 90,000 yds. of thin cloths; 10 shearing machines; 35 carding machines, carding 158,000 lbs. of wool; 2 oil mills, producing 6000 gallons of oil; 5 nail cutting machines, making 10 tons of nails; 6 trip-hammers; 16 hatters, making 4000 fur and 6000 wool hats; 5490 looms, weaving 1,158,160 yds of cloth. All these were produced annually.-- This county possesses many advantages for manufacturing establishments, and it is gratifying to find that many of its citizens are turning their attention to this branch of national and individual wealth.

STATISTICAL TABLE [ca. 1823]
TOWNS	Meeting-houses	School districts	School houses	Taverns	Stores	Saw-mills	Grain-mills	Clothing mills	Carding machines	Bark mills	Tanneries
Amherst	1	12	9	4	4	4	3	1		1	1
Andover	2	15	12	3	4	5	3	2	2	1	3
Antrim	1	10	8	2	2	7	6	2	2	2	3
Bedford	2	10	10	3	7	8	6	1	1		2
Boscawen	2	15	15	9	6	17	5	4	5		5
Bradford	1	7	7	1	4	3	3	1		2	2
Brookline	1	3	3	2	3	6	4	1		1	1
Deering	1	10	10	2	2	2	2	1	1		2
Dunbarton	1	8	7	4	5	6	2			1	1
Dunstable	1	9	9	6	5	3	3	1	1	2	3
Fishersfield	1	8	7	1	2	3	2		1
Francestown	1	10	9	3	6	6	5	2	2		4
Goffstown	2	11	11	4	6	17	8	3	2		2
Greenfield	1	9	9	1	2	3	1	1			2
Hancock	1	9	8	2	3	6	6	1	1		2
Henniker	3	10	10	3	5	7	6	2	4	3	3
Hillsborough	1	13	13	6	7	8	5	3	3	3	6
Hollis	1	13	12	2	4	6	5	1	1		1
Hooksett		5	5	5		4
Hopkinton	3	17	16	3	7	5	2	2	6	6
Lyndeborough	1	10	9	2	2	4	3	1			2
Litchfield	1	3	3	1		4	2
Manchester	1	7	4	2	2	7	4		1
Mason	1	10	10	1	3	5	4	1	2		1
Merrimack	1	9	9	5	5	3	5	2	2		2
Milford	2	7	7		3	12	4	2	2		1
Mont-Vernon	1	4	4	1	3	2	1				1
New-Boston	2	16	14	1	3	25	6	2	2	1	2
New-Ipswich	2	9	9	3	4	4	3		3	1	1
New-London	1	8	8		3	4	3	2	2		2
Nottingham-West	2	10	10	1	3	4	4	2	1
Peterborough	2	6	6	1	6	4	3	2	1	1	1
Salisbury	3	13	13	3	8	10	5	3	3	2	6
Sharon		3	2		1	2	1
Society-Land	1	3	1
Sutton	2	10	9		2	8	3	3	1	3	3
Temple	1	6	6		2	4	4	1	1		1
Warner	2	17	15	2	4	6	4	2	2	2	2
Weare	4	24	23		9	11	9	3	3	1	8
Wilmot	1	8	7	1	1	5	3
Wilton	2	9	9	1	1	5	5	2	2	2	3
Windsor		3	2	1		2	1	1
42 Towns,	60	399	370	92	149	256	157	58	56	35	85

Besides the preceding mills, factories, &c. there are 2 paper mills, one at Warner, the other at Peterborough; 11 cotton factories, 7 woollen factories; 10 trip-hammers; a number of distilleries and oil mills; a starch manufactory, which manufactures between 4000 and 5000 bushels of potatoes into the useful article of starch.--There is one printing establishment at Amherst, which issues weekly more than 1000 papers. There are five incorporated academies in this county, three of which are in operation. That at New-Ipswich is highly respectable, and has funds. Those at Francestown and Hillsborough have been in operation but a short time. Hillsborough has 42 townships, 34 post-offices, sends 44 members to the General Court. The Superior Court and Court of Sessions are holden alternately at Amherst and Hopkinton. The first permanent settlement of this county was made at Dunstable, then considered as belonging to Massachusetts, a few years before the war with King Philip in 1675. It was constituted a county by an act of the General Assembly of the province, on the 19th of March, 1771. Its name is supposed to be derived from Wills Hills, the Earl of Hillsborough, who was one of the privy council of George III., and whose residence was at Hillsborough, in the county of Down in Ireland. The population in 1775, was 15,986; in 1790, 32,371; in 1800, 43,899; in 1810, 49,249, and in 1820, 53,884. The population to a square mile is 43.2. The number of persons engaged in agriculture, 13,197; in commerce, 236; and in manufactures, 2,400.

Contributed, by Ann Mensch, from A Gazetteer of the State of New Hampshire, published in 1823, pages 54-57.