Ashland is the name of a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire,
New England. The US The Census Bureau recorded a population of
1,938 as of the 2020 census.
Ashland was elected at the
suggestion of a former Assistant Sargent-at-Arms (sic) serving
as such in Washington, D.C. at the time of Henry Clay. served.
Ashland is the name of Clay's Kentucky estate.
Ashland is the smallest community in Grafton County by area. Of the 30.6 km² total area, 1.3 km² is water. The geographic center of New Hampshire is about three miles east of town. Little Squam Lake has its western end within the parish.
Ashland is located on the Squam River near its confluence with the Pemigewasset River in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Plymouth is to the west, Holderness to the northeast, New Hampton in Belknap County to the south, and Bridgewater to the southwest.
Ashland was originally part of the Town of Holderness. The town of Holderness was deeded to the group of proprietors by the royal governor in 1751. However, due to the outbreak of the French and Indian War, the proprietors were unable to settle the township in time. Therefore, the township was renamed New Holderness in 1761. ("New" was removed in 1816).
The first white settlement in Holderness occurred in 1763; by 1771, there were enough settlers living there to hold the first town meeting and establish a town government. Like other New Hampshire towns, Holderness was settled as an agricultural center.
However, the Squam River, with its abundant reservoirs in Squam Lake
and several rapids and waterfalls, was a prime site for a hydroelectric
power plant. The river was used to power the town's first sawmill and
gristmill in 1770-71; by 1810, one of New Hampshire's oldest paper mills
was operating on the river; in 1840, the Squam Lake Woolen Mill was
built; and in 1851, the town's first paper mill was built on the river.
Paper and textiles were the main products of the mills along the river.
However, other products such as lumber and other wood products, gloves,
and sporting goods were also manufactured here. Textile production
continued until 2002, when the L.W. Packard Company, founded in 1916,
discontinued woolen textile production.
The mills spurred the
growth of the riverfront village, which was connected to the national
market in 1849 with the opening of the Boston, Concord, and Montreal
Railway. Stores were established to serve the factory workers, and the
village prospered in commerce. The village developed its own
institutions. Four churches were built: Baptist (1834-35), Episcopal
(1859), Methodist (1897-98), and Catholic (1898). The interests of the
industrial and commercial villagers differed from those of farmers in
other parts of town. Thus, in 1868, the southwest corner of Holderness
was incorporated as the new Town of Ashland.
The new town made a
number of progressive improvements in the late 19th century: a town hall
was built in 1871; a public library (the oldest in continuous operation
in the four northern counties of the state) was established; an
impressive brick schoolhouse with separate grade levels was built in
1877-78; a new schoolhouse was built in 1878; and a new schoolhouse was
built in 1879. (A large school was later established in 1910, and a
dedicated school building was built in 1911.) Kerosene streetlights were
first lit in 1886, but were soon replaced by electric streetlights by
the Ashland Electric Company, established in 1888. (The town government
bought the electric company in 1918 and still operates it as a public
utility.) In 1893, a private company was formed to build a village water
system that would supply water from Jackson Pond in New Hampton.
However, that company could not raise the necessary capital, so the town
purchased the company and built the water system in 1894. A fire
department was organized that year, and the first fire station, which
also served as the library and town offices, was built in 1895. (The
library moved to its own building, the Scribner Memorial, in 1939.)
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a summer resort and
housing were developed in Squam Lakes. Early visitors traveled by train
to Ashland and then by steamboat up the Squam River to their lakeside
destinations. Later, the railroads were replaced by cars and trucks and
modern, paved highways. The Daniel Webster Highway (Route 3) followed
existing roads, and in 1964 an entirely new Interstate 93 opened to
Ashland. Interstate 93 spurred commercial development, especially around
the interchange, and recreational and residential development,
especially near the White Mountain Country Club golf course, which
opened to the public in 1977.
After World War II, the town
government also developed. Immediately after the war, the playground was
renovated by Booster Club volunteers. The Booster Clubhouse was built in
1948 and served as a community meeting place and recreational facility.
The school gymnasium was built in 1949; the town beach was purchased in
1955; and on the occasion of the town's centennial in 1968, Memorial
Park was created in the center of the village and the Ashland Historical
Society was established. Nobel laureate Dr. George Hoyt Whipple donated
his family home to the Historical Museum in 1970. The Historical Society
opened the Pauline E. Gladden Toy Museum in 1991 and restored the
Ashland Railroad Station in 1997-98; in 1989-90, a committee affiliated
with the Historical Society raised funds to build a covered bridge over
the Squam River. The school system built the Ober School in 1960,
followed by additions to the school building in 1969-70 and 1997-98 to
improve facilities. (The high school closed in 1990 and Ashland joined
the Regional High School School District.) A village sewer system was
constructed in 1968-69 to clean up the Squam River; a new fire station
was built in 1976-77 and a new town garage in 1979-80. Water service was
switched from Jackson Pond to a well in 1997.
The median income in 2019 was $34,323 for men and $41,875 for women, with 19.8 percent of local residents living on income below the poverty line. The largest companies included two manufacturers of shoe racks and elastomer products, followed by a restaurant, a timber trade and the municipality itself (as of 2020).
Ashland's community police work full-time, with fire and emergency medical services on call. The nearest hospital is Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth. In addition to the library, the Ashland Town Library, there is an elementary school up to the 8th grade in Ashland. Further schooling is through the Pemi-Baker Cooperative (alongside Ashland Campton, Holderness, Plymouth, Rumney, Thornton and Wentworth). The municipality operates water supply and sewage disposal including a sewage treatment plant. There is no rubbish collection or charge, recycling is mandatory.
Interstate 93 and US 3 as well as the New Hampshire State Routes NH-132 and NH-175 run through Ashland. Plymouth Municipal Airport has a grass runway, while the closest tarmac runway is Bristol's Newfound Valley Airport, which is also only suitable for smaller aircraft. The nearest airport is Lebanon Municipal Airport in Lebanon. Tourist traffic takes place on the railway line. The station has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982.