Grafton County, New Hampshire
Haverhill and Plymouth are the county towns.
This county extends from lat. 43°27' to 44°22' N. It is 58 miles in length and its greatest breadth is 30 miles. It contains 828,623 acres, besides a large tract of ungranted land. It is bounded N. by the county of Coos, E. by Strafford, S. by Merrimack, and W. by the state of Vermont. Grafton county is watered by Connecticut river, on which are several pleasant and flourishing towns; by Pemigewaset, and Lower Amonoosuck rivers, and by many smaller streams.—Squam and Newfound lakes are the largest collections of water. The former, of which a considerable part lies in Strafford county, has been much celebrated for its picturesque beauties. Its numerous angular projections, the variety of its islands covered with wood, and the vicinity of lofty mountains, render it an object peculiarly interesting. There are numerous elevations which come under the name of mountains. Those of the most importance are Gardner's in Lyman, Peaked in Bethlehem, Moosehillock in Coventry, Cushman's and the Blue mount in Peeling, Carr's in Warren and Ellsworth, Moose in Hanover, and Cardigan in Orange.
A large portion of Grafton county is mountainous and hilly, but this circumstance does not prevent its productiveness. It presents fine tracts for pasturage, a large proportion of arable land, and on the rivers, extensive and fertile intervales.
This county is emphatically a wool growing county, and there were, in 1837, more than 120,000 sheep within its borders.
The first settlement in this county was made at Lebanon, and this was the first settlement on Connecticut river north of Charlestown. It was constituted a county, March 19, 1771, and received its name in honor of Augustus Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton. Population in 1775, 3,597; in 1790, 12,449; in 1800, 20,171; in 1810, 28,462; in 1820, 32,989; and in 1830, 38,691.
