Lancaster, New Hampshire
Coos county. Shire town of the county, and situated on the southeastern bank of Connecticut river, which forms and washes its N.W. boundary, a distance of ten miles. It lies distant 110 miles W. from Portland, 130 N. from Portsmouth, 95 N. from Concord, and 75 above Dartmouth College. Besides the Connecticut, which is deep and about 22 rods in width while it passes through Lancaster, the town is watered by Israel's river and several considerable brooks. Across this river a bridge and several dams are thrown, forming a valuable water power. There are several ponds in Lancaster, the largest of which is called Martin-meadow pond, from Martin, a hunter. This communicates with Little pond.
Lancaster is situated near lofty mountains but is not itself mountainous. There are three hills in the S. part of the town, called Martin-meadow hills; and the land in the S.E. part lies too high up the mountains for cultivation. The soil along the Connecticut is alluvial, the meadows extending back nearly three-fourths of a mile; and at the mouth of Israel's river much farther.
The village, or most compact part of the town, lies on a street extending from the bridge across Israel's river northwardly:—it is pleasant, and is the site of some manufacturing establishments. Lancaster was granted and settled in 1763. The war of the revolution tended to retard the settlement of the town.—After the war closed the town settled with considerable rapidity, and has since gradually increased in wealth and business. Population, 1830, 1,187.
