The Province of New Hampshire was originally divided into five counties, of which Grafton, known as “The Fifth,” was established by an act of the colonial legislature in 1771. Named for Augustus Henry Fitzroy, the Duke of Grafton, this vast area was intended to contain “all the lands of the Province not comprehended in the other counties.” Originally Grafton extended south for 150 miles down the Connecticut River Valley from the Canadian border, but this immense territory was not destined to last. In 1800 the township of Burton (Albany) was separated from Grafton and annexed to Strafford County. Subsequently, in 1803 and 1805, the entire northern half of Grafton was separated to form the new county of Coos. The boundaries as we know them today were set by the state legislature in 1829.
As it is presently constituted, Grafton County is bounded on the north by Coos County; on the east by Coos, Carroll, and Belknap counties; on the south by Merrimack and Sullivan counties; and on the west by the meandering Connecticut River. Approximately 1,465 square miles in size, the county is divided into forty towns, twenty-nine of which were granted under the reign of George III, and the remaining eleven under the New Hampshire state government. The surface features of Grafton’s territory are extremely varied, ranging from the rough, scenic terrain of the North Country, to the rolling and flat lands of the Connecticut River Valley, and interior areas to the west and south. Much of the county is wooded, and almost one-half of the White Mountain National Forest falls within its boundaries. As a consequence, tourism and recreation have become vitally important bases of the regional economy. Picturesque lakes (Squam, Newfound, Mascoma, etc.), as well as several river systems have proven added economic assets. The principal sources of income historically—agriculture, lumbering, railroading, and light industry—have continued, but at declining rates. The presence of educational institutions, such as Dartmouth College and Plymouth State University, and several independent secondary schools, has also positively affected the economic, cultural, and social lives of Grafton’s residents.
Like that of Sullivan County to the south, the architecture of Grafton County is regional in scope, sharing its most prominent qualities with adjacent areas of New Hampshire and Vermont. Building forms and stylistic patterns, especially for the period 1780 to 1840, tend to mimic, with local variations, those of the lower Connecticut River Valley. The influence of Asher Benjamin’s design books may be observed in both churches and houses of the Federal era. Nationally significant concentrations of buildings of this period are present in the towns of Orford, Haverhill, Lyme, and Bath. Greater diversity in design modes is evident in the interior communities of Canaan Street, Wentworth, Plymouth, Holderness, and Ashland. Vestiges of the Victorian-era summer tourist trade are preserved in the cottages and few surviving resort hotels of Bethlehem and Littleton on the western edge of the White Mountains.
In the southwest sector, Hanover is an architectural museum unto itself, thanks largely to the constantly altering tastes and demands of Dartmouth College. It is to this community, centered on an academic oasis of striking building variety, that one must travel to view the contrasting work of such architects and firms as Ammi Burnham Young, Samuel J. F. Thayer, Frederick C. Withers, John L. Faxton, Charles A. Rich, Jens Fredrick Larson, Harrison and Abramovitz, Campbell and Aldrich, E. H. and M. K. Hunter, Pier Luigi Nervi, Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, and Venturi Scott Brown and Associates. An aberration from Grafton County’s architectural norm, Hanover’s profuse architectural heritage, in some respects quite experimental, adds great interest to the regional offerings of New Hampshire’s second largest county.
Writing Credits
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.