About Alton, New Hampshire
Alton is a town in Belknap County in Belknap, New Hampshire.The population was 4,502 at the 2000 census. It is home to Alton Bay State Forest and Mount Major State Forest. Alton includes the village of Alton Bay, a long-time resort located beside Lake Winnipesaukee.
Alton is a lovely community located at the southern tip of Lake Winnipesaukee providing for year round activities such as boating, swimming, snowmobiling, and skiing. The town is located at the crossroads of highways route 11 and 28 that allows for easy travel to the seacoast and the Concord/Manchester areas.
History
Originally called New Durham Gore because of rocky upland areas, or “gores,” the town was settled in the middle 1770s, mainly by farmers because the highland areas provided less frost. Merchants then filled the lowlands. Early Alton history recounts stories of the merchants trying to convince the farmers to incorporate. They would succeed in 1796, when the community was named for the Alton family.
By 1840, the village of Alton existed at the town’s center. In 1847, railways began bringing passengers and freight to Alton Village and Alton Bay. Various businesses flourished, the most famous being the Rockwell Clough Company, established in 1875, inventor and manufacturer of the corkscrew. By 1903, the company was producing 30 million of these gadgets worldwide.
Since the mid-1800s, however, tourism has been the principal business. In 1863, Adventis Campground held their first camp meeting at Alton Bay. In 1872, the Boston and Maine Railroad launched at Alton Bay the steamer Mount Washington, the first side-wheeler and largest vessel on Lake Winnipesaukee. When destroyed by fire in 1939, a replacement ship was found, also christened Mount Washington. Today, it continues to carry summer tourists between stops on the lake. The railway survived until 1935, but the old station at Alton Bay is now a community center.
Geography and Demographics
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 82.2 square miles), of which 63.1 sq mi (163 km²) is land and 19.0 sq mi (49 km²) is water, comprising 23.18% of the town. Alton is drained by the Merrymeeting River. Mount Major, in Mount Major State Forest, has an elevation of 1,780 feet (540m) above sea level. Popular with hikers, the summit offers unsurpassed views of Lake Winnipesaukee. The highest point in Alton is the north peak of Straightback Mountain, at 1,910 ft (580 m), just west of Mount Major. Both mountains are part of the Belknap Mountain range. Alton lies almost fully within the Merrimack River watershed, though a tiny corner is in the Piscataqua River (Coastal) watershed.
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,502 people, 1,825 households, and 1,295 families residing in the town. The population density was 71.3 people per square mile (27.5/km²). There were 3,522 housing units at an average density of 55.8/sq mi . There were 1,825 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,451, and the median income for a family was $46,467. Males had a median income of $37,585 versus $29,375 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,940.
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