The Holidays

Town of Barrington
Town
Tom Ham Brook
Seal
Location within Strafford County, New Hampshire
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
County	Strafford
Settled	1699
Incorporated	1722
Government
• Board of Selectmen	David Frase George Bailey Ken Grant Mike Morrison Vicki Roundy
Area
• Total	48.5 sq mi (125.7 km2)
• Land	46.6 sq mi (120.7 km2)
• Water	1.9 sq mi (5.0 km2)
Elevation	381 ft (116 m)
Population  (2007)
• Total	8,405
• Density	180.4/sq mi (69.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	03825
Area code	603
FIPS code	33-03460
GNIS feature ID	0873538
Website	www.barrington.nh.gov

Barrington is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,475 at the 2000 census. The town is a woodland, farm and bedroom community.

History

Barrington was incorporated in 1722 and named for Samuel Shute of Barrington Hall, colonial governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. His brother was John Shute Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington.

The town was made up of two grants, the first containing all of Strafford and present-day Barrington except for a parcel two miles wide called New Portsmouth, or the Two Mile Streak. This second grant had been set aside to provide fuel and home sites for imported workers at the Lamprey River Iron Works, chartered in 1719 by the Massachusetts General Court to encourage industrial development in the province.

Slow at first to be settled because of rocky soil, Barrington by 1810 had 3,564 residents, then the state's third largest town, its primary industry the smelting of iron ore. The Isinglass River, together with its tributaries, provided water power for grist, fulling and saw mills. In 1820, Strafford was set off from Barrington, reducing its land area by about half, because of lengthy travel required to attend town meetings.

In 1882, the Reverend Alonzo Hall Quint writes:

"Of those towns in the state whose scenery is somewhat quiet, one of the most beautiful is Barrington."

Indeed, the town's attractive natural features, including rivers, brooks, waterfalls and not less than 14 ponds, are summarized by the name of a 374 foot (114 meter) summit: Beauty Hill. Barrington is bisected by the Calef Highway (Route 125), named for a locally famous general store founded in 1869.

Notable inhabitants

• Frank Jones, alemaker, hotelier & congressman
• Jillian Wheeler, singer-singwriter & actress

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 48.5 square miles (126 km²), of which 46.6 sq mi (121 km²) of it is land and 1.9 sq mi (4.9 km²) is water, comprising 3.98% of the town. Barrington is drained by the Isinglass River and Bellamy River. Swains Lake and Mendum's Pond are in the south. The highest point in town is an unnamed summit near its western border, measuring 610 feet (190 m) above sea level. The highest named summit is Bumfagging Hill, at 601 ft (183 m). Barrington lies fully within the Piscataqua River (Coastal) watershed.

Demographics

Old Post Office (East Barrington) c. 1910

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 7,475 people, 2,756 households, and 2,075 families residing in the town. The population density was 160.5 people per square mile (61.9/km²). There were 3,147 housing units at an average density of 67.6/sq mi (26.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.11% White, 0.25% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.92% of the population.

There were 2,756 households out of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.07.

File:Winkley's Pond, Barrington, NH.jpg

Winkley's Pond c. 1915

In the town the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 104.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $50,630, and the median income for a family was $56,136. Males had a median income of $39,098 versus $27,956 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,012. About 3.6% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Barrington School District serves town children from kindergarten through grade 8, at the Barrington Elementary School and the Barrington Middle School. Students of high school age go to schools in neighboring communities, either Dover High School, Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, or St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

Cocheco Arts & Technology Academy is a charter school that serves high school students in the city. The school opened in Dover in January, 2005, and moved to Barrington in the summer of 2006. It is noted for being the first charter school in New Hampshire not specifically set up for special-needs or "at-risk" pupils.

Site of interest

• Mendum's Pond, University of New Hampshire

Further reading

• Rev. Alonzo Hall Quint, "Daniel Hall," Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men, 1882, Published by John Badger Clarke, Manchester, New Hampshire

External links

• Town website
• Barrington Public Library
• Barrington Recreation Department
• New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile