Cheshire County, New Hampshire

Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Seal
Location in the state of New Hampshire
New Hampshire's location in the U.S.
Founded	1769
Seat	Keene
Largest city	Keene
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	729.63 sq mi (1,890 km²) 707.40 sq mi (1,832 km²) 22.23 sq mi (58 km²), 2.98%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	77,117 109/sq mi (42/km²)
Website	co.cheshire.nh.us

Cheshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of 2010, the population was 77,117.^[1] Its county seat is Keene.^[2]

Cheshire was one of the five original counties of New Hampshire, and is named for Cheshire in England. It was organized in 1771 at Keene.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 729 square miles (1,888 km²), of which 707 sq mi (1,831 km²) is land and 22 sq mi (57 km²) (2.98%) is water. The highest point in Cheshire county is Mount Monadnock, in the northwestern part of Jaffrey, at 3,165 feet (965 m).

Adjacent counties

• Sullivan County (north)
• Hillsborough County (east)
• Worcester County, Massachusetts (southeast)
• Franklin County, Massachusetts (southwest)
• Windham County, Vermont (west)

Geographical landmarks

• Mount Monadnock
• Pisgah State Park

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	28,753		—
1800	38,825		35.0%
1810	40,988		5.6%
1820	45,376		10.7%
1830	27,016		−40.5%
1840	26,429		−2.2%
1850	30,144		14.1%
1860	27,434		−9.0%
1870	27,265		−0.6%
1880	28,734		5.4%
1890	29,579		2.9%
1900	31,321		5.9%
1910	30,659		−2.1%
1920	30,975		1.0%
1930	33,685		8.7%
1940	34,953		3.8%
1950	38,811		11.0%
1960	43,342		11.7%
1970	52,364		20.8%
1980	62,116		18.6%
1990	70,121		12.9%
2000	73,825		5.3%
2010	77,117		4.5%
[3][4][5]

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 73,825 people, 28,299 households, and 18,790 families residing in the county. The population density was 104 people per square mile (40/km²). There were 31,876 housing units at an average density of 45 per square mile (17/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.75% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.2% were of English, 13.1% French, 12.7% Irish, 9.3% American, 8.7% French Canadian, 6.7% Italian and 6.5% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.5% spoke English, 1.4% French and 1.2% Spanish as their first language.

There were 28,299 households out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.50% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.60% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% 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 2.96.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 11.70% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,382, and the median income for a family was $51,043. Males had a median income of $33,821 versus $25,328 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,685. About 4.40% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.50% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Presidential election results^[7]

Year	Democrat	Republican
2008	63.0% 26,971	35.5% 15,205
2004	59.1% 24,438	39.8% 16,463
2000	52.1% 17,382	41.3% 13,793

Cities and towns

Alstead Chesterfield Dublin Fitzwilliam Gilsum Harrisville Hinsdale Jaffrey Keene Marlborough Marlow Nelson

Richmond Rindge Roxbury Stoddard Sullivan Surry Swanzey West Swanzey, a census-designated place Troy Walpole Westmoreland Winchester

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cheshire County, New Hampshire

References

1. ^ United States Census Bureau, American FactFinder, 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/nh190090.txt
4. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_QTPL&prodType=table
5. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
7. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/. Retrieved 2011-06-11. 

External links

• Official Cheshire County web site
• Cheshire information pages at the University of New Hampshire
• National Register of Historic Places listing for Cheshire County
• Keene Pumpkin Festival

Coordinates: 42°55′N 72°15′W / 42.92°N 72.25°W / 42.92; -72.25