Chesterfield, New Hampshire

{{short description|Town in New Hampshire, United States}} {{distinguish|Chester, New Hampshire|Chichester, New Hampshire}} {{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox settlement | official_name = Chesterfield, New Hampshire | settlement_type = Town | nickname = | motto = | image_skyline = ChesterfieldNH TownHallAndHistoricalSociety.jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Town hall and historical society | image_flag = | image_seal = Seal of Chesterfield, NH.png | image_map = Cheshire-Chesterfield-NH.png | mapsize = 250px | map_caption = Location in Cheshire County, New Hampshire  | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = United States | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = New Hampshire | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Cheshire | parts_type = Villages | parts = {{ubl|Chesterfield|Spofford|West Chesterfield}}  | established_title = Incorporated | established_date = 1752 | government_type = | leader_title = Board of Selectmen | leader_name = | leader_title1 = Town Administrator | leader_name1 =  | unit_pref = Imperial | area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021">{{cite web |title=2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files – New Hampshire |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2021_Gazetteer/2021_gaz_cousubs_33.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 3, 2021}}</ref> | area_total_km2 = 123.1 | area_land_km2 = 118.0 | area_water_km2 = 5.1 | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = 4.17  | population_as_of = 2020 | population_total = 3552 | population_footnotes = <ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=&g=0600000US3300512260&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1| title=Chesterfield town, Cheshire County, New Hampshire: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| access-date=November 3, 2021}}</ref> | population_density_km2 = 30.1 | population_density_sq_mi =  | timezone = Eastern | utc_offset = -5 | timezone_DST = Eastern | utc_offset_DST = -4 | coordinates = {{coord|42|53|14|N|72|28|13|W|region:US-NH|display=it}}<ref>{{Cite GNIS|866143|Chesterfield Populated Place}}</ref> | elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/> | elevation_ft = 984  | postal_code_type = ZIP codes | postal_code = 03443 (Chesterfield)<br>03462 (Spofford)<br>03466 (West Chesterfield) | area_code = 603 | blank_name = FIPS code | blank_info = 33-12260 | blank1_name = GNIS feature ID | blank1_info = 873565<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|873565}}</ref> | footnotes = | website = {{URL|www.chesterfield.nh.gov}} }} '''Chesterfield''' is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,552 at the 2020 census.<ref name="Census 2020"/> It includes the villages of Spofford and West Chesterfield. Chesterfield is home to Spofford Lake, Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area, and parts of Pisgah State Park and Wantastiquet Mountain State Forest.

==History== Granted in 1735 by Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts, this town was the site of Fort Number 1, first in the line of forts bordering the Connecticut River. After the border between Massachusetts and New Hampshire was fixed, the town was incorporated on February 11, 1752<ref name="1875Chesterfield">Article in [http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/New_Hampshire_1875/094.html ''Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire'' (1875)]</ref> by Governor Benning Wentworth as Chesterfield, named for Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. The first settlers were Moses Smith and William Thomas, who, with their families, came up the Connecticut in canoes, in the fall of 1761. Their chief subsistence through the winter and spring of their first year in the wilderness consisted of salmon and shad, of which there was a great abundance in the river, and deer, which were numerous in the forests.<ref name="1875Chesterfield" /> The town contains some of the finest farmland in Cheshire County, yet once was also home to small manufacturing, notably spinning wheel parts and hand tools.<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book | last = Coolidge | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield | title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge | year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n482 444]–445| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859. }}</ref>

In 1772, Philip Embury conducted the first Methodist religious services in New Hampshire at the James Robertson farm in Chesterfield, and in 1803, Francis Asbury preached here. Asbury Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is recognized for its historic puritan design. Asbury Church is considered the "Mother Church of Methodism" in New Hampshire, and is the oldest Methodist church in the state. The town has had continual Methodist Sunday services for over 225 years.<ref>[http://www.chesterfieldumc.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=41494 History of Asbury United Methodist Church] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113173445/http://www.chesterfieldumc.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=41494 |date=January 13, 2010 }}</ref>

Chesterfield Academy, established in 1794, was for decades one of the most celebrated in the state.<ref>[http://www.nh.searchroots.com/documents/History_Chesterfield_NH.txt History of Chesterfield, Cheshire County, New Hampshire]</ref> Spofford Lake is one of the region's largest and oldest resorts.

<gallery class="center" widths="170px"> Image:Granite Cottage, Spofford Lake, Chesterfield, NH.jpg|Granite Cottage in 1907, Spofford Lake Image:Old Cabin Home & Fairview Cottage.jpg|Summer cottages on Spofford Lake in 1917 Image:Pine Grove Springs Hotel, Spofford Lake, Chesterfield, NH.jpg|Pine Grove Springs Hotel, Spofford Lake in 1913 File:Congregational Church and Main Street, Chesterfield, NH.jpg|Main Street in 1909 </gallery>

==Geography== According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of {{convert|123.1|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|118.0|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|5.1|km2|order=flip}}, or 4.17%, are water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021"/> Chesterfield is bounded on the west by the Connecticut River. The highest point in the town is near its southern border, atop Davis Hill, at {{convert|1427|ft|m}} above sea level. Chesterfield lies fully within the Connecticut River watershed.<ref name=watershed>{{cite book |title=Water Use in New Hampshire: An Activities Guide for Teachers |url=https://nh.water.usgs.gov/Publications/nh.intro.html |last=Foster |first=Debra H. |author2=Batorfalvy, Tatianna N. |author3= Medalie, Laura |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Geological Survey |year=1995}}</ref>

The town is served by state routes 9 and 63.

===Adjacent municipalities=== * Westmoreland (north) * Keene (northeast) * Swanzey (east) * Winchester (south) * Hinsdale (south) * Brattleboro, Vermont (southwest) * Dummerston, Vermont (west)

==Demographics== {{US Census population | 1790 = 1905 | 1800 = 2161 | 1810 = 1839 | 1820 = 2110 | 1830 = 2040 | 1840 = 1765 | 1850 = 1680 | 1860 = 1434 | 1870 = 1289 | 1880 = 1173 | 1890 = 1046 | 1900 = 981 | 1910 = 770 | 1920 = 601 | 1930 = 704 | 1940 = 591 | 1950 = 970 | 1960 = 1405 | 1970 = 1817 | 1980 = 2561 | 1990 = 3112 | 2000 = 3542 | 2010 = 3604 | 2020 = 3552 | estyear = 2024 | estimate = 3660 | estref = <ref name="USCensusEst2024">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html|title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2024|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 6, 2026}}</ref> | footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="Census 2020"/><ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 4, 2016 }}</ref> }} As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 3,542 people, 1,366 households, and 1,005 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|77.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,632 housing units at an average density of {{convert|35.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 97.80% White, 0.23% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population.

There were 1,366 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.5% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 30.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $51,351, and the median income for a family was $58,516. Males had a median income of $44,087 versus $26,547 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,051. About 4.9% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

==Sites of interest== * [http://www.crjc.org/heritage/N02-2.htm Asbury Church (1844)] * [https://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/chesterfield-gorge-natural-area Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area] * [https://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/pisgah-state-park Pisgah State Park] * [https://forestsociety.org/property/madame-sherri-forest/ Madam Sherri Forest]

== Notable people ==  * Helen Field Comstock (1840–1930), poet, philanthropist * Theodore Davis ({{circa|1778}}–1841), merchant, surveyor, politician * William H. Haile (1833–1901), businessman, politician * Broughton Harris (1822–1899), Vermont newspaper editor; Secretary of Utah Territory * Larkin Goldsmith Mead (1835–1910), sculptor who worked in a neoclassical style * John Davis Pierce (1797–1882), educator * George Randall (1832–1908), politician in Canadian province of Ontario * Harlan Fiske Stone (1872–1946), 52nd Attorney General and 12th Chief Justice of the United States * Winthrop E. Stone (1862–1921), professor, college president * Charles Tazewell (1900–1972), actor, radio playwright, children's book author * Hoyt Henry Wheeler (1833–1906), judge

==References== {{reflist}} {{portal|New Hampshire}}

==Further reading== * {{cite web |url=https://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/publications/documents/chesterfield_pierceshops.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009175630/http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/publications/documents/chesterfield_pierceshops.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2015 |url-status=live |title=Report on the Pierce Shops Spofford Village Chesterfield, New Hampshire |first=James L. |last=Garvin |publisher=New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources |via=NH.gov |date=June 11, 2005 |access-date=July 10, 2020}}

==External links== * {{Official website|www.chesterfield.nh.gov}} * [https://www.chesterfieldlibrary.org/ Chesterfield Public Library] * [http://chesterfieldhistoricalsociety-nh.org Chesterfield Historical Society] * [https://www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/products/cp/profiles-htm/chesterfield.htm New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile]

{{Geographic location | Centre = Chesterfield | North = Westmoreland | Northeast = Keene | East = Swanzey | Southeast = Winchester | South = Hinsdale and Winchester | Southwest = Brattleboro, Vermont | West = | Northwest = Dummerston, Vermont }}

Category:Chesterfield, New Hampshire Category:Towns in Cheshire County, New Hampshire Category:New Hampshire populated places on the Connecticut River Category:Towns in New Hampshire