WOODSTOCK

A short history of Woodstock

First granted in 1763, colonial Governor Benning Wentworth named the town "Peeling" after an English town. Many of the first colonists were originally from Lebanon, Connecticut. In 1771, his nephew, Governor John Wentworth, gave it the name "Fairfield", after Fairfield, Connecticut. The town was renamed "Woodstock" in 1840 for Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, possibly due to the popularity of the 1826 Walter Scott novel Woodstock.

Logging became a principal early industry, with sawmills established using water power from the Pemigewasset River. The entrance of the railroad in the 19th century opened the wilderness to development, carrying away wood products to market. It also brought tourists, many attracted by paintings of the region by White Mountain artists. Several inns and hotels were built to accommodate the wealthy, who sought relief from the summer heat, humidity and pollution of coal-age Boston, Hartford, New York and Philadelphia. They often relaxed by taking carriage rides through the White Mountains, or by exploring along the Lost River in the Lost River Reservation. But with the advent of automobiles, patrons were no longer restricted by the limits of rail service. Consequently, many grand hotels established near depots declined and closed. North Woodstock, however, remains a popular tourist destination.

The Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, an outdoor laboratory for ecological studies founded by the United States Forest Service in 1955, is located in the southern part of town.

Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Woodstock, New Hampshire, revision 1379649965 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.