Harrisville, New Hampshire

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Harrisville, New Hampshire
Town
Harrisville General Store
Harrisville General Store
Location in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Location in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Coordinates: 42°56′42″N 72°05′47″W / 42.94500°N 72.09639°W / 42.94500; -72.09639Coordinates: 42°56′42″N 72°05′47″W / 42.94500°N 72.09639°W / 42.94500; -72.09639[1]
CountryUnited States
StateNew Hampshire
CountyCheshire
Incorporated1870
Villages
Area
[2]
 • TotalTemplate:Infobox settlement/areadisp
 • LandTemplate:Infobox settlement/areadisp
 • WaterTemplate:Infobox settlement/areadisp  7.79%
Elevation
[3]
Template:Infobox settlement/lengthdisp
Population
 (2020)[4]
 • Total984
 • DensityTemplate:Infobox settlement/densdisp
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code
03450
Area code(s)603
FIPS code33-34420
GNIS feature ID873620[3]
Websitewww.harrisvillenh.org

Harrisville is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. Beyond the town center, the villages of Chesham and Eastview are included. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 984.[4]

It is a well preserved 19th-century mill town located in the Monadnock region of southern New Hampshire.

History

Harrisville claims to be the only industrial community of the early 19th century to endure in its original form.[5] First known as "Twitchell's Mills", a combination sawmill and gristmill was built here in 1774. The town of Harrisville was formed in 1870 from lands ceded by Marlborough, Dublin, Hancock, Nelson, and Roxbury. The Manchester & Keene Railroad opened in 1878, helping it prosper as a textile mill town.[6] It was named for Milan Harris, whose stone and brick Cheshire Mills operated until 1970, but look virtually unchanged since the mid-19th century.[7]

Today, the Cheshire Mills are protected as part of the Harrisville Historic District, a National Historic Landmark which includes the center of town. With its red brick buildings and mills reflected in Harrisville Pond and canal, the village is frequently photographed as an iconic example of picturesque old New England.[8] The Harrisville Rural District includes the southern part of the town near the Dublin border.

Since 1794, there has been a woolen mill in Harrisville. In 1971, after his family's Cheshire Mills business shuttered, local resident John “Chick” Colony [9]launched Harrisville Designs. Harrisville Designs produces yarn, looms, loom parts and knitting patterns; in addition to offering weaving and other textile classes on site.[10] It sells locally and nationwide.[11]

The Harrisville General Store, established in 1838, which opened more than 30 years before Harrisville officially formed, is intrinsically woven into the fabric of the town. The general store is part of the town’s historic district, and has been owned by Historic Harrisville since 2008. “It started as a true general store, serving the inhabitants of this small village, which were mostly workers at the textile mill across the street,” manager Laura Carden says.[12]

Each summer, the town hosts "Old Home Days," which was originally envisioned as a celebration of the agrarian way of life and the renewal of old friendships," said Steve Taylor, former N.H. Commissioner of Agriculture, Markets & Food. "These days, it offers an important opportunity to celebrate community life and meet with your neighbors."[13]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 20.2 square miles (52.4 km2), of which 18.6 square miles (48.3 km2) are land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2) are water, comprising 7.79% of the town.[2] The highest point in Harrisville is the summit of Cobb Hill, at 1,909 feet (582 m) above sea level. Roughly the western half of Harrisville, drained by Minnewawa Brook, lies within the Ashuelot River watershed, part of the Connecticut River basin, while the eastern half, drained by Nubanusit Brook, is in the Contoocook River watershed, part of the Merrimack River basin.

Bodies of water

Source:[14]

Churches

The Community Church of Harrisville and Chesham was formed from Chesham Baptist Church and Harrisville Congregational Church. Chesham Baptist Church dates back to 1785. The church building was originally built in 1797, re-modeled in 1830, and again re-modeled in 1844. The Evangelical Congregational Church of Harrisville dates back to 1840, and the church building was erected in 1840–1843.

The Community Church is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC) and the American Baptist Association, and it retains a united congregation using only the brick church in Harrisville village. The church in Chesham is owned by the American Baptist Association of Vermont & New Hampshire and is no longer used by the Community Church of Harrisville & Chesham.

Harrisville was home to St. Denis Parish of the Roman Catholic Church from 1902 to 2010, when services ended following the merger with Saint Peter Parish in Peterborough and Saint Patrick Parish in Bennington.[15] The church building is now owned by Historic Harrisville which is working to transform the 130-year-old structure on Church Street into a community center.[16][17]

Demographics

Template:US Census population At the 2020 census,[18] there were 984 people, 453 households residing in the town. The population density was 48.7 per square mile (18.8/km2). There were 680 housing units at an average density of 33.7 per square mile (13.0/km2). The racial make-up of the town was 94.3% White, 0.4 % African American, 0.1 % Native American, 0.9 % Asian, 0.7% Some other race and 3.6 % from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.52 % of the population.

Of the 453 households, 17.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 23.2% had a female householder with no spouse present, 14.6% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 6.6% were cohabiting couples. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals living alone and 51.0% of households included individuals who were 65 years of age or older. 15.0% of the population were under the age of 18, and 31.8% was over 65 years of age or older. The median age was 56.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.[19]

According to the 2024 American Community Survey, the median household income[20]was $103,036 and the median family income was $121,765. Males had a median earnings of $61,488 and females $45,179. The per capita income was $67,042. About 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The elementary school is Wells Memorial School. The town is part of School Administrative Unit 29.

Adjacent municipalities

References

  1. ↑ Template:Cite GNIS
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files – New Hampshire". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Template:GNIS
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Harrisville town, Cheshire County, New Hampshire: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  5. ↑ Tucker, Aimee (September 8, 2016). "New England from the editors at Yankee". newengland.com/travel.
  6. ↑ Harrisville Railroad Depot, Harrisville, New Hampshire
  7. ↑ History of Harrisville, Cheshire County, New Hampshire
  8. ↑ "History of Harrisville". Archived from the original on March 25, 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2006.
  9. ↑ McGauley, John (April 7, 2018). "Living in the Harrisville home where he was raised, Colony favors preservation with purpose". keenesentinel.com.
  10. ↑ Moreno, Jillian (August 29, 2025). "Mighty Mill Tours: Harrisville Designs". moderndailyknitting.com.
  11. ↑ Nail, Trisha (December 29, 2022). "Harrisville company brings textile manufacturing back to mill building". The Keene Sentinel.
  12. ↑ Reily, Emily (November 11, 2025). "(Not So) General Stores: Harrisville General Store". nhmagazine.com.
  13. ↑ "Old Home Days in New Hampshire". nhpreservation.org. April 17, 2025.
  14. ↑ "NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Part I PONDS AND LAKES" (PDF). October 9, 2020.
  15. ↑ Decree Archived May 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine "Merging Saint Peter Parish in Peterborough, New Hampshire, Saint Patrick Parish in Bennington, New Hampshire and Saint Denis Parish in Harrisville, New Hampshire, to form one new canonical person", Diocese of Manchester NH, June 25, 2006.
  16. ↑ Ham, Abigail (June 10, 2025). "Local group plans to make church into new community center". keenesentinel.com.
  17. ↑ "St. Denis Catholic Church, Historic Harrisville". Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  18. ↑ "United States Census Bureau 2020 Decennial Census". data.census.gov. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  19. ↑ "United States Census Bureau Decennial Census Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics". April 26, 2021.
  20. ↑ "United States Census Bureau American Community Survey Median Household Income in the Past 12 months (In 2024 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars)". September 11, 2025.

Template:Geographic location

Template:Cheshire County, New Hampshire

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