Warner is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,937 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts, Rollins State Park and Mount Kearsarge State Forest.

The town's central village, where 453 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Warner census-designated place (CDP) and is located along New Hampshire Route 103 and the Warner River. The town also includes the communities of Davisville, Lower Village, Melvin Mills, and Waterloo.

History
Geography
- Adjacent municipalities
Demographics
Sites of interest
Notable people
See also

History

The town was granted in 1735 as "Number One" by Massachusetts Governor Jonathan Belcher to petitioners largely from Amesbury, Massachusetts. Called "New Amesbury", it was part of a line of settlements running between the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers intended to help defend Massachusetts against New France's predations. It was regranted by the Masonian Proprietors in 1749, when it was settled with four houses and a sawmill. Called "Jennesstown", it was abandoned and destroyed during the French and Indian War. The town was granted again in 1767 to Jonathan Barnard and others, who called it "Amesbury". But on September 3, 1774, it was incorporated as "Warner", named after Jonathan Warner, a leading Portsmouth citizen, namesake of the Warner House and relative of Governor John Wentworth. It was one of the last towns established under English provincial rule prior to the Revolution.

Warner developed into a prosperous farming community which produced meats, dairy goods, vegetables, hay and apples. The Warner River and its tributaries provided water power for mills, which in 1832 included twelve sawmills, six gristmills, a paper mill and two clothing factories. By 1858, there was also a cabinet manufacturer and bottle manufacturer. In 1885, industries included a bedstead factory, chain factory, woolen cloth factory, iron foundry, tannery, and glove manufacturer. On September 9, 1821, the town was hit by a tornado. It leveled houses and forests in a 16-to-18-mile (26 to 29 km) swath of destruction beginning west of Lake Sunapee, through New London and Sutton, over the southwest spur of Mount Kearsarge and ending at the Webster line. The storm killed four people in Warner, seriously injured others and destroyed considerable property.

Each October, on Columbus Day weekend, Warner hosts the annual Fall Foliage Festival, attracting thousands of people from all over New England and beyond.

Pillsbury Free Library c. 1908
Main Street c. 1908
Boston & Maine Railroad depot in 1909
Old Mill in 1907
Lower Warner Meetinghouse
Waterloo Historic District
Warner River
Waterloo Covered Bridge

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 55.5 square miles (143.7 km²), of which 55.2 square miles (143.0 km²) are land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) are water, comprising 0.45% of the town. The majority of Warner is drained by the Warner River, which flows past the center of town. Two covered bridges span the river: the Dalton Bridge and the Waterloo Bridge. The southwestern section of town is drained by Amey Brook and its tributary, Warner Brook, and the northernmost end of town, on the slopes of Mount Kearsarge, drains both east and west to the Blackwater River. The Warner River, Blackwater River, and Amey Brook are all tributaries of the Contoocook River, part of the Merrimack River watershed.

Mount Kearsarge, elevation 2,937 feet (895 m) above sea level, located in the extreme north of the town, is the highest point in Warner and in Merrimack County. Two state parks are located on the mountain: Rollins State Park in Warner and Winslow State Park in Wilmot. Mount Kearsarge is a popular hiking destination, due both to its bare, rocky summit, and to the fact that a paved road climbs from Rollins State Park to within a half mile of the summit. The peak is the highest point along the 75-mile (121 km) Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway, a hiking trail which links ten towns and encircles the Lake Sunapee region of western New Hampshire.

The town is served by Interstate 89 and New Hampshire Route 103. State routes 114 and 127 cross the extreme southwestern and southeastern corners of the town, respectively.

Adjacent municipalities

Andover (north)
Salisbury (northeast)
Webster (east)
Hopkinton (southeast)
Henniker (south)
Bradford (west)
Sutton (northwest)
Wilmot (north-northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	863	—
1800	1,569	81.8%
1810	1,838	17.1%
1820	2,246	22.2%
1830	2,222	−1.1%
1840	2,159	−2.8%
1850	2,038	−5.6%
1860	1,970	−3.3%
1870	1,667	−15.4%
1880	1,537	−7.8%
1890	1,383	−10.0%
1900	1,358	−1.8%
1910	1,226	−9.7%
1920	1,051	−14.3%
1930	1,062	1.0%
1940	1,113	4.8%
1950	1,080	−3.0%
1960	1,004	−7.0%
1970	1,441	43.5%
1980	1,963	36.2%
1990	2,250	14.6%
2000	2,760	22.7%
2010	2,833	2.6%
2020	2,937	3.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,833 people, 1,116 households, and 752 families residing in the town. The population density was 51.0 inhabitants per square mile (19.7/km²). There were 1,228 housing units at an average density of 24.4 per square mile (8.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.9% White, 0.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% some other race, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population.

There were 1,116 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were headed by married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44, and the average family size was 2.92.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.6% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 34.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.

For the period 2007–2011, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $58,221, and the median income for a family was $65,167. Male full-time workers had a median income of $51,404 versus $34,154 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,159. About 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

The Warner Area Farmers' Market, held on Saturday mornings on Main Street, serves as a community gathering place.

Sites of interest

Covered bridge in Warner

New Hampshire Telephone Museum
Dalton Covered Bridge
Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum
The Little Nature Museum
Rollins State Park
Warner Historical Society & Museum
Kearsarge Mountain Community-Supported Agriculture
Waterloo Covered Bridge

Notable people

Caroline Gardner Bartlett (1868–1938), music educator, relief worker in World War I
Adelaide George Bennett (1848–1911), poet, botanist
David Carroll (born 1942), naturalist, author, MacArthur Foundation Fellow
Rebecca Carroll (born 1969), author, editor, radio producer at WNYC Studios
H. Maria George Colby (1844–1910), author, fashion editor
William C. Dowling (born 1944), scholar, author, Guggenheim Fellow
David Elliott (born 1947), children's author
Gordon Enoch Gates (1897–1987), zoologist, Guggenheim Fellow
Henry Gilmore (1832–1891), businessman, state senator for Massachusetts
Walter Harriman (1817–1884), 31st governor of New Hampshire
Amanda Bartlett Harris (1824–1917), author, literary critic
Maxine Kumin (1925–2014), poet
Nehemiah G. Ordway (1828–1907), seventh governor of Dakota Territory
Jacob Osgood (1777–1844), leader of sectarian religious group
Charles Alfred Pillsbury (1842–1899), businessman, flour industrialist, politician; a co-founder of the Pillsbury Company
John Sargent Pillsbury (1827–1901), businessman, eighth governor of Minnesota
Charles Stuart Pratt (1854–1921), editor, writer
Eliza Anna Farman Pratt (1837–1907), editor, writer
Nellie George Stearns (1855–1936), artist, art teacher

Warner, New Hampshire facts for kids

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