Enfield

History

The town was incorporated in 1761 by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. First named "Enfield" by settlers from Enfield, Connecticut, the town was renamed "Relhan" in 1766 to honor Dr. Anthony Relhan (–1776). The doctor was a promoter of sea-bathing as a curative, making Brighton, England, a fashionable resort. Following the American Revolution, the New Hampshire town was renamed Enfield in 1784. The first European settlers in town were Jonathan Paddleford and family who arrived, after the successful conclusion of the French and Indian War, between 1765 and 1772. On the southwest shore of Mascoma Lake is Enfield Shaker Village, once a utopian religious community of Shakers, renowned for simple and functional architecture and furniture. Established in 1793 and called "Chosen Vale", the village was subdivided into several "Families", with men and women leading pious, celibate and industrious lives. Although the genders shared dormitories, like Enfield's Great Stone Dwelling built between 1837 and 1841, the sexes used separate doors and stairways. They practiced ecstatic singing and dancing, an expression of their worship, which earned them the appellation of Shaking Quakers, or Shakers. Several trades operated at the village, from agriculture and packaging of seeds, to the manufacture of brooms, brushes, spinning-wheels, and furniture. To speed delivery of products to the railroad across Mascoma Lake, in 1849 the community erected Shaker Bridge. The Shaker movement crested in the 1840s, with 19 "societies" scattered from Maine to Kentucky and west to Indiana. But growing employment opportunities created by the Industrial Revolution, as near as the mill town of Lebanon, enticed away potential and practicing church members. Others grew disaffected with celibacy,…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 6.60% of the town. Enfield is served by Interstate 89, U.S. Route 4, New Hampshire Route 4A and New Hampshire Route 10.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Hanover High School
  High · Hanover · 654 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• Lebanon High School
  High · Lebanon · 598 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Lebanon Middle School
  Middle · Lebanon · 471 students · 11.5:1 ratio
• Bernice A. Ray School
  Elementary · Hanover · 455 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• Frances C. Richmond School
  Middle · Hanover · 360 students · 9.2:1 ratio
• Mascoma Valley Regional High School
  High · Canaan · 338 students · 12.1:1 ratio
• Hanover Street School
  Elementary · Lebanon · 328 students · 9.6:1 ratio
• Indian River School
  Middle · Canaan · 313 students · 10.8:1 ratio