Grafton County, New Hampshire

Grafton County is a county in New Hampshire, United States, home to Dartmouth College and much of the White Mountain National Forest. It had a population of 91,118 at the 2020 census and covers 1,749.7 square miles (4,532 km2) centred near 43°56′N 71°50′W.

Haverhill is the county seat; its village of North Haverhill houses the county courthouse and its postal code is 03774. The county contains 38 towns, one city (Lebanon), an unincorporated township (Livermore), and a scatter of named villages inside those towns. It sits in the Eastern time zone.

Towns & Villages in Grafton County

Grafton County is organized on New Hampshire’s town-meeting system: towns are the primary unit of local government, Lebanon is the county’s only city, and villages such as North Haverhill and West Lebanon are unincorporated places inside a town rather than separate municipalities. The table below lists every incorporated town and city plus the county’s best-known villages.

Before 1972 the county courthouse sat in downtown Woodsville, Haverhill’s other principal village, before moving to North Haverhill. Grafton and Franconia are distinct places despite the shared root name — Grafton is a small town in the county’s south and gave the county its name, while Franconia is the northern gateway town to Franconia Notch.

ZIP Codes

• 03774 — North Haverhill (also serves Haverhill town offices)
• 03785 — Woodsville
• 03766 — Lebanon
• 03784 — West Lebanon
• 03755 — Hanover
• 03750 — Etna
• 03768 — Lyme
• 03777 — Orford
• 03264 — Plymouth
• 03561 — Littleton
• 03574 — Bethlehem
• 03580 — Franconia
• 03251 — Lincoln
• 03262 — Woodstock and North Woodstock
• 03222 — Bristol
• 03741 — Canaan
• 03748 — Enfield
• 03217 — Ashland
• 03279 — Warren
• 03266 — Rumney
• 03223 — Campton
• 03585 — Sugar Hill
• 03740 — Bath
• 03779 — Piermont
• 03282 — Wentworth

Several of the county’s smaller towns, including Ellsworth, Easton, Orange, Dorchester and Groton, share a ZIP with a neighboring post office town rather than having one of their own.

Geography

Grafton County spans the White Mountains’ western flank, from the Connecticut River lowlands along the Vermont line to the peaks around Franconia Notch and Waterville Valley. The Connecticut River forms the entire western border with Vermont; the Pemigewasset and Baker rivers drain the county’s interior, and Newfound Lake (Bristol, Hebron, Bridgewater) and Squam Lake (Holderness) are its two largest lakes. Much of the northeastern county lies inside the White Mountain National Forest, and the Appalachian Trail crosses at least ten of its towns.

It borders Coos County to the north, Carroll County to the east, Belknap County to the southeast, Merrimack County to the south, and Sullivan County to the southwest, all in New Hampshire. Across the Connecticut River to the west lie Vermont’s Essex, Caledonia, Orange and Windsor counties.

Demographics

Grafton County had 91,118 residents at the 2020 census. Lebanon, its only city, is the largest community at 14,282, followed by the town of Hanover at 8,636 — both anchored by Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Health. Grafton County’s median household income runs below the New Hampshire median of $96,838, reflecting a mix of college-town, health-care and rural mountain economies. Population density is roughly 53 people per square mile, one of the lower figures among New Hampshire’s ten counties.

Economy & Local Life

Dartmouth College and its teaching hospital, Dartmouth Health (formerly Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center), in Hanover and Lebanon, are the county’s largest employers, alongside Plymouth State University in Plymouth. Tourism built around the White Mountains drives the northern towns: Loon Mountain in Lincoln, Cannon Mountain in Franconia, and Waterville Valley all run as ski resorts in winter and hiking and lake destinations in summer. Timber and small-scale dairy farming remain part of the rural economy outside the college towns.

History

New Hampshire organized Grafton County in 1769, the same year Dartmouth College was chartered in Hanover, and named it for Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, a supporter of American colonial interests in the British Parliament. The county courthouse moved between Haverhill’s two villages, Woodsville and North Haverhill, over the 19th and 20th centuries before settling in North Haverhill in 1972. Squam Lake in Holderness later became internationally known as the filming location of the 1981 film “On Golden Pond.”

Getting There

Interstate 93 runs the length of the county from Plymouth north through Lincoln and Franconia Notch; U.S. Route 3 and New Hampshire Route 25 serve the western towns along the Connecticut River.

• Concord, NH — about 50 miles south via I-93
• Manchester, NH — about 65 miles south via I-93
• Burlington, VT — about 130 miles north via I-91
• Boston, MA — about 140 miles south via I-93

Lebanon Municipal Airport (LEB) offers limited regional service; Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, about 70 miles south, is the nearest full-service commercial airport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Grafton County, New Hampshire?
It sits in west-central New Hampshire along the Vermont border, stretching from the Connecticut River to the White Mountains.

What is the population of Grafton County?
91,118 at the 2020 census, New Hampshire’s third most populous county.

How big is Grafton County?
1,749.7 square miles (4,532 km2), the second-largest county in New Hampshire by land area.

What is the county seat of Grafton County?
Haverhill, whose village of North Haverhill houses the county courthouse and offices.

How many towns are in Grafton County?
38 towns plus the city of Lebanon and the unincorporated township of Livermore.

What ZIP codes are in Grafton County?
ZIP codes range from 03217 (Ashland) to 03785 (Woodsville), with Lebanon at 03766 and Hanover at 03755.

What ski resorts are in Grafton County?
Loon Mountain (Lincoln), Cannon Mountain (Franconia) and Waterville Valley Resort all operate within the county.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in New Hampshire.