Alton, New Hampshire

About 30 miles north of Manchester, the Town of Alton lies at the southeastern point of Lake Winnipesaukee and boasts the most shoreline of towns in the Lakes Region. Alton's boundaries include a 5 mile-long stretch of Alton Bay and envelope the largest islands in the southeastern lake. The nearly 5,100 full-time residents enjoy water recreation, an old-fashioned town center, and proximity to the myriad cultural and recreational activities in the Lakes Region.

Settled in the 1770s by a group from Roxbury, MA, the town was originally part of New Durham Gore, a name derived from the rocky terrain surrounding nearby Mt. Major. By the mid-1800s, as the town grew and the railroad was extended up Lake Winnipesaukee, Alton became a thriving tourist center and industrial community. In 1872, the Boston and Maine railroad built the original M/S Mt. Washington <http://cruisenh.com/> sidewheel steamboat, then the largest vessel on Lake Winnipesaukee, in order to transport rail tourists from Alton to Wolfeboro and on to the White Mountains. A reconstructed "Mount" now departs from Alton's original railroad station and offers cruises on the lake from May through October. Alton can also claim the invention of the first mass-produced wire corkscrew, manufactured by the Rockwell Clough Company, established 1875.

Today, tourism is still the mainstay of the community, as thousands of tourists visit Alton each summer. Seasonal recreation on Lake Winnipesaukee and the Merrymeeting River includes fishing, swimming, boating, and other water sports. The town supports a boat launch, town docks, several beaches, and tennis courts. Many nearby nature trails, parks, and campgrounds provide other ways to experience the scenic beauty of the area. Alton's picturesque downtown adds charm year-round with its restaurants, craft shops, and the Gilman Museum, which contains a working toy steam engine in its collection. Winter sporting options around Alton include snowmobile and cross-country skiing trails, and Gunstock Mountain Resort provides the closest downhill skiing, about 16 miles away.

The civic-minded community has been growing slowly but steadily for the past 30 years. New houses outnumber older. To accommodate the population, the Alton Central School has recently become a PreK-8 school serving over 600 students, while the newly constructed Prospect Mountain High School now serves approximately 500 students from Alton and Barnstead, NH. Town members are currently working on several downtown revitalization projects, including a Community Park to compliment the existing Community Center on the site of Alton Railroad Station.

Sources:

http://www.alton.nh.gov

http://www.nhes.state.nh.us/elmi/htmlprofiles/alton.html

http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/new-hampshire/alton

http://www4.measuredprogress.org/NHProfile