Situated at the south end of Lake Sunapee, this town has gone through numerous name changes. It started in 1753 as "Dantzic", after the Baltic seaport. The first provincial grant in 1754 named the town "Hereford", in honor of Edward Devereaux, Viscount Hereford. Colonial Governor John Wentworth renewed the grant in 1772 under the name "Fishersfield", for his brother-in-law, John Fisher. The town was finally incorporated as "Newbury" in 1837, as suggested by settlers originally from Newbury, Massachusetts. The Fells Historic Site, located adjacent to the John Hay National Wildlife Refuge, is part of protected of a forest country estate. Protection efforts have enabled Lake Sunapee to consistently be named one of the cleanest lakes in the state.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and is water, comprising 6.01% of the town. Mount Sunapee, the highest point in town, has an elevation of above sea level. The village of Newbury is located at the south end of Lake Sunapee near the geographic center of the town. The village is at the junction of New Hampshire Route 103 and 103A. Route 103 leads northwest, past the entrance to Mount Sunapee Resort and into the town of Sunapee. To the southeast, Route 103 passes the village of South Newbury before entering the town of Bradford. Route 103A proceeds north, parallel to the east shore of Lake Sunapee, and passes the village of Blodgett Landing before entering the town of New London. The northern half of the town drains into Lake Sunapee, which in turns drains west via the Sugar River into the Connecticut River and thence to Long Island Sound. The southern half of the town, including the eastern side of Mount Sunapee, drains via Andrew Brook and the West Branch of the Warner River to the Warner River, which flows east to the Contoocook River, then into the Merrimack River, and ultimately to the Gulf of Maine.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,702 people, 691 households, and 507 families residing in the town. The population density was 47.5 people per square mile. There were 1,311 housing units at an average density of 36.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98.35% White, 0.41% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.18% of the population. There were 691 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.5% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.84. In the town, the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $58,026, and the median income for a family was $61,389. Males had a median income of $42,031 versus $29,022 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,521. None of the families and 1.8% of the population were living below the poverty line, including none under eighteen and none of those over 64.
