Sargent's Purchase, New Hampshire

Sargent's Purchase, New Hampshire
Mount Washington Auto Road, approaching the summit
Mount Washington Auto Road, approaching the summit
Coordinates: 44°13′51″N 71°16′32″W / 44.23083°N 71.27556°W / 44.23083; -71.27556
CountryUnited States
StateNew Hampshire
CountyCoös
Area
[1]
 • Total25.88 sq mi (67.02 km2)
 • Land25.87 sq mi (67.00 km2)
 • Water0.008 sq mi (0.02 km2)  0.02%
Elevation
3,530 ft (1,080 m)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total0
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
03589[a]
Area code603
FIPS code33-007-67860
GNIS feature ID872626

Sargent's Purchase is a township in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. It lies within the White Mountain National Forest. As of the 2020 census, the population was zero.[2]

In New Hampshire, locations, grants, townships (which are different from towns), and purchases are unincorporated portions of a county which are not part of any town or city and have limited self-government (if any, as many are uninhabited).

History

The first known explorer to have set foot in what is now known as Sargent's Purchase was Darby Field, who claimed to have made the first ascent of Mount Washington in 1642. Sargent's Purchase was granted to Jacob Sargent and others on May 31, 1832.[4] In May 1866, Sylvester Marsh of Campton, New Hampshire, began construction of the Mount Washington Cog Railway,[5] primarily in Thompson and Meserve's Purchase, but the uppermost half mile being within Sargent's Purchase. The Cog Railway was completed in 1869.[6]

Geography

The township is in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and includes the summit of Mount Washington, the highest mountain in New England, with an elevation of 6,288 feet (1,917 m) above sea level. Other notable summits within the purchase include Mount Monroe, at 5,380 feet (1,640 m); Mount Isolation, at 4,004 feet (1,220 m); and Stairs Mountain, at 3,468 feet (1,057 m). The Appalachian Trail crosses the northwestern part of the township, including the summit of Mount Washington, as well as the northeastern corner of the township.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 25.9 square miles (67.0 km2), of which 0.01 square miles (0.02 km2), or 0.02%, are water.[1] The Ammonoosuc River has its source on the west side of Mount Washington and drains the northwestern corner of the township, part of the Connecticut River watershed. The northeastern corner of the township, drained by the Peabody River, is part of the Androscoggin River watershed. The remainder of the township is part of the Saco River watershed: the Dry River begins in Oakes Gulf on the south side of Mount Washington, while the Ellis River begins in Tuckerman Ravine on the east side of the mountain. The Rocky Branch, a third tributary of the Saco, drains the southern part of Sargent's Purchase.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
18606
19300
19400
195016
1960176.3%
19700−100.0%
19801
19900−100.0%
20000
20103
20200−100.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[2][7]

As of the 2020 census, there were no permanent residents in the township.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ Used by a small post office in the Sherman Adams summit building at the Mount Washington Observatory, for outgoing mail[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files – New Hampshire". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sargents purchase, Coos County, New Hampshire: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  3. ^ Rogers, Barbara Radcliffe (May 9, 2019). "A trip to the Mt. Washington summit". nhmagazine.com. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  4. ^ Noah Barker (1864). An essay on the cardinal points. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  5. ^ Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). "Marsh, Sylvester" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
  6. ^ "About Us".
  7. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
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