Get an ADT-Monitored Home Security System in Barnstead, New Hampshire

Barnstead is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,915 at the 2020 census, up from 4,593 at the 2010 census. Home to the Suncook Lakes, Barnstead includes the villages of Center Barnstead, Barnstead Parade (identified as “Barnstead” on topographic maps) and South Barnstead.

The town was granted upon 20 May 1727 by Lieutenant Governor John Wentworth to the Reverend Joseph Adams and others. Settlement commenced in 1765, and two years forward-looking Barnstead was incorporated as a town by Governor John Wentworth. Many of the settlers came from Barnstable, Massachusetts, and Hempstead, New York—the post is taken from these two.

Although not mountainous, the terrain forms large swells, good for grazing. By 1830, when the population was 2,047, the town contained practically 2,500 sheep. Farmers found the soil easy to cultivate and productive. The Suncook River and its tributaries provided water capacity for mills. By 1859, industries included a woolen cloth factory, seven sawmills, four shingle mills, four clapboard mills, one grooving machine, one turning machine, and two tanneries. Barnstead manufactured large amounts of lumber, which it supplied to against towns.