This town derives its name from a market-town in the county of Surry, England, about sixteen miles from London. It is bounded north by Pittsfield, south by Allenstown, east by Deerfield and Northwood, and west by Chichester and Pembroke, and is twelve miles from Concord.
There are no records to be found which show the precise time when the first settlement was commenced, but it appears from various facts that there was a number of families in town a considerable time before its incorporation.
Among the first who began settlements in the town were Charles McCoy, from Londonderry; William Blazo, a Frenchman; Andrew McClary, from Londonderry, in Ireland; and a family by the name of Blake.
McCoy built a house on the north side of what is now called Sanborn''s Hill, and thence extended his farm by spotting the trees round upon the mountain, which will probably always bear his name. A daughter of his was the first white child born in the town, and she was presented by the proprietors with a tract of land, a portion of which is now owned by her grandson, Lemuel B. Towle. She married a Mr. Wood and lived to an extreme old age.
Samuel Blake, commonly known as Sergeant Blake, was one of the pioneer settlers, coming into town when but fifteen years of age, and began a settlement near where Mr. John Chesley now lives. He purchased his land, more than one hundred acres, near the centre of the town, for ten shillings, and turned in his jack-knife for one shilling of that sum. Mr. Blake had a large family of children, who grew up and married; but at the present writing none of the name remain in town, and but a few of his descendants.
This town derives its name from a market-town in the county of Surry, England, about sixteen miles from London. It is bounded north by Pittsfield, south by Allenstown, east by Deerfield and Northwood, and west by Chichester and Pembroke, and is twelve miles from Concord.