Railroads. Ten miles, by daily
stage to Tilton, on Boston, Con-
cord and Montreal Railroad, from
Gilmanton Academy; and six
miles by daily stage to Alton, on
the Cocheco Railroad, from Gil-
manton Iron Works. When com-
pleted, the Suncook Valley exten-
sion and Franklin and Rochester
Railroad will pass through this
town.

GILSUM.

Cheshire County. The sur-
face is generally uneven, but the
soil is fertile. In many parts are
to be found fine arable land, free
from stone, and producing good
crops of grass and grain.

River and Pond. Ashuelot River
passes through this town, affording
many excellent water privileges.
Cranberry Pond, a small sheet of
water, lies in the north-east sec-
tion of the town.

Vessel Rock. In this town there
is an immense bowlder which has
received the name of “Vessel
Rock.” It appears to have been
stranded upon a mica slate ledge,
whither it was driven and depos-
ited by a powerful drift current
which swept over the country in
ages long since past. In the win-
ter of 1817, a large piece of this
rock was split off from the mass by
some external force.

Employments. The employments
of the people are nearly equally
divided between agriculture and
manufacturing. There are two
woolen manufactories, whose man-
ufactured goods are annually val-
ued at nearly $100,000. 600,000
feet of lumber are annually sawed,
&c. (See tables.)

Resources. Productions of the
soil, $52,145; mechanical labor,
$35,100; money at interest, $9,550;
deposits in savings banks, $58,193;
stock in trade, $33,600.

Churches and Schools. Congre-
gational, Rev. H. Wood, pastor;

Methodist,--. There are

seven schools in Gilsum ; average
length for the year, ten weeks.

First Settlers. This town was
granted to Joseph Osgood, Jacob
Farmer and others, under the name
of Boyle, December 8, 1752. It
was re-granted to Messrs. Gilbert,
Sumner, and others, by its present
name, .Inly 13, 1703. The first set-
tlers were Josiah Kilburn, Peltiah
Pease, Obadiali Wilcox, Ebenezer
Dewey, and Jonathan Adams, in
1764.

First Minister. Rev. Elisha
Fish, Congregational, installed in
1794; died in 1807.

Boundaries. North by Alstead,
east by Stoddard and Sullivan,
south by Keene and west by Surry.

Distances. Forty-six miles south-
west from Concord, and nine north
from Keene. Area, 9,456 acres.

Railroads. Nine miles to Keene
depot, Cheshire Railroad.

GOFFSTOWJT.

Hillsborough County. Goffs-
town is considered one of the best
and wealthiest farming towns in
the county. The soil of the up-
lands is rocky in some places, but
is excellent for grazing. Back
from the river are extensive plains
—not so rich in soil, but easy to
cultivate, and, when properly
tilled, producing fine crops.

Rivers. The tributary branches
of the Piscataquog River unite
near the west line of the town, and
run through the center in an east-
erly direction, falling into the Mer-
rimack River at what was for-