Early History

• In 1761, the town of Hanover was granted a charter by the Royal Governor of New Hampshire in response to a petition from about 65 colonists in Connecticut. The grant was for land about seven square miles, divided into 68 shares, randomly divided among the proprietors. "Hannover," as it was spelled on the original charter, was named either after a local parish in Connecticut or after the House of Hannover, in honor of the reigning English king, George III.
• The first settlers arrived in 1765, mostly locating in east Hanover (now Hanover Center), where Town Meeting was held for the first 77 years of Hanover's existence. As the town grew, new mills attracted more settlers, and Mill Village (now Etna village) became the center of town affairs, where Town Meeting was held for the next 78 years until moving to what we now think of as Hanover in 1922. (In New Hampshire, settlements called "villages" may exist within the formal geographic boundaries of a chartered "town.")

The Norwich Connection

Hanover has enjoyed a long and fruitful association with her sister town across the Connecticut River: Norwich, Vermont.

• From 1778-84, Hanover and a number of towns in Grafton County seceeded from New Hampshire. They flirted briefly with the idea of forming a separate state together with a group of Vermont towns--"New Connecticut" would have been the name and Dresden, the corner of Hanover where Dartmouth is located, would have become the capital. However, they settled on union with Vermont as a more practical way in which to assure association with their friends across the river. They were admitted to the state of Vermont in 1778. After much conflict, they finally dissolved ties with Vermont, and, in 1784, joined the New Hampshire state legislature.
• From 1847-1959, Hanover and Norwich shared the Lewiston Train Station, located on the Norwich side of the river. For over a century, new arrivals to Hanover detrained in Lewiston.
• In 1859, the Ledyard Free Bridge was built connecting Hanover and Norwich--the first, and for many years the only, non-toll bridge over the Connecticut River. The Ledyard Bridge has been rebuilt four times because one collapsed, one burned, one deteriorated, and one was condemned; the current bridge is being completed in 1999. The bridge is named after John Ledyard, a drop-out and adventurer from one of Dartmouth's earliest classes.
• Since 1963, Hanover and Norwich have been united as the Dresden School District, the first interstate school district in the United States. (See Chapter 5 for more on school government.)

The Dartmouth Connection

Dartmouth College provided the greatest single stimulus to the economic and cultural development of the town.

• In 1769, the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock moved his Indian Charity School from Connecticut and directed his attention not only to the education of Indians but to English youth as well. The College Charter brought into being the college named in honor of its principal English benefactor, Lord Dartmouth. Samson Occom-a Mohegan Indian who was Wheelock's student and a respected preacher--spent a year in England successfully raising funds for Indian education. Wheelock, however, used these funds to educate English youth; only a handful of Indians graduated from Dartmouth during its first 200 years.
• In 1818, Daniel Webster, Dartmouth's most celebrated alumnus, successfully argued the Dartmouth College Case before the Supreme Court, uttering the famous words "It is, sir, as I have said, a small college, and yet there are those who love it." The case denied the right of a state legislature to alter the charter of a private college without its consent. The ruling also came to be applied to corporations, thereby protecting them from undue legislative interference--or, as some would say, allowing them to act against the public interest. Webster Cottage on North Main Street, where Webster is said to have roomed as a student, is maintained by the Hanover Historical Society and open to the public.
• Dartmouth's three graduate professional schools were established one in each century. In 1797, Dr. Nathan Smith founded the Dartmouth Medical School, the fourth oldest in the country. In 1871, Sylvanus Thayer, known as the "Father of West Point Military Academy," founded the Thayer School of Engineering. In 1900, Edward Tuck founded the Amos Tuck School of Business, the first in the world, and named it in honor of his father, Amos Tuck, one of the founders of the Republican party.
• In 1972, Dartmouth became coeducational. Today, about 50% of the undergraduate students are women.
• Dartmouth College now enrolls about 4000 undergraduates and 1000 graduate students.

The Medical Center Connection

• In 1893, Mary Hitchcock Hospital was founded by Hiram Hitchcock as a memorial to his wife. The first hospital, located in the yellow brick buildings near the corner of Maynard Street and Rope Ferry Road, had 36 beds and three doctors.
• The Hitchcock Hospital was home to important historical "firsts": the first diagnostic x-ray in 1896 and the first intensive care unit in 1955.
• Today, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center--including the Hitchcock Clinic, Dartmouth Medical School, and the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital-- is one of New England's premier health-care institutions and one of the few academic medical centers in a rural setting. The award-winning facility, located off Route 120 in Lebanon, has about 400 beds and 350 doctors.

For further information

Barrett, Frank. Hanover, New Hamphire, volumes I and II. Collections of captioned photos.

Chase, Frederick. A History of Dartmouth College and the Town of Hanover, N.H.. to 1815.

Childs, Francis (ed.). Hanover Bicentennial Book. A collection of essays.

Daniel Webster House. Open to the public, managed by the Historical Society.

Daniell, Jere. Dartmouth professor and lecturer extraordinaire on local history.

Graham, Robert. The Dartmouth Story .

Hanover Trails Committee. Maps of walking tours of natural areas and older Hanover homes-available at the Nugget Theater, the Hanover Inn, and Town Hall.

Lord, John. A History of the Town of Hanover.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Chapter 1:  The Voters
Chapter 2: Town Government, Town Meeting, & Elected Officials
Chapter 3: Town Government Appointed Boards and Town Services
Chapter 4: Planning and Zoning
Chapter 5: School Government
Chapter 6: Municipal and School Finances 
Chapter 7: Federal, State & County Government & Elected Officials
Chapter 8:  County Government in New Hampshire
A Brief History of Hanover

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