This is a transcription of the Chesterfield, NH description from A Gazetteer of New Hampshire Containing Descriptions of all the Counties, Towns and Districts in the State by John Hayward, John P. Jewett (publisher), Boston, 1849.
Chesterfield
CHESHIRE CO. Few towns on Connecticut River have so little intervale land. For the whole six miles that it lies upon the river, the hills approach near the river’s side. There is much good upland, well adapted for grazing and the production of Indian corn. The chief articles carried to market are beef, pork, butter, and cheese. Cat’s Bane Brook is a stream of great importance, as it furnishes many mill sites.
Spafford’s Lake is a beautiful collection of water, situated about one mile north from the meeting-house. It contains a surface of 526 acres. It is fed by springs in its bosom. Its waters are remarkably clear and pure, its bed being a white sand. In this lake there is an island of about six acres, which forms a delightful retreat. On its east side issues a stream called Partridge’s Brook, sufficiently large for a number of mills.
West River Mountain lies in this town and Hinsdale. It is supposed to have been once subject to a volcanic eruption, and there is at present a considerable quantity of lava near its crater. It is said, by those who live near the mountain, that it frequently trembles, and a rumbling noise is heard in its bowels.Chesterfield has three villages. The principal village, leading from Hartford to Hanover, is situated near the centre of the town, three miles east from Connecticut River, and is very pleasant. At the time the first settlers came here, the river afforded abundance of shad and salmon, and the forests were well stocked with deer, bears, and other game; so that the inhabitants did not experience those privations so common in new settlements.
Boundaries. South by Winchester and Hinsdale, west by Brattleboro and Dummerston, Vt., north by Westmoreland, and east by Keene and Swanzey.
First Settlers. Moses Smith and William Thomas, with their families.
First Minister. Rev. Abraham Wood, ordained in 1772; died in 1823.
Productions of the Soil. Indian corn, 9,143 bushels; potatoes, 36,885 bushels; hay, 3,534 tons; wool, 7,044 lbs.; maple sugar, 11,993 pounds.
Distances. Eleven miles south-west from Keene, and sixty-two south-west from Concord.
A railroad passes through the town.