Incorporated: 1761
Population: 1,039
County Name: Grafton
(county map)
Town Contact:
Town of Orford
RR1, Box 243
Orford, NH 03777

Phone: 603-353-4404
Fax: 603-353-4889
Website: Town of Orford

Origin:
First called Number 7 in a line of Connecticut River fort towns, this town was named for Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, and England's first Prime Minister. An original grantee was General Israel Morey, whose son Samuel discovered a way to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water, using the knowledge to develop the first marine steam engine. The first "steamboat" was demonstrated on the river at Orford.

More about Orford:
Located in Grafton County, New Hampshire, Orford is a small rural community. Orford is about 18 miles north of Hanover and Dartmouth College, along the scenic Connecticut River Valley. Orford's natural resources of mountains, hills and ponds provide unsurpassed visual beauty. The Appalachian Trail passes through the eastern portion of the town.

Noted writer, Washington Irving, visited Orford in 1832 and is quoted as saying, "In all my travels in this country and in Europe, I have seen no village more beautiful than this. It is a charming place - nature has done her utmost here."