Benton trip planner

Benton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 364 at the 2010 census. Located in the White Mountains, Benton is largely surrounded by the White Mountain National Forest. The town is crossed by the Appalachian Trail.HistoryThe town was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth on January 31, 1764 to Theophilus Fitch and others. It was named Coventry after Coventry, Connecticut, hometown to many of the settlers, who arrived shortly after the beginning of the Revolution. At the suggestion of Governor Isaac Hill, the name was changed on December 4, 1840 to Benton, in honor of Thomas Hart Benton, the Missouri senator who championed American westward expansion.With a rough and mountainous terrain, the town was not suited for agriculture. But Benton had water power sites and abundant forests. By 1859, when the population was 478, there were five sawmills producing a large quantity of lumber. The Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad ran through the town, which once included the village of Glencliff.