Sunapee is a town located in Western New Hampshire in the Dartmouth/Sunapee region of the state. It is situated in the Eastern part of Sullivan County and encompasses a total area of 25.2 square miles, 4.1 of which is water. As of the 2010 United States Census, Sunapee was home to 3,365 people.
The land that comprises Sunapee was first granted in 1768 to Oliver Corey and several soldiers involved in the French and Indian Wars. It was first known as Corey’s Town, then later Salville. When the area was incorporated as a town in 1781 it was renamed Wendell. It wasn?t until 1850 that the name Sunapee was used, an Algonquin phrase for “goose lake.” The name is also seen at Mount Sunapee and Lake Sunapee.
More than 16 percent of Sunapee’s total area is made up of water. Several bodies of water can be found in the area, including the Sugar River, Ledge Pond and Lake Sunapee. The town is home to several villages, including Burkehaven, Fernwood, Georges Mills, Granliden and Wendell. The area is severed by New Hampshire Routes 11, 103 and 103B, as well as Interstate 89.
Sunapee is governed by an elected Board of Selectmen. It boasts a full-time police department, a volunteer fire department and volunteer emergency medical services. Top employers in the area include Micro-Precision, Town of Sunapee, Bonin Machine Shop, Lake Sunapee Bank, Sugar River Bank, Sunapee School District, Smith Machine Shop, All Terrain and Borlind of Germany.
Children in the area attend schools in the Sunapee School District. For recreation and entertainment, residents can enjoy the town’s municipal parks, golf courses, tennis courts, museums, youth organizations, sports leagues, fishing and hunting areas, snowmobile trails, cross country skiing and local waterfront areas. The town is also home to the Mount Sunapee ski area, the Sunapee State Beach and Lake Sunapee Cruises.