Center Harbor is a town located in Central New Hampshire in the Lakes Region of the state. It is situated on the Northern tip of Belknap County and encompasses a total of 16.5 square miles, 3.1 of which is water. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the town had a population of 1,096 people, though that number increases in the summer due to vacationers.
Originally a part of New Hampton, Center Harbor was officially separated and incorporated on its own in 1797. Its name is derived from two local factors: its central location between Moultonborough and Meredith and historic local property owners the Senters. Center Harbor has historically been a resort town and is known to be a favorite vacation spot of John Greenleaf Whittier, a poet and abolitionist in the 1800s.
The area is home to several bodies of water, including Lake Winipesaukee and Squam Lake, and is mostly comprised of woodlands. Parts of the Center Harbor Woods and the Proctor Wildlife Sanctuary are also located in Center Harbor. The town’s primary industry is tourism, with multiple restaurants, motels and businesses located along the shoreline. There are also several small dairy and truck farms in the area.
The town has a full-time police department, a part-time fire department and a volunteer emergency medical services department. The area?s biggest employers are EM Heath, Keepsake Quilting, Bay Gull and Maxfield Real Estate.
Children in the area attend Inter-Lakes Elementary School and Inter-Lakes Junior-Senior High, both of which are located in the nearby town of Meredith. Children from the neighboring town of Sandwich also attend these schools. Center Harbor is also home to the Immaculate Conception Apostolic School, an all-male boarding school for students in grades seven through 12.