Tilton, NH was originally included as part of the town of Sanbornton. The town was known as Sanbornton Bridge and Bridge Village and was settled in 1762. It was incorporated as Tilton in 1869.

Early History

On the 28th of October in 1748, a petition with sixty names was addressed to King George the Second of England, asking for a tract of land in this vicinity. Before the land could be granted, it was discovered that the land came within the Masonian claim. So, the sixty petitioners addressed the Masonian Proprietors for the tract of land, which was granted them provided that they should name twenty other grantees. The proprietors accepted the proposal and the land was granted on December 31, 1748. The first settlement of Sanbornton occurred within what is now the town of Tilton. In the History of Sanbornton by the Reverend M.T. Runnels, he writes that the first settlement was located just above Union Bridge, in the Lochmere section on the present-day Laconia Road. The first frame house in town was built by Sergeant John Sanborn in 1765, about three-fourths of a mile north of Tilton on the road leading from the village to Sanbornton Square. The first settlement was found at Tin Corner in 1764-1765, near what is today's New Hampshire Veteran's Home.

The first permanent sawmill in Tilton was known as the Old Morrison or Darling privilege and was west of where the railroad station was. The mill was probably built before January 5, 1775. There may also have been a gristmill built there as early as 1766. A Mr. Duncan of Concord built the first store in Tilton in 1789. It was located where Town Hall currently stands.

The first action to form the Town of Tilton began as a petition that was presented to the New Hampshire General Court in 1850. Ten years later, two special town meetings were held in the Old Town of Sanbornton to act on dividing the two towns, but nothing came of it. A special town meeting was held on May 18, 1869, to act on an article to divide the two towns. One hundred fifty voters approved the measure while one hundred five voted to dismiss the petition. Since the motion to divide the communities passed, the division was approved by then Governor Onslow Stearns on June 30, 1869.

The New Town

The name "Tilton" was chosen by the people of the new town at the suggestion of Charles E. Tilton, the fourth generation in line descended from the original settler. He was the town's wealthiest citizen and it was written that his "magnificent gifts to and the pride of his native village has done much to render this place one of the most beautiful and attractive in the country." Mr. Tilton asked that the name be given, not for himself, but for his ancestors.