History of Dublin

Dublin, first called Monadnock No. 3, was one of the townships laid out by the Masonian Proprietors as part of an elaborate 18th century real estate speculation. The Town dates its founding to 1752, when William Thornton built and occupied a cabin just this side of the Peterborough line, on the edge of what is now the McDowell reservoir. Thornton, however, left after a year or two, and the first permanent settlers, all descendants of Ulster Protestants, arrived some time after 1760.

One can barely imagine the hardships undergone by the early settlers in wresting a livelihood from the thin, rock-strewn soil found within the township's boundaries. Nevertheless, they cleared the land, and from it derived all their necessities: not only food (bean porridge being the staple fare) but flax and wool for clothing. Despite these difficulties, Dublin prospered. By 1775, the Town had settled a minister, started work on a meetinghouse, and made provision for schools. There were 305 people in town that year. By 1800 there were over a thousand.

The Town was chartered in 1771 under the name of Dublin, but there is no record of why that name was chosen. There is speculation that one of the first settlers, Richard Strongman, was a native of Dublin, Ireland, but nobody knows for sure.