Plainfield

The town of Plainfield was founded in 1761 by a group of 56 proprietors, most from Plainfield, CT. By 1775 the population grew to 308, and controversies arose about the location of the meeting house, which led to the division of the town into two “parishes” in 1780. The western parish included Plainfield Village and lands along the Connecticut River, and the eastern parish was named Meriden. Meriden's location was decided by Benjamin Kimball's will and the legacy of his son, Daniel, to establish an academy in 1813 (now Kimball Union Academy).

Plainfield has become a residential community that values its agricultural heritage and its rural character. In addition, Plainfield residents proudly support outstanding educational opportunities for their children, the preservation of their historic buildings and of their natural resources, and the participatory government which centers on their annual Town Meeting.

The Town of Plainfield is the northernmost town in Sullivan County in the State of New Hampshire on the edge of the enclave known as the Cornish Art Colony, which existed between 1885 and 1930. Plainfield is bordered on the north by the Grafton County towns of Lebanon and Enfield, on the east by the Sullivan County town of Grantham, on the south by the Sullivan County towns of Croydon and Cornish, and on the west by the Connecticut River and the state of Vermont.

Plainfield is also home to the Helen Woodruff Smith Bird Sanctuary and Annie Duncan State Forest. Maxfield Parrish painted the stage backdrop in the Plainfield Town Hall. In 1910 Ernest Harold Baynes founded the Meriden Bird Club, the first institution of its type in the nation.

Today Plainfield has a population of about 2,400 and is a welcoming community for those who work in the Hanover/Lebanon area.