Welcome to Sunapee NH and future home of the Sunapee Photo Gallery
Origin: This territory was first settled by Oliver Corey and other soldiers from the French wars, and known as Corey's Town. Oliver Corey was a grantee on the 1768 charter naming the town Saville. Another grantee, John Wendell, became a principal landowner, and the town was renamed Wendell in 1781 upon petition of residents. The name Sunapee was substituted for Wendell by the Legislature in 1850. Town, lake, and mountain share the name Sunapee, which comes from the Algonquin Indian words suna, meaning goose, and apee, meaning lake. The Indians called the area Goose Lake because it was a favorite spot of wild geese.
Villages and Place Names: Burkehaven, Fernwood, Georges Mills, Granliden, Wendell
Population, Year of the First Census Taken: 267 residents in 1790
Population Trends: Population change for Sunapee totaled 1,961 over 50 years, from 1,108 in 1950 to 3,069 in 2000. The largest decennial percent change was an increase of 67 percent between 1970 and 1980; the smallest, five percent between 1950 and 1960. The 2005 Census estimate for Sunapee was 3,330 residents, which ranked 105th among New Hampshire's incorporated cities and towns.