Incorporated: 1796
Population: 3,493
County Name: Belknap
(county map)
Town Contact:
Town of Alton
P.O. Box 659
Alton, NH 03809

Phone: 603-875-2161
Fax: 603-875-0207
Website: alton.nh.gov

Origin:
Originally called New Durham Gore, the town was settled by a group from Roxbury, Massachusetts. The name Roxbury had already been used, so the town was named for the Alton family. The town's boundary envelopes the five-mile long Alton Bay, the southeastern point of Lake Winnipesaukee, and includes the southern side of Wolfeboro Harbor and all of the largest islands in the southeast end of the lake. Alton's 19.3 square miles of inland water area is the largest of any town in New Hampshire.

More about Alton:
Once a regular stop for steamboats, Alton is now a regular stop on the M/S Mount Washington cruise. In fact, Alton Bay is considered the birthplace of the Mount Washington Cruises, as the first side-wheeler was launched there in 1872.