Settled by citizens from Haverhill, Massachusetts, the town was first known as Lower Coos. In 1773, Haverhill became the county seat of Grafton County. It was the terminus of the Old Province Road, which connected the northern and western settlements with the seacoast.
The village of Woodsville, named for John L. Woods of Wells River, Vermont, was once a very important railroad center. Woods operated a sawmill on the Ammonoosuc River, and developed a railroad supply enterprise following the establishment of the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad.
The village of Pike was settled by future employees of the Pike Manufacturing Company, which was, for a time, the world's leading manufacturer of whetstones.
