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Fremont is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,739 at the 2020 census,[1] up from 4,283 at the 2010 census. Fremont is crossed by the Rockingham Recreation Trail (a rail trail) and NH Route 107. [edit] History
Settled in the 1720s, Fremont was originally part of Exeter. The area was once famous for its heavy growth of high-quality eastern white pine trees, reserved for use as masts of the Royal Navy. But residents began to use the wood for home construction. When in 1734 David Dunbar, surveyor-general, visited the Copyhold Mill to inspect fallen lumber, local citizens assembled, discharged firearms, and convinced Dunbar to leave. Dunbar returned emboldened with 10 men, but was forced to flee to a local tavern after citizens disguised as Indians attacked them. This insurrection became known as the Mast Tree Riot. The town was granted in 1764 by colonial governor Benning Wentworth as "Poplin". In 1853, Poplin petitioned the state legislature to change the name. In 1854, it became "Fremont" after General John C. Frémont, the first candidate of the Republican Party in the presidential election of 1856. The town is noted for the unspoiled Fremont Meeting House, built in 1800 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1993. The town was once home to the largest brickyard in the state, producing five million bricks a year, and to the downtown Spaulding & Frost Cooperage, established in 1874, one of the oldest operating wooden barrel manufacturers in the country. [edit] B-52 crashOn August 10, 1959, a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashed in Fremont. The aircraft, serial number 54-2682,[2] had departed Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts. During flight at , the crew heard several loud bangs, the radar system became inoperative, and the plane began to vibrate. As the vibrations became more severe, the plane began to lose altitude, and the pilot ordered the crew to bail out at . The pilot remained with the aircraft for several additional minutes, then ejected. The plane crashed into Spruce Swamp at 2:50p.m. local time. The pilot and seven crew members all survived. The crash was attributed to a failure of the radome on the nose of the aircraft. [edit] Research Tips
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