6 EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 344 



Both summer and winter recreational activities have been increasing 

 in New Hampshire, as in neighboring states. Tourist traffic has increased 

 steadily. In addition, large numbers of people have bought homes through- 

 out the State for periodic use during summer or other vacation periods. 



Summer homes are not equally distributed throughout New Hamp- 

 shire, but a few are to be found in nearly every town. The central and 

 southern parts of the State have the heaviest concentrations. The 

 areas north of the White Mountains have not been reached by large 

 numbers of summer residents, mainly because of the accessibility of 

 desirable sites closer to the urban centers of southern Xew England. 

 As more persons seek vacation homes, and as transportation facilities 

 are improved, it is probable that summer homes will become an impor- 

 tant type of land utilization in all sections of the State. 



The social life and economy- of rural New Hampshire have been al- 

 tered greatly by the establishment of summer homes. New markets for 

 labor and products have been created to supplement existing markets or 

 to replace declining markets of former days. New problems of town 

 government and finance have appeared. New social relationships and 

 contacts among rural and urban people have arisen. 



The present study was undertaken to analyze the forces King behind 

 the summer home development, and to indicate the nature of the social 

 relationships and problems resulting therefrom. Francestow n, Sanborn- 

 ton, and Tuftonboro were selected for detailed study. These towns, lo- 

 cated in the central and southern parts of the State, were judged to be 

 representative generally of the conditions and characteristics of summer 

 home occupancy in New Hampshire. 



Visits were made to every occupied property, except in Tuftonboro, 

 where only every third waterfront summer home was visited, because of 

 the concentration of properties. Data were obtained by personal inter- 

 view during the summer of 1940 from 291 summer residents and 440 year- 

 round residents in the three towns. Fiscal data were taken from public 

 records, and town officials assisted in the classification of all properties 

 on the local tax lists of 1929 and 1939. 



All properties utilized primarily for recreational purposes were classed 

 as summer homes. This term commonly is applied to all vacation homes, 

 even though occupancy extends to other seasons of the year. Summer 

 homes whose peculiar advantage was the location on or proximity to 

 water, whether lake, pond, or stream, were designated as waterfront 

 homes. All others, including farm, village, forest, and mountain vacation 

 homes, were designated as open country properties. 



Year-round resident properties were classified as farm or nonfarm 

 units on the basis of man work units or average 10-hour man days of 

 agricultural activity. Properties used primarily as homes and having less 

 than 15 man work units of farm activity were classed as nonfarm resi- 

 dences; those used primarily for agricultural production and having more 

 than 150 man work units of farm activity were classed as commercial 

 farms, and those with intermediate amounts of farm activity as part-time 

 farms. Properties used primarily as centers of production or sale of 

 nonagricultural goods or services were classed as commercial establish- 

 ments. 



