62 



N. H. Agri. Experiment Station 



[Bulletin 298 



State. If the eight places in Area 5 in Groton were abandoned, their 

 tax revenue would probably shrink from $246 to $146. a loss of $100. 

 This would leave three groups of occupied places separated by high 

 ridges. An area in the northeast corner with three farms on the inter- 

 vale or plains in Cheever logically belongs with Dorchester, to which 

 it is most accessible. Since it is adjacent to the more thickly settled 

 area of Dorchester and is near the schools, the additional burden to that 



Fig. 11. The agriculture in Groton has all but disappeared, the mining 

 activities have ceased completely, and the population has dwindled. But the 

 actual taxes raised have risen to four times the 1915 assessment. The tim- 

 berland carries a large part of this added burden. The eight miles of power 

 line of recent construction is a factor and bears about one-third the total tax. 



town would not be disproportionate to the revenue from the $4,500 

 valuation. 



The eight occupied places at North Groton are now serviced by a 

 State road from Rumney ; and if this small community persists, it is 

 likely to be on the basis of commuting to Rumney or as a center of 

 forest operations. In either case the area is logically associated with 

 Rumney. The school children could be transported to Rumney at 

 slight expense, and the road cost associated with these locations would 

 be the maintenance of the State road by the State and a very limited 

 mileage at North Groton by the local people. The occupied places at 

 North Groton have an assessed valuation of $9,700, and the tax revenue 

 from them amounts to $287 annually.^ 



^ On June 1st, 1937, only seven places in North Groton were occupied. 

 One farmstead had burned. The valuation of occupied places had been re- 

 duced to $6,700, the tax revenue to about $225, and the sales to approximate- 

 ly $164. 



