The Town of Rumford is located near the Androscoggin River, and its tributaries of the Ellis River on the west, the Swift River on the east, and the Concord River on the south. These rivers provided the opportunities for small mills to produce lumber and shingles, shovel handles, grains from the grist mills, cheese and starch making facilities, and wool carding products.
The township of New Pennacook was created as the result of a Massachusetts grant in 1779 to Timothy Walker, Jr. The Town of Rumford was incorporated by act of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1800, at which time the name of New Pennacook was changed to “Rumford,” although the residents of the township had requested the name of "China." No reason was given for the substitution of the name Rumford. Workers from Europe, especially Poland, Lithuania, Italy, Scotland, Ireland, England, came to build the dams, canals, brick structures, and other buildings on the Island, and manage the mills.
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