- Grafton
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/graf"teuhn, grahf"-/, n.1. Sue, born 1940, U.S. detective novelist.2. a city in central Massachusetts. 11,238.
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city and port, northeastern New South Wales, eastern Australia. It is located 42 miles (68 km) from the mouth of the Clarence River (and its Pacific outport of Yamba), in the North Coast district. The site was first settled in 1838 when the area was exploited by cedar getters. The city was proclaimed in 1885 and increased in size in 1956 by merging the municipalities of Grafton and South Grafton (both named for the duke of Grafton) on opposite banks of the river (bridged in 1932). The district is a communications hub, lying at the junction of the Pacific and Gwydir highways, with air and rail links to Brisbane, Queensland (north), and Sydney (southwest), and is accessible from the sea by boats of moderate draft. Grafton is a gateway to several national parks in the vicinity, and tourism is important. The locale yields sugarcane, fruits, timber, corn (maize), dairy products, vegetables, oysters, and prawns. Industries include meat and dairy processing, brewing, and mining (coal, asbestos, limestone). Grafton is the seat of an Anglican bishop. The city is noted for its wide, tree-lined streets and for its annual Jacaranda Festival. Pop. (2001) 16,562.city, seat (1878) of Taylor county, northern West Virginia, U.S., on the Tygart Valley River, north of Tygart Lake. Settled in 1852 by construction crews of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, it is thought to be named for the “graftin' on” (junction) point for branch rail lines. It was chartered in 1856. During the American Civil War it was a key rail centre and was occupied by both Confederate and Union troops. About 4,000 Union soldiers camped there before skirmishing with Confederate troops at Philippi on June 3, 1861. Bailey Thornsbury Brown, reputedly the first Union soldier to be killed in the war, was shot in Grafton a short time earlier (May 22) by Confederate sentries; he is buried at the Grafton National Cemetery.The celebration of Mother's Day is said to have started in Grafton when Anna Jarvis observed the anniversary of her mother's death in 1908 at the Andrews Methodist Church. Manufactures include glass, paper, and rubber products; the railroad is also important. Tygart Dam (completed in 1937 to control flooding of the Monongahela River downstream) and Tygart Lake State Park are nearby. Pop. (1990) 5,524; (2000) 5,489.county, western New Hampshire, U.S. It is bounded to the west by Vermont (the Connecticut River constituting the entire border) and consists of a mountainous region, with the White Mountains and a large portion of White Mountain National Forest occupying the northeastern part of the county. It is drained by the Ammonoosuc, Baker, Mascoma, and Pemigewasset rivers. Other waterways include Newfound and Mascoma lakes and a portion of Squam Lake. Franconia Notch State Park (White Mountains), one of the most notable parks in New Hampshire, features Franconia Notch—a steep, 8-mile (13-km) mountain pass that contains the Flume, a deep stream gorge—and the Basin, a giant glacial pothole. The Old Man of the Mountain, a landmark on Cannon Mountain consisting of a rock outcropping that resembled a human face, collapsed in 2003. Additional public lands are Cardigan and Wellington state parks and Black Mountain and Province Road state forests. The county is forested with pine, maple, birch, beech, spruce, and fir.The local Abenaki Indian tribe was the Coosuc. Grafton, one of New Hampshire's original counties, was created in 1769. It was named for Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd duke of Grafton (Grafton, Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd duke of). A community of Shakers (Shaker) flourished at Lower Shaker Village from 1793 to 1923. Hanover is the seat of Dartmouth College, which was founded in 1769 with a disputed charter that was later defended before the U.S. Supreme Court by alumnus Daniel Webster (Webster, Daniel) in the Dartmouth College case (1819). Poet Robert Frost (Frost, Robert), a self-styled New Hampshire farmer, summered in Franconia for many years.The county seat is Woodsville. Other major towns are Lebanon, Littleton, Plymouth, and Enfield. The economy centres on tourism and the manufacture of plastic products and industrial machinery. Area 1,714 square miles (4,438 square km). Pop. (1990) 74,929; (2000) 81,743.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
