Coös County

Coös County is an administrative division in northern New Hampshire that spreads across mountains, forests, and lakes. The area includes 46 administrative subdivisions, including the city of Berlin and multiple towns plus unincorporated territories managed from Lancaster.

The area separated from Grafton County in 1803, with Lancaster designated as the county seat and Colebrook as another shire town. Local settlers and militia units played a role during the Revolutionary War and the boundary disputes that followed with neighboring Canadian territory.

The name comes from a Native American Cowasuck word meaning small pines, making this one of only two US counties with a diacritic mark.

The area is largely rural and requires a car to explore, as communities are spread across considerable distances. Visitors should prepare for variable weather conditions and longer travel times between locations.

The territory was home to boundary conflicts that stretched into the 1830s, shaping early relations with neighboring Canada after the Revolutionary War. These long-running disputes left a mark on how the border region developed.

Location: New Hampshire

Inception: 1803

Capital city: Lancaster

Shares border with: Essex County, Oxford County, Carroll County, Grafton County, Coaticook

Website: http://cooscountynh.us

GPS coordinates: 44.61377,-71.33994

Latest update: December 6, 2025 22:06