The town’s name originated in Rumford, England, but settled in New Hampshire first.

In her Sept. 19 column, Linda MacGregor stated the town of Rumford was named for Count Rumford. This is not the case, although it’s the commonly held belief and has been for many years. To understand this somewhat complicated matter, it is necessary to know something about Count Rumford and also something about Concord, N.H.

The man who was to become Count Rumford was born Benjamin Thompson in Woburn, Mass. in 1753. Without going into a long discussion of his life, it can be said that at the time of the American Revolution he was an influential person in Concord, N.H., who knew exactly what plans the Continental Army had in the Boston area.

Thompson was a Royalist and, therefore, faithful to his king. He was also a friend of the British commander in Boston, Gen. William Howe, and he kept Howe informed of patriot plans. When the patriots became aware of his duplicity, Thompson had to flee his Concord residence at night during a March snowstorm to avoid being tarred and feathered. He took refuge in the British compound in Boston and ultimately sailed to England with Howe. Shortly after his arrival there, he raised a regiment and returned to fight the rebels (as they were then known).

Benjamin Thompson was a thoroughly hated and despised British spy. He was never able to return to his native land and was clearly not a person that Massachusetts patriots were going to name a town for so shortly after the Revolution.

The city that we know as Concord, N.H., was originally settled by pioneers from Rumford in England under the name of Pennacook, for the Indians who lived there. It was incorporated in 1733 as Rumford and was, therefore, named for the ancestral home of its first settlers. It was renamed Concord in 1784 to honor the peaceful settlement of a long standing border dispute in that area.

The town that is present day Rumford, Maine, was given the name of New Pennacook in 1795 since more than 80 percent of the original settlers were from what was once Pennacook, N.H. When, in 1800, the residents petitioned the general court for incorporation under the name of China, Timothy Walker, a most influential man in Concord, went to Boston to plead with the court to name the new town Rumford, so that the old and historic name would not be lost. His plea was granted, and the new town was named Rumford.

Rumford historian Stuart Martin has this information. It can be found in the Rumford Falls Times of April 10, 1991. William Lapham in his 1890 History of Rumford, Maine, states that the town was named for Rumford in England, and James Lyford in his 1896 History of Concord, N.H., states that Rumford, Maine, was named for its parent town of Concord, N.H.

MacGregor also asks if Thompson ever saw his wife and daughter again following his midnight flight from Concord. The answer is that he never saw his wife again, but maintained contact with the family over the years, and his daughter joined him in Europe in her adult years.

Dennis Breton is a director of the Rumford Historical Society.