It was granted by Governor Benning Wentworth on November 1, 1766 to John Page and 60 others. Named for the governor himself, Wentworth was settled and incorporated the same year. Many of the settlers arrived from Massachusetts, particularly Salisbury. With a pretty New England common set atop an elevated tongue of land, the village has been noted since the 19th century for its charm; while in "... beauties of landscape, Wentworth has a more than ordinary share." Farmers cultivatedthe rich soil on the intervales. The Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad diagonally crossed the town. With abundant water power from the Baker River, Wentworth developed into a lumber producing town with nine sawmills. But disaster struck on August 6, 1856, when dams on the Upper and Lower Baker ponds in Orford breached during a flood, releasing a wall of water down Pond Brook to the Baker River. It raced three miles down the steep, rocky channel, then undermined and washed away Wentworth's riverside mills, houses, barns, sheds and roads. It widened the river by nearly 90 feet.
As of the census of 2000, there were 798 people, 310 households, and 220 families residing in the town. The population density was 19.2 people per square mile. There were 437 housing units at an average density of 10.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 97.62% White, 0.38% African American, 0.25% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population. There were 310 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couplesliving together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $44,219, and the median income for a family was $47,917. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $24,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,258. About 6.1% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.
