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is a city in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 13,151 at the 2000 census. (The estimated population in 2007 was 12,898.)
It was named after Claremont, the country mansion of Thomas Pelham-Holles, Earl of Clare. On October 26, 1764, Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth granted the township to Josiah Willard, Samuel Ashley and 67 others. Although first settled in 1762 by Moses Spafford and David Lynde, many of the proprietors arrived in 1767, with a large number from Farmington, Hebron and Colchester, Connecticut. The undulating surface of rich, gravelly loam made agriculture an early occupation.
It was water power from the Sugar River, however, which brought the town prosperity during the Industrial Revolution. Large brick factories were built along the stream, including the Sunapee Mills, Monadnock Mills, Claremont Machine Works, Home Mills, Sanford & Rossiter, and Claremont Manufacturing Company. Principal products were cotton and woolen textiles, lathes and planers, as well as paper. Although like other New England mill towns, much industry moved away or closed in the 20th century, the city's former prosperity is evident in some fine Victorian architecture, including the 1897 city hall and opera house.
In March, 1989, the Claremont School Board voted to initiate a lawsuit against the State of New Hampshire, claiming that the state's primary reliance upon local property taxes for funding education resulted in inequitable educational opportunities among children around the state and a violation of their constitutional rights. Following a lawsuit and a series of landmark decisions, the New Hampshire Supreme Court agreed. Known as "The Claremont Decision", the suit continues to drive the statewide debate on equitable funding for education; and Claremont continues to play a primary role in this legal challenge.