The purpose of this study is to evaluate the economy of the six town greater Ossipee area and to provide a road map for local governments and organizations to follow as to which realistic efforts should be undertaken to improve the economic conditions for residents of the area. The six town in the study area are: Effingham, Freedom, Madison, Ossipee, Sandwich, and Tamworth. Between 1960 and 1990 the six town greater Ossipee area participated in the rapid economic and population growth which had occurred in Carroll County, one of the fastest growing counties in the State of New Hampshire in percentage terms. Between 1970 and 1990 New Hampshire had the fastest percentage population growth of any state in the northeastern United States. Therefore, while the six town area may have grown more slowly than the rest of Carroll County, it still had growth rates far above most areas of the northeastern United States.

The recession which began in 1990 hit New Hampshire, Carroll County and the six town area particularly hard and was the worst recession in the state in at least 30 years, if not since the Great Depression of the 1930's. By early 1992 the state's economy hit bottom and began to slowly rise, so that by 1994 most of the jobs which had been lost during 1990 and 1991 had reappeared. However, most of these new jobs were in new industries and were concentrated along the Massachusetts border and near Concord and Hanover, far from Carroll County.

Carroll County and the six town study area did not begin to see a rebound in employment until early 1995, three years after the rebound began in southern New Hampshire. Carroll County was one of the last areas in the state to start to rebound. Only Coos County to the north of Carroll County has had a slower recovery.

This delayed economic recovery in Carroll County reflects the changing world economy and how it is affecting rural areas in the United States much more than urban areas. However, Carroll County is better positioned (because of its proximity to a very large urban area) than most rural areas in this country to make those changes which will enable it to move forward and participate in this evolving new world economy.

The Greater Ossipee Area Chamber of Commerce applied for and received a technical assistance grant from the United States Economic Development Administration in 1994. The Chamber had applied for and received this grant because of the relatively weak economy in the six town area in the period between 1990 and 1994 and because it was not participating in the economic rebound found in the southern parts of the state. The Chamber of Commerce assigned this project to its Economic Development Committee. Through a "Request for Proposals" process, the Economic Development Committee selected a consultant team lead by Northern Economic Planners of Concord, NH, to assist the Committee in preparing this report. Other consultant team members were: Gerald I. Coogan, AICP, of North Conway, NH; The Glen Group, of Jackson, NH; Barnhart-Malcolm, Inc., of Lyme, NH; and Putney Hill Corporation, of Hopkinton, NH.

This economic assessment and implementation plan is timely, for the area is still lagging behind employment and income levels common during the 1980's and is lagging behind other areas of the state. Some of the recommended actions contained in this report are not new, but have not been implemented even though recommended in previous studies undertaken by the Chamber of Commerce and other area groups. Many of the recommended actions contained in this report are new, because the six town study area is facing a rapidly changing world economy, with new forms and higher levels of international competition. A map of the study area is provided on page 4.