Grafton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,385 at the 2020 census. In 2004, Grafton became the focus for libertarians as part of the Free Town Project (a single-town version of the Free State Project). Grafton’s appeal as a favorable destination was due to its absence of zoning laws and a then-low property tax rate. John Babiarz, a Grafton resident and prominent member of the Libertarian Party, encouraged libertarian people to move there.
During this time, the town’s population grew by about 200 people (about 20%); nearly all of the newcomers were men. Project participants did not find themselves as welcome as they had hoped, but they voted in changes including a 30% reduction in the town’s already small budget. This resulted in eliminating funding to the county’s senior-citizens council, town offices going unheated during the winter, poorly maintained roads filled with potholes, and the Grafton Police Department being reduced to one officer (the police chief), who said he was unable to answer calls for service as the town had no money to repair the one police vehicle left.
They also began experiencing issues with inconsistent public services, such as trash collection. The libertarian newcomers further increased the town’s costs by filing lawsuits against it in attempts to set various legal precedents.
The project has been associated with an increase in the number and aggressiveness of black bears in town, including entering homes, mauling people, and eating pets. A single, definitive cause for the abnormal behavior of the bears has not been proven, but it may be due to Grafton residents being reluctant to buy and mandate the use of bear-resistant containers, improper disposal of waste materials (such as feces) safely, or residents feeding bears.
After a rash of lawsuits from Free Towners, an influx of sex offenders, an increase of crime, problems with bold local bears, and the first murders in the town’s history, the Libertarian project ended in 2016.
The Daily Omnivore 
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