Often tied for Strafford County’s least populated municipality, Middleton is a central community of the Moose Mountains region. Like its neighbor, Brookfield, Middleton was developed as one of a handful of communities along the historical route to Governor John Wentworth’s summer home near Wolfeboro. Middleton was less suited than its neighbor for agriculture, and instead became known for a small cider industry. With the arrival of the automobile in the 20th century, a second-home market expanded around Sunrise Lake, bringing vacationers from southern New Hampshire, metropolitan Boston, and elsewhere in the Northeast every year. Today the town is home to many summer residents on the shores of Sunrise Lake.