As the northernmost community in the Strafford planning region, Wakefield is Route 16’s gateway to the Lakes Region and White Mountains. Wakefield includes the villages of Sanbornville, East Wakefield, and Union. Wakefield, first named East Town by European settlers, was historically a Pequawket settlement of the Abenaki. Like much of interior New England, Wakefield was settled by colonial investors from the coast and became known for its lumber industry through the late 18th century. The arrival of the railroad spurred continued growth through the 19th century, and at one time Wakefield was an important ice shipping point. While the town’s growth during the 20th century is partly attributable to the rise of the automobile, like its neighbors in the northern reaches of the Strafford Region, the town remained largely rural and residential. Today it is home to many year-round lake front residents and a second-home market for southern New Hampshire and metropolitan Boston.