Settled as early as 1736 as Great Falls or Lunenburg, this town was not granted by New Hampshire until 1752, when it was named Bellowstown. Colonel Benjamin Bellows, for whom Bellows Falls, Vermont, was named, built a large fort at Walpole for defense against Indian attack. In 1761 the grant was renewed, and the town was renamed Walpole, in honor of Sir Robert Walpole, first Prime Minister of England.