Something happened in the six weeks that the Smithsonian Institution’s national traveling exhibit on rural America came to Jefferson. The exhibit drew 1,129 people — more than the population of the White Mountain town — by the time it closed May 10.

The impact, though, was more significant than any numbers reveal, said Joe Marshall, president of the Jefferson Historical Society, which hosted the exhibit — “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” — in partnership with New Hampshire Humanities.

“This brought together our community in a way I don’t believe I’ve seen before,” said Marshall, who has lived in town most of his life. Like other small towns, Jefferson has lost many of the organizations that once formed the heart of community life, he said.

“You don’t have the Granges. You don’t hav

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