Merrimack, New Hampshire
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| Merrimack, New Hampshire | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | New Hampshire | ||
| County | Hillsborough | ||
| Incorporated | 1746 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Town Council | Betty J. Spence, Chairwoman Tom Mahon, Vice-Chairman David McCray Michael Malzone Tom Koenig Nancy Harrington Finlay Rothhaus |
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| Area | |||
| - Total | 33.4 sq mi (86.6 km²) | ||
| - Land | 32.6 sq mi (84.4 km²) | ||
| - Water | 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km²) 2.48% | ||
| Elevation | 180 ft (55 m) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - Total | 25,119 | ||
| - Density | 770.6/sq mi (297.5/km²) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 03054 | ||
| Area code(s) | 603 | ||
| FIPS code | 33-47540 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0873663 | ||
| Website: www.ci.merrimack.nh.us | |||
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,119 at the 2000 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire.
There are four villages in the town: Merrimack Village (formerly known as Souhegan Village), Thornton's Ferry, Reed's Ferry, and South Merrimack.
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[edit] History
Human beings began to settle the area currently known as Merrimack sometime after the recession of the glaciers that had spread over much of New England during the last ice age. European settlers first came to the area in the late 17th Century when the area was still in dispute between the Province of New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Merrimack was officially incorporated in 1746, a year largely regarded as Merrimack's birthday, although only the southern portion (primarily what is known as Thornton's Ferry) of the current boundaries of town was included in the original town, with the northern portion of what is now Merrimack (primarily what is known as Reed's Ferry) being added a few years later.
The Boston and Maine Railroad laid tracks through the town in the 19th century, with several stations operating until the mid-20th century when the advent of the automobile transformed Merrimack from a largely agricultural community to a bedroom community of Boston and nearby cities in New Hampshire, becoming one of the northernmost points of the northeastern urban belt sometimes known as Megalopolis.
[edit] Notable Inhabitants
- Walter Kittredge, civil war-era musician
- Passaconaway, chieftain in the Pennacook tribe
- Forrest Sherman, admiral in the United States Navy who served as Chief of Naval Operations
- Matthew Thornton, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.4 square miles (87 km²), of which 32.6 sq mi (84 km²) is land and 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km²) (2.48%) is water. The highest point in Merrimack is an unnamed hill in the northwestern part of town that reaches 512 feet (156 m) above sea level.
[edit] Areas of Merrimack
Shadows of the former villages that now make Merrimack still exist. However, the boundaries and exact definitions are unclear due to the expansion of suburban development in the town during the latter half of the 20th century.
[edit] Thornton's Ferry
The area of town near Lake Naticook and Continental Boulevard, the name of this area comes from Matthew Thornton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence who lived in Merrimack and is now buried near the intersection of Daniel Webster Highway (U.S. Route 3) and Greeley Street. Thornton's Ferry Elementary School is located on Camp Sargent Road.
[edit] Reed's Ferry
The northern portion of the town, Reed's Ferry is centered around the current intersection of Bedford Road and Daniel Webster Highway. The boundaries of the area are unclear, as the northwestern part of town near Baboosic Lake is not traditionally considered a portion of Reed's Ferry. While as a defined village it was located mostly near the Merrimack River, it may now possibly be seen as part of Reed's Ferry. Reed's Ferry Elementary School is located on Lyons Road.
[edit] South Merrimack
Centered around Pennichuck Square on Rte. 101A and Continental Boulevard, South Merrimack is usually considered to be the southwestern part of town near Rte. 101A and Boston Post Road. However, the southeastern portion of town near Harris Pond might also be considered part of South Merrimack or Thornton's Ferry.
[edit] Merrimack Village
The center of town is not known as "Merrimack Village" per se, but constitutes the area between the more defined Reed's Ferry and Thornton's Ferry areas. Largely considered to be located at the Public Library on the corner of Baboosic Lake Road and Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack Village was built along the Souhegan River that roughly cuts the current town in half. The elementary school in this part of town is named after James Mastricola,[1] who deeded the land to the town upon his death. The lower and upper elementary schools, the middle school, Merrimack High School, the library, and the current town hall, among other buildings, are all located on the land formerly owned by Mastricola.
The "village" is considered to extend westward to the Amherst border. This is due in large part to the former Town Meetinghouse, which was located on the corner of Turkey Hill Road and Meetinghouse Road.
[edit] Neighboring cities and towns
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Bedford | Manchester |
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| Amherst |  |
Litchfield | |||||
 Merrimack  |
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| Nashua |
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 25,119 people, 8,832 households, and 6,986 families residing in the town. The population density was 770.6 people per square mile (297.5/km²). There were 8,959 housing units at an average density of 274.8/sq mi (106.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.58% White, 0.73% African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.08% of the population.
There were 8,832 households out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.1% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 15.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $68,817, and the median income for a family was $72,011. Males had a median income of $51,725 versus $31,528 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,748. About 1.2% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Politics and Governance
[edit] State and Federal
As a large, suburban community located directly between the state's two largest cities, Manchester and Nashua, Merrimack plays a disproportionate role to its size every four years in the New Hampshire Primary; in almost every Fourth of July preceding a presidential election, every presidential candidate will march or have a float in the town's Fourth of July parade.
In recent years, Merrimack has also been a battleground of sorts for the Gay Rights and school prayer movements in New Hampshire and nationwide. In the mid-1990s, led by a conservative majority, the Merrimack School Board passed a series of school regulations banning what they called "Homosexual Acts and Homosexual Materials" in the school district and mandating a district-wide daily "Moment of silence". Banned actions included same-sex hand holding and hugging. Banned materials included any literature written by purported homosexuals. Merrimack erupted into a firestorm of political debate, bringing the town into the forefront of the growing debate over homosexuality in the U.S. The scandal culminated in months of dramatic regionally televised school board meetings, student-led walkouts, and a national news special. In the 2006-07 school year, the district still observed a daily moment of silence, but the bans were all but forgotten.[citation needed]
Traditionally, in state and national politics, the town has been dominated by Republicans, who currently hold seven of the town's eight seats in the General Court. The current General Court district of Merrimack is Hillsborough 19.
[edit] Local
The town government consists of a 7-member Town Council. This form of government was recently adopted by a ballot measure on May 25, 2006. More information on Merrimack's government can be found at Charter commission website.
Each March, the town conducts two deliberative sessions (school and general) to decide what warrant articles will be on the Town General Election ballot in April, one of which is always election of town officers, and another is the budget. If the budget is not approved by the voters, the town's governing council either holds an emergency hearing regarding a new budget or goes forward with the priors years' budget, amended with any time sensitive information pending upon the current year.
Merrimack's central town government has no control over the town's schools, which are run by the School Board, or the town's water works, which are run by the Merrimack Village District. The Merrimack School Board gained national notoriety in 1996 when it passed a "prohibition of alternative lifestyle instruction" act, which resulted in the removal of a work by William Shakespeare from the school curriculum. The censorious board members were voted out in the resulting uproar and Shakespeare is again safe in Merrimack.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "A History of James Mastricola Elementary School". Mastricola Elementary School. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Banned Books Online. The Online Books Page. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
[edit] External links
- Town website
- Merrimack Community Profile from the Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau
- Merrimack Public Television
- Unofficial Merrimack Town Forum
- Hillsborough County Genealogy and History site on Merrimack
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