Merrimack, New Hampshire

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 86.6 km² (33.4 mi²). 84.4 km² (32.6 mi²) of it is land and 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (2.48%) is water. The highest point in Merrimack is an unnamed hill in the northwestern part of town that reaches 512 feet (156 meters) above sea level.

Shadows of the former villages that now make Merrimack still exist, however the boundaries and exact definitions are unclear due to the vast expansion of the town during the latter half of the 20th Century, far after the villages were annexed to the town as a whole.

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 and Continental Boulevard. Thornton's Ferry has its own Elementary School on Camp Sargent Road, Thornton's Ferry Elementary School, which is also a symbol of the area.

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 since as a defined village it was located mostly near the Merrimack River, but may now possibly be seen as part of Reed's Ferry. Reed's Ferry also has its own Elementary School, Reed's Ferry Elementary School on Lyons Road, which like Thornton's Ferry School, has become a sub-cultural emulsifier of the area.

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, although the southeastern portion of town near Harris Pond might also be considered part of South Merrimack or Thornton's Ferry.

The center of town, right now this area is not known as "Merrimack Village" per se, but as an area in 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 roughly cutting the current town in half. This area of town's Elementary School is named after James Mastricola[2], who deeded the land to the town upon his death which now includes the Elementary School, the Lower Middle School, Merrimack High School, and the current town hall among other buildings.

The "village" is considered to extend westward to the Amherst border due in large part to the former Town Meetinghouse, which was located on the corner of Turkey Hill Road and Meetinghouse Road.

Humans 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 communityofBoston and nearby cities in New Hampshire, becoming one of the northernmost points of the northeastern urban belt sometimes known as Megalopolis.

As of the census² of 2000, there were 25,119 people, 8,832 households, and 6,986 families residing in the town. The population density was 297.5/km² (770.6/mi²). There were 8,959 housing units at an average density of 106.1/km² (274.8/mi²). 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. HispanicorLatino 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.

Hillsborough 19 consists of the heavily Republican town of Merrimack, which showed during election day as all eight GOP candidates swept the Democratic slate to take the town's eight seats in Concord.

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-1990's, 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. Today, the district still observes a daily moment of silence, but the bans on homosexuality have been all but forgotten.[3]

Currently the town governs itself between elections with a board of Selectmen and several specialized committees in areas such as planning and conservation. Every year before the town's election, a Town Meeting is held for hearing citizens' comments and on citizen based initiatives, confirming the town's budget, and making changes to the town's charter. However, due to the town's size, residents have begun to question the feasibility of Merrimack's ability to maintain a town meeting where all voices are heard. A commission has been formed to present options to the voters of the town in the 2006 Merrimack Town Election. Information on that commission and its progress can be found at Charter commission website.

Traditionally, in state and national politics, the town has been dominated by Republicans, who currently hold all eight of the town's seats in the General Court. The current General Court district of Merrimack is Hillsborough 19.

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 board (currently a Board of Selectmen, possibly a Town Council after 2006) 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.

Merrimack has an informal online forum. During the 2006 town election the site was seen as source of information regarding positions of non-incumbent candidates.

• Walter Kittredge
• Passaconaway
• Forrest Sherman
• Matthew Thornton

• Official Town Government Page.
• Merrimack Community Profile from the Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, New Hampshire Employment Security.
• Merrimack Public Television
• Unofficial Merrimack Town Forum
• Hillsborough County Genealogy and History site on Merrimack