Epping is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Rockingham County,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, United States. The population was 7,125 at the 2020 census, up from 6,411 at the 2010 census.United States Census Bureau
U.S. Census website
2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011. The main village, where 2,693 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Epping census-designated place (CDP), along

New Hampshire Route 27 New Hampshire Route 27 (abbreviated NH 27) is a long east–west highway in southeastern New Hampshire. The western terminus of NH 27 is in Hooksett at U.S. Route 3 and New Hampshire Route 28 north of Manchester. The eastern terminus is in Hamp ...

just west of

New Hampshire Route 125 New Hampshire Route 125 is a north–south state highway in Rockingham, Strafford and Carroll counties in southeastern New Hampshire. The southern terminus is in Plaistow at the Massachusetts state line, where the road continues south into Ha ...

History

Epping was originally part of Exeter, one of the four original New Hampshire townships. Starting in 1710, Exeter awarded free wood lots in the area to encourage settlement. In 1741, Epping was granted a charter and incorporated as a town. It was the last New Hampshire town chartered by Governor Jonathan Belcher before the

Province of New Hampshire The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was n ...

was granted a governor who did not also govern the neighboring

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...

. Epping was named for Epping in England. Through the 1800s, farming was a principal occupation in Epping. The town also had substantial reserves of clay, long used by local residents to make bricks, and in 1840, the first commercial brickyard was established in Epping. The village once known as East Epping gave birth in 1863 to a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

camp called Camp Hedding. Hedding CMA (Camp Meeting Association) hosted Methodist revivals. Hedding became the name of a post office and railroad station in 1896, and the place name appears on road signs. Epping was once an important junction of the Worcester, Nashua & Rochester Railroad and the Portsmouth & Concord Railroad, later both part of the

Boston & Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970 ...

. The north-south WN&R line through town was abandoned in 1932, with a short segment remaining in place south to Fremont to serve a lumber yard and barrel manufacturer located there. This left the east-west Portsmouth Branch between

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

as Epping's only access to the national rail network. Passenger service on the Portsmouth Branch ceased in 1954, although mixed-train service continued until 1960. A regular freight running from

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

to Portsmouth and return served Epping until 1972, after which a local freight out of Concord served the branch as needed, usually once or twice a week and often not passing beyond Epping where the last concentration of customers was located. Customers in Epping at this time included the Merrimack Farmers Exchange and the W.S. Goodrich brickyard. Occasional hi-and-wide freight movements operated over the Portsmouth Branch in the 1970s due to the lack of close clearance points, with several carrying materials destined to the under-construction

Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant The Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, more commonly known as Seabrook Station, is a nuclear power plant located in Seabrook, New Hampshire, United States, approximately north of Boston and south of Portsmouth. It has operated since 1990. With its ...

. Declining track conditions led to the B&M embargoing the branch in December 1979, with the last trains operating to Epping earlier that year and the final train to Raymond following in July 1980 despite the embargo. The Boston & Maine abandoned the track from East Manchester to Newfields in 1982, and the rail was removed in Epping between 1983 and 1985. The railroad beds are now the Rockingham Recreational Trail. Abutments for the WN&R bridge over the

Lamprey River The Lamprey River is a river in southeastern New Hampshire, the United States. It rises in Meadow Lake in Northwood, and flows south, then generally east through Raymond, Epping, Lee, Durham and finally Newmarket. Here, it meets Great Bay ...

can be seen to the west of Route 125.

Geography

A chronic quip about "Epping—the center of the universe" remains visible on bumper stickers. However, due to its location at the crossroads of Route 101 and Route 125, the town has indeed become a retail center serving the neighboring towns. It has attracted

chain store A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

s since Route 101 was upgraded to an expressway in the mid-1990s, with

strip mall A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...

s and

big-box store A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The t ...

s arriving in the 2010s. The town also has a traditional center clustered around Main Street and

Route 27 Route 27, or Highway 27, may refer to: Australia * Burke Developmental Road (Queensland) * Zeehan Highway (Tasmania) Canada * Alberta Highway 27 * British Columbia Highway 27 * Manitoba Highway 27 * Prince Edward Island Route 27 * Saskatchew ...

, an older road connecting Exeter with Hooksett and

. These parts of town retain their traditional architecture. The area on Route 27 near the Raymond border is known as West Epping. The town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 0.70% of the town. Epping is drained by the

Lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...

and Piscassic rivers. The highest point in Epping is Kennard Hill at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

, located in the town's northwest corner. Epping lies fully within the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the river ...

(Coastal) watershed. The town center, defined as the Epping

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP), has a total area of , all land.

Adjacent municipalities

* Lee, New Hampshire (northeast) *

Newmarket, New Hampshire Newmarket is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 9,430 at the 2020 census. Some residents are students and employees at the nearby University of New Hampshire in Durham. The densely settled center of town ...

(east) * Newfields, New Hampshire (east) *

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...

(southeast) *

Brentwood, New Hampshire Brentwood is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 4,490. Brentwood has been the county seat of Rockingham County since 1997. History An Abenaki tribe called the Pennacook farmed, f ...

(southeast) *

Fremont, New Hampshire Fremont is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,739 at the 2020 census, up from 4,283 at the 2010 census. Fremont is crossed by the Rockingham Recreation Trail (a rail trail) and NH Route 107. History ...

(southwest) *

Raymond, New Hampshire Raymond is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,684 at the 2020 census. Part of Pawtuckaway State Park is in the north. The main village in town, where 3,738 people resided at the 2020 census, is define ...

(west) *

Nottingham, New Hampshire Nottingham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,229 at the 2020 census, up from 4,785 at the 2010 census. It is the location of Pawtuckaway State Park. History Incorporated in 1722 by Lieutenant G ...

(northwest)

Culture

There are two

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

venues in Epping.

New England Dragway New England Dragway is a mile NHRA dragway in Epping, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, United States. The track hosts the New England Nationals event as part of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. The track also hosts a regional event ...

, New England's only quarter-mile track, runs races Wednesday and Friday nights and all day on the weekends, including the IHRA Amalie Oil North American Nationals and, since 2013, the

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsp ...

New England Nationals. The dragway hosts a popular Halloween display during the second half of October. Star Speedway is a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

stock-car oval operating on Saturdays. An annual canoe race down the

occurs on the last weekend in April. Camp Hedding hosts an annual camp meeting for one week in August and an "olde time fair" on the first Saturday of August every year. Epping has two annual parades, the memorial parade and the Christmas parade. The memorial parade usually includes youth sports teams, scouts, the combined middle and high school marching band, the fire department, police department, and veterans. The Christmas parade includes a few fire trucks and police cars that go around town with a Santa Claus character and his elves throwing candy to any children who are outside.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 6,411 people, 2,466 households, and 1,768 families residing in the town. There were 2,723 housing units, of which 257, or 9.4%, were vacant. The racial makeup of the town was 96.2%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.2% Native American, 1.3%

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n, 0.03%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawa ...

or Pacific Islander, 0.3% some other race, and 1.6% from two or more races. 1.6% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. Of the 2,466 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were headed by married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60, and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, 22.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.6% were from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 30.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males. For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $77,750, and the median income for a family was $86,886. Male full-time workers had a median income of $66,330 versus $47,538 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $34,982. 6.3% of the population and 3.3% of families were below the poverty line. 12.1% of the population under the age of 18 and 1.5% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.

Notable people

The men who inspired the town nickname of "Home of Three Governors" are the following: *

William Plumer William Plumer (June 25, 1759December 22, 1850) was an American lawyer, Baptist lay preacher, and politician from Epping, New Hampshire. He is most notable for his service as a Federalist in the United States Senate (1802–1807), and the sevent ...

(1759–1850), US senator; 11th and 13th

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

(1812–1813 / 1816–1819) * David L. Morril (1772–1849), US senator; 16th

(1824–1827) * Benjamin Franklin Prescott (1833–1895), 36th

(1877–1879) Plumer and Prescott roads honor two of the governors. Other notable residents include: *

Kerry Bascom Kerry Bascom (born March 3, 1969) is a retired American women's basketball player. She played forward and center for the Connecticut Huskies (UConn) from 1987 to 1991, scoring 2,177 points, a school record until broken in 1998 by Nykesha Sales. S ...

(born 1969), forward and coach with the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

women's basketball team *

Carl Stearns Clancy Carl Stearns Clancy (8 August 1890 – January 1971) was an American long-distance motorcycle rider, film director and producer. He is credited with being the first person to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle. Life Clancy was born in New ...

(1890–1971), first person to circumnavigate the globe on a motorcycle *

Henry Dearborn Henry Dearborn (February 23, 1751 – June 6, 1829) was an American military officer and politician. In the Revolutionary War, he served under Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec, of which his journal provides an important record ...

(1751–1829), Revolutionary War officer and

US Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

* Sheila LaBarre (born 1958), convicted murderer * B. G. Plumer (1830–1886), businessman, farmer, politician * Daniel L. Plumer (1837–1920), Wisconsin politician and businessman

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile

Rockingham County Planning Commission - Maps
*

Sites of interest

Epping Historical Society Museum

Harvey-Mitchell Memorial Library

Leddy Center for the Performing Arts

New England Dragway
{{authority control Towns in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Towns in New Hampshire 1741 establishments in New Hampshire