Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) and is located along the

Contoocook River The Contoocook River () is a river in New Hampshire. It flows from Contoocook Lake on the Jaffrey/ Rindge border to Penacook (just north of Concord), where it empties into the Merrimack River. It is one of only a few rivers in New Hampshire th ...

at the junction of

U.S. Route 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Mass ...

and

New Hampshire Route 101 New Hampshire Route 101 (NH 101) is a state-maintained highway in southern New Hampshire extending from Keene to Hampton Beach. It is the major east–west highway in the southern portion of the state. The western terminus of NH 101 is in Keen ...

. Peterborough is west of Manchester and northwest of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

History

Granted by Massachusetts in 1737, it was first permanently settled in 1749. The town suffered several attacks during the French and Indian War. Nevertheless, by 1759, there were fifty families settled. Incorporated on January 17, 1760, by Governor

Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. While serving as governor, Wentworth is best known for issuing several la ...

, it was named after Lieutenant Peter Prescott (1709–1784) of

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the conflu ...

, a prominent land speculator. Main St

The

and

Nubanusit Brook Nubanusit Brook is a stream in southern New Hampshire in the United States. The brook begins at the outlet of Nubanusit Lake in Nelson. It is a tributary of the Contoocook River, part of the Merrimack River watershed. The brook flows south into ...

offered numerous sites for watermills, and Peterborough became a prosperous mill town. In 1810, the first cotton factory was established. By 1859, when the population was 2,222, there were four additional cotton factories, plus a

woolen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...

mill. Other industries included two paper mills, an iron foundry, a machine shop, a carriage factory, a

basket A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehai ...

manufacturer, a maker of trusses and supporters, a

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly ...

and shoe factory, seven

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s, and three

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

s. Reverend Abiel Abbot, after being charged with heresy by the Connecticut religious establishment, came to Peterborough as minister to the Peterborough Unitarian Church in 1827. Reverend Abbot founded the town's first prep school, the Monadnock Summer Lyceum, and the first free library in the US, all in Peterborough. Peterborough established the first tax-supported free public library in the United States in 1833. Its success led the New Hampshire State Legislature to pass legislation in 1849 authorizing towns to raise money to establish and maintain their own libraries. The library was located in the town's general store and post office, and the postmaster served as librarian. The library moved to the town hall in 1873. Other early cultural institutions include Mariarden, a summer theatre where Paul Robeson played in Eugene O'Neill's '' The Emperor Jones'' at a time when roles for black Americans were scarce.

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...

performed there as a teen. Performance blossomed again in 1976, when Widdie and Jonathon Hall founded the Peterborough Folkway. "Within a few years, it became a 'must play' on the East Coast for folk musicians and continued to be a popular stop" for two decades. Regular performers included Tom Paxton,

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. While Colvin has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1998 Grammy Award-winning song " Sunny Came Home". Early ...

, and Suzanne Vega. In the 1980s, thanks to publisher Wayne Green, "Peterborough was clearly the per capita magazine production capital of the world." Over 100 magazines, mostly about computers and technology, were published there; these included ''

Byte The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable uni ...

'' and ''MacComputing''. Peterborough's leadership in environmental protection began in the 1990s, when its Earth Day USA office supported the US Air Force's annual Earth Day events around the world.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 1.06% of the town. Peterborough is drained by the

and its tributaries,

and Otter Brook. The entire town is part of the Merrimack River watershed. The highest point in Peterborough as well as in Hillsborough County is the summit of South Pack Monadnock ( above sea level), in Miller State Park in the southeast corner of town. Peterborough is also home to Edward MacDowell Dam and Lake recreation area, where visitors can walk across the dam, hike, cross-country ski, swim, boat, picnic, play Frisbee golf, horseshoes or other recreational opportunities, many of them disabilities accessible. The town is crossed by

and Route 101.

Demographics

As of the

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 6,284 people, 2,713 households, and 1,629 families residing in the town. The population density was 167.0 people per square mile (64.3/km). There were 2,956 housing units at an average density of 78.4 per square mile (30.3/km). The racial makeup of the town was 96.1% White, 1.8% Asian, 0.7%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

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 enslav ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

, 0.4% some other race, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population. There were 2,713 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were headed by married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. Of all households 33.6% were made up of individuals, and 15.2% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24, and the average family size was 2.85. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 19.9% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males. For the period 2009–2013, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $66,026, and the median income for a family was $89,401. Male full-time workers had a median income of $66,314 versus $34,707 for females. The per capita income for the town was $40,385.

Economy

Peterborough is a global village and entrepreneurial seedbed. Start-ups based in Peterborough include New Hampshire Ball Bearing, Microspec, Pure Flow, Peterboro Basket Company, Borrego Solar, MobileRobots Inc., Toadstool Bookstores, Froling Energy,

Brookstone Brookstone is a chain of retail stores in the United States and China. It was founded as a mail-order business in 1965, when it started selling items, such as dental clamps and other specialty tools. Its first physical location opened in 197 ...

, SoClean and Hyndsight Vision Systems. Approximately a third of Peterborough workers are home-based entrepreneurs or remote workers. Like the rest of New Hampshire and the

Monadnock region The Monadnock Region is a region in southwestern New Hampshire. It is named after Mount Monadnock, a 3,165 foot isolated mountain, which is the dominant geographic landmark in the region. Although it has no specific borders, the Monadnock Region i ...

, Peterborough's third largest industry is tourism. Its cultural attractions include the Monadnock Center for History and Culture, the exhibition gallery and craft gallery of the Sharon Arts Center, the Peterborough Players theatre, Peterborough Community Theater cinema, Monadnock Music concerts, the Monadnock Summer Lyceum, MAXT Makerspace and Mariposa Children's Museum. Peterborough's First Saturday contradances are a place for singles and dance enthusiasts to enjoy live music in the spacious Peterborough Town Hall.

Arts and culture

Many artists' introduction to the town comes as fellows to the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...

, a wooded creative retreat that provides grants to about 300 artists per year. The town celebrates First Friday monthly with presentations by MacDowell artists, gallery openings, shopping, live music, and local pubs. The Peterborough Diner, a Worcester railway lunch car in the center of the village square, attracts many presidential hopefuls every four years. Peterborough hosts the Snow Ball in January, Children and the Arts Day in May, Thing in the Spring music festival in June, and Greenerborough, a summer festival promoting the town's sustainability. The Moses Cheney house in Peterborough served as a stop on the Underground Railroad in the mid-19th century. The Peterborough Players have performed since 1933. New Hampshire's oldest continuously active state militia unit, the

Lafayette Artillery Company The Lafayette Artillery Company was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in 1804 as the Artillery Company of the 22nd Regiment. It was part of the State of New Hampshire's artillery system, a forerunner to the National Guard. The group has co ...

, was founded in Peterborough in 1804. It is now based in nearby Lyndeborough. Since the early 20th century, Peterborough has been home to the Amoskeag Veterans, founded in Manchester in 1855. The Mariposa Museum houses a collection of marionettes and puppets.

Parks and recreation

The town's outdoor amenities include hiking trails, wild flowers, cross-country skiing, kayaking, cycling and small lakes for swimming, sailing, fishing and ice-skating. It is a popular bird-watching area, one of two sites of the NH Audubon autumn migratory raptor count.

Education

The public schools are part of Contoocook Valley school district (SAU 1) which has a total of 11 schools and one applied technology center. * Contoocook Valley Regional High School, built in 1970, serves approximately 700 students. * South Meadow School, founded in 1989, serves approximately 400 students. The school began as Peterborough Middle School. * Peterborough Elementary School, locally known as PES, serves approximately 250 students. * While the area has many private kindergartens, pre-schools and elementaries, The Well School, founded in 1967, is the only Pre-8 school within the town. The Well is a day school that serves approximately 160 students on an extensive rural campus. *

Clay Mathematics Institute The Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) is a private, non-profit foundation dedicated to increasing and disseminating mathematical knowledge. Formerly based in Peterborough, New Hampshire, the corporate address is now in Denver, Colorado. CMI's scie ...

, a foundation supporting mathematics research.

Media

The ''

Monadnock Ledger-Transcript The ''Monadnock Ledger-Transcript'' is a twice-weekly newspaper based in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and covering the Monadnock Region. It was formed in September 2006, when the 50-year-old ''Monadnock Ledger'' bought the 150-year-old ''Peterboro ...

'' is published twice-weekly.

Infrastructure

The town wants to achiever 100 percent reliance on sustainable energy, and built the largest solar facility in New Hampshire, next to its wastewater treatment plant.

Notable people

Abiel Abbot Abiel Abbot (August 17, 1770 – June 7, 1828) was a prominent clergyman. He was born to John and Abigail Abbot in Andover, Massachusetts. In 1788 he went on to study at Harvard University. In 1792 he received the Bachelor of Arts degree with ho ...

(1765–1859), minister, educator and founder of the first free library *

Charles Bass Charles Foster Bass (born January 8, 1952) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 1995 to 2007 and 2011 to 2013. He is the son of Perkins Bass, ...

(born 1952), US congressman *

Perkins Bass Perkins Bass (October 6, 1912 – October 25, 2011) was an American elected official from the state of New Hampshire, including four terms as a U.S. representative from 1955 to 1963. Biography Bass was born on October 6, 1912, in East Walpole, ...

(1912–2011), US congressman *

Robert P. Bass Robert Perkins Bass (September 1, 1873July 29, 1960) was an American farmer, forestry expert, and Republican politician from Peterborough, New Hampshire. He served in both houses of the New Hampshire Legislature and as chairman of the state's F ...

(1873–1960), farmer, forestry expert, 53rd

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 ...

* Jotham Blanchard (1800–1839), lawyer, newspaper editor,

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

politician *

Ingrid Chavez Ingrid Julia Chavez (born 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, actress, and visual artist. Early life Chavez was born on January 21, 1965, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and raised in Marietta, Georgia. She is of Mexican-American descent. ...

(born 1965), actress, musician * Moses Cheney (1793–1875), abolitionist, legislator, and founder of

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the Campus of Bates College, campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of th ...

Person Colby Cheney Person Colby Cheney (February 25, 1828 – June 19, 1901) was a paper manufacturer, abolitionist and Republican politician from Manchester, New Hampshire. He was the 35th governor of New Hampshire and later represented the state in the United ...

(1828–1901), manufacturer, abolitionist, US senator, 35th

* Francis Joseph Christian (born 1942), retired auxiliary bishop, Diocese of Manchester *

Frank Gay Clarke Frank Gay Clarke (September 10, 1850 – January 9, 1901) was an American politician, lawyer, and a United States Representative from New Hampshire. Early life Born in Wilton, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Clarke attended Kimball Union A ...

(1850–1901), US congressman * Landon T. Clay (1926–2017), businessman, philanthropist, art collector, founder of

* Matt Deis (born 1983), musician * Jeanne Dietsch (born 1952), state senator * Richard Despard Estes (born 1928), author * Wayne Green (1922–2013), publisher *

Joanne Head Joanne Crane Head (September 28, 1930 – January 1, 2021) was an American politician who served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1976 to 1984 as a member of the Republican Party. Biography Head was born on September 28, 1930 ...

(1930–2021), member of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

Sam Huntington Sam Huntington (born April 1, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Josh Levison, a werewolf in the Syfy series '' Being Human'', and for his role as Jimmy Olsen in the superhero film '' Superman Returns''. For i ...

(born 1982), actor * Beth Krommes (born 1956), illustrator, winner of 2009 Caldecott Medal *

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites '' Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and '' ...

(1860–1908), composer * Marian MacDowell (1857–1956), founder of the

* Bob "Mr. Mac" McQuillen (1923–2014), teacher, musician, prolific composer of contra dance tunes; recognized as a National Heritage Fellow * James Miller (1776–1851), US congressman, general * Luke Miller (1815-1881), physician, businessman, and Minnesota state senator * Elting E. Morison (1909–1995), US historian, professor emeritus at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

, founder of the MIT's Program in Science, Technology and Society (known as STS), lived and died in Peterborough *

Eddie Mottau Eddie Mottau (born December 10, 1943) is an American guitarist. His career has included membership in the duo Two Guys from Boston, The Bait Shop, Bo Grumpus, Jolliver Arkansaw, and Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary. He was a sought after s ...

, guitarist *

George Swinnerton Parker George Swinnerton Parker (12 December 1866 – 26 September 1952) was an American game designer and businessman who founded Geo. S. Parker Co. and Parker Brothers. Life and career Parker was born in Salem, Massachusetts.Cutter, William Richar ...

(1866–1952), originator of the Parker Brothers game and toy company; his house in Peterborough was the basis for the murder mystery game ''

Clue Clue may refer to: People with the name * DJ Clue (born 1975), mixtape DJ * Arthur Clues (1924–1998), Australian rugby league footballer * Ivan Clues * Tim Cluess Arts, entertainment, and media ''Clue'' entertainment franchise * ''Clued ...

'', known outside North America as ''

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddingt ...

'' *

Walter R. Peterson, Jr. Walter Rutherford Peterson Jr. (September 19, 1922 – June 1, 2011) was an American realtor, educator, and Republican politician from Peterborough, New Hampshire, who served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and two terms as the 72 ...

(1922–2011), realtor, educator, 72nd

* Jeremiah Smith (1759–1842), jurist, US congressman, 9th

* Robert Smith (1802–1867), US congressman * Samuel Smith (1765–1842), manufacturer, US congressman * John Hardy Steele (1789–1865), mechanic, manufacturer, 19th

* Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (born 1931), author * George Walker (1824–1888), attorney, state congressman, banker, corporate executive, political adviser, prominent advocate for bimetallism and U.S. Consul-General in Paris * Isaac Davis White (1901–1990), commanded the U.S. Army, Pacific (USARPAC) from July 1957 to March 1961 * James Wilson I (1766–1839), US congressman * James Wilson II (1797–1881), US congressman * John Wilson (1777–1848), US congressman * Elizabeth Yates (1905–2001), Newbury medalist, author of 26 books including ''

Amos Fortune, Free Man ''Amos Fortune, Free Man'' is a biographical novel by Elizabeth Yates that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1951. It is about a young African prince who is captured and taken to America as a slave. He ma ...

In popular culture

The town was a model for the play ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 throu ...

'', written by

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays '' Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

while in residence at the MacDowell Colony. His fictional town of Grovers Corners appears to have been named for Peterborough's Grove Street. The film '' The Sensation of Sight'' was shot entirely in Peterborough.

References

External links

*
Greater Keene and Peterborough Chamber of Commerce

{{Authority control Populated places on the Underground Railroad Towns in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Towns in New Hampshire