Concord, New Hampshire
Encyclopedia : C : CO : CON : Concord, New Hampshire
- ''For other places of the same name, see Concord.
Concord is the home of Franklin Pierce Law Center, the only law school in New Hampshire, and the prep school St. Paul's School, and was the birthplace of Abbot Downing's Concord stagecoach.
The New Hampshire International Speedway is located about 10 miles northeast of Concord, in Loudon.
History
The land which Concord now occupies along the banks of the Merrimack River was settled thousands of years ago by Native Americans. The broad sweeps of the river valley, good soil for farming, and easy transportation on the Merrimack made the site of Concord equally inviting to English-speaking settlers in the 18th century. During the 18th century the community grew in prominence. Some of Concord's earliest houses remain today at the north end of Main Street.
The city was settled by immigrants from Massachusetts in 1727 as Penacook. In 1733, it was incorporated as Rumford, and in 1765, the name was changed to Concord. In the years following the American Revolution, Concord's central location made it a logical choice for the state capital, and in 1808 it was named the official seat of state government. Today the 1819 State House is the oldest state capitol in which the legislative branches meet in their original chambers.
Geography
Concord is located at (43.220093, -71.549127)[Geographic references#1GR1]and sits at 288 feet above sea level.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 174.9 km² (67.5 mi²). 166.5 km² (64.3 mi²) of it is land and 8.4 km² (3.2 mi²) of it (4.78%) is water.
The highest point in Concord is 860 feet (262 meters) above sea level on Oak Hill, just west of the hill's 970-foot summit in neighboring Loudon.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 40,687 people, 16,281 households, and 9,622 families residing in the city. The population density was 244.4/km² (632.9/mi²). There were 16,881 housing units at an average density of 101.4/km² (262.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.52% White, 1.03% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.47% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. 1.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 16,281 households out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,447, and the median income for a family was $52,418. Males had a median income of $35,504 versus $27,348 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,976. About 6.2% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
The city hosts the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, named after the Concord teacher who died during the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. It is also the home of the New Hampshire Historical Society that has two historic buildings in Concord — the [Museum of New Hampshire History] and the [Tuck Library]. President Franklin Pierce lived in Concord prior to and following his presidency, and his former home, [The Pierce Manse], has been preserved. Pierce died in Concord and was interred in the Old North Cemetery.External links
- [Official Website]
- [New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile]
- [Volume One of James Lyford's History of Concord (Downloadable PDF)]
- [Volume Two of James Lyford's History of Concord (Downloadable PDF)]
- [Concord Litho]
- [The Concord Monitor]
- [The New Hampshire Historical Society]
- [St. Paul's School]
- [Franklin Pierce Law Center]
- [Maps and aerial photos]
- * Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
- * Topographic map from [TopoZone]
- * Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
- * Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Windows Live Local]
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