Nashua is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA. As of the 2000 census, Nashua had a total
population of 86,605[1], making it the second largest city
in the state after Manchester. As of 2005, the
population is estimated to be 87,986.[2]
Built around the now-departed textile industry, in recent decades it has been swept up in
southern New Hampshire's economic expansion as part of the Boston region. Nashua was twice named "Best Place to Live in America" in annual surveys by
Money magazine.[3] It is the only city to get the No. 1 ranking two times—in 1987 and 1997. Nashua is currently ranked
#87, as of summer 2006.[4] In 2007, the Morgan Quitno Press ranked Nashua as the 27th safest city in the country.
History
The area was part of a 200-square-mile tract of land in Massachusetts called Dunstable,
which had been awarded to Edward Tyng of Dunstable, England. Nashua lies approximately in the
center of the original 1673 grant. When New Hampshire separated from Massachusetts in
1741, the state line between them was
redrawn. As a consequence, the township of Dunstable was divided in two. Tyngsboro and some of Dunstable remained
in Massachusetts, while Dunstable, New Hampshire was incorporated in
1746 from the northern section of the town.
Located at the confluence of the Nashua with the Merrimack River, Dunstable was first settled about 1655 as a fur
trading town. But like many 19th century riverfront New England communities, it would be developed during the Industrial Revolution with textile mills operated from water
power. By 1836, the Nashua Manufacturing Company had built three
cotton mills which produced 9.3 million yards of cloth annually on 710 looms. On December 31st, 1836, Dunstable was renamed Nashua after the Nashua River by a declaration of the New
Hampshire legislature. The Nashua River was named by the Nashuway Indians, and in the Penacook language it means "beautiful
stream with a pebbly bottom."[5] The town split in two for
eleven years following a tax dispute in 1842 between the area north of the Nashua River, where most of the wealthy lived, and the
area south of the river. During that time the northern area called itself Nashville, while the southern part kept the name
Nashua. They would eventually reconcile and join together to charter the city of Nashua in 1853. Six railroad lines crossed the mill town, with 56 trains entering and
departing daily before the American Civil War.
Like the rival Amoskeag Manufacturing Company upriver in
Manchester, the Nashua
Manufacturing Company prospered until about World War I, after which it began a slow
decline. Water power was replaced with newer forms of energy to run factories. Cotton could be manufactured into fabric where it
grew, saving transportation costs. The textile business started moving to the South
during the Great Depression, with the last mill closing in 1949.
Many citizens were left unemployed. But then Sanders Associates, a newly created
defense firm that is now part of BAE Systems, moved into one of the closed mills and
launched the city's rebirth. The arrival of Digital Equipment Corp. (now
part of Hewlett-Packard) in the 1970s made the city part of the Boston-area high-tech corridor.
|
|
Canal St. Bridge, c. 1908
|
The Willows, c. 1910; the road is now Route 101A near Somerset Plaza
|
Hunt Memorial Library in 2006
|
Notable residents
- James Collins, MacArthur fellow and professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University
- Jeff Giuliano, ice hockey player
- Judd Gregg, senior U.S. Senator of New Hampshire
- Randy Harrison, actor
- Jack Kerouac, writer - summered at grandparent's Vine Street home
- Ray LaMontagne, folk singer
- Greg Landry, football player
- Jennifer Lavoie, Playboy Playmate
- Paul Levesque (Triple H), professional wrestler
- John Lovewell, Jr., soldier and early explorer
- Alvin Lucier, composer
- Mandy Moore, singer
- Mike O'Malley, actor - graduate of Bishop
Guertin High School
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 82.5 km² (31.8 mi²). 80.0 km² (30.9 mi²) of it
is land and 2.5 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is water, comprising 2.98% of the town. Nashua is drained by the Nashua River and Salmon
Brook. The highest point in Nashua is Long Hill (418 feet / 127
meters above sea level), in the southern part of the city. The
city is roughly bisected by the Nashua River.
Neighboring cities and towns
The city is bordered on the east by the Merrimack River, across which lies the town of Hudson, New Hampshire. To the north is Merrimack, New
Hampshire, west is Hollis, New Hampshire, and south is Tyngsboro,
Massachusetts.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 86,605 people, 34,614 households, and 22,083 families
residing in the city. The population density was 1,082.5/km² (2,803.5/mi²). There
were 35,387 housing units at an average density of 442.3/km² (1,145.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.25%
White, 2.01% African American, 0.32% Native American, 3.88% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.05% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.22% of the population.
There were 34,614 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were
non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from
45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $51,969, and the median income for a family was $61,102. Males had a median
income of $43,893 versus $29,171 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$25,209. About 5.0% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The city's government is headed by a mayor and fifteen aldermen: six at-large aldermen elected three at a time every four years, and nine ward aldermen, one for each
ward in the city, elected every two years.
In the New Hampshire General Court, Nashua is represented in the House by
Hillsborough County's 20th (Ward 1), 21st (Ward 2), 22nd (Ward 3), 23rd (Ward 4), 24th (Ward 6), 25th (Ward 7) and 26th (Wards 5,
8 and 9) districts and in the Senate by District 12 (Wards 1, 2, 5 and 9, shared with Hollis, Mason, and Brookline) and District 13 (Wards 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8).
Economy
Nashua's downtown is a regional commercial, entertainment, and dining destination. Recent plans have incorporated the
Nashua River into the design of a pedestrian-friendly walkway. The Nashua Riverwalk is a
large, public/private venture funded through the use of Tax Increment Financing
(TIF).
The city is home to a number of technical firms, including Nashua Corporation,
which took its name from the city and river. Nashua Corp. was a leading producer of floppy
disks through the early 1990s, making the Nashua name well-known in the world of personal computers. Defense contractor BAE Systems and computer firm Hewlett-Packard are the largest
representatives of the high-tech industry prominent in the region.
Transportation
Entrance of Boire Field, Nashua's airport
U.S. Route 3 and the Everett Turnpike are the
major highways running through the city. Nashua Municipal Airport (Boire
Field), a general aviation facility, is in the city's northwest corner. Public
transportation is provided by the Nashua Transit System, which runs a bus line. Efforts are being made to extend the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's commuter rail
Lowell Line from Lowell to Nashua.
Maps of the Nashua area often show a stretch of freeway forming a circumferential highway through Nashua and the neighboring
town of Hudson. Only a small section of the south end of this highway (Exit 2 off
U.S. Route 3) has been built, and it is unclear whether the highway will ever be completed.
If finished, the Nashua-Hudson Circumferential Highway would be part of
the Everett Turnpike, and would rejoin the mainline highway at a hypothetical Exit 9 in
northern Nashua.
As of February 13 2007, Boston Express, a subsidiary of
Concord Trailways began operating a Nashua-Boston
bus line that runs out of the Nashua Welcome Center off of Exit 6 on the Everett
Turnpike. This bus line transports passengers to South Station and Logan International Airport in Boston, and is being used in place of the rail line to Lowell
which is in the process of being brought back. [1]
Media
The city has a daily newspaper, the Nashua Telegraph, which is printed
in neighboring Hudson, New Hampshire. Nashua also has two weekly newspapers,
The Broadcaster and The Hippo, as well as a
regional radio station, WGAM 900 AM
(FOX Sports Radio). Another radio station, WSMN 1590 AM (news/talk), is back on the air
after going dark in January 2005. Longtime FM station WHOB 106.3 FM moved to
Hooksett, New Hampshire, after changing owners in 2004. NH Public Radio has a FM
transmitter in Nashua at 88.3 MHz.
Education
According to the 2000 U.S Census, 22,700 residents over age three currently are enrolled in a Nashua educational institution,
approximately a fourth of the city.[1]
Colleges
Entrance of Daniel Webster College
Nashua is not considered a college town compared to locales such as Durham, New
Hampshire, but as of 2006 the city has 5,000 students enrolled at six colleges: Hesser College - Nashua, Southern New
Hampshire University Nashua campus, Franklin Pierce College Nashua campus, Daniel
Webster College, the New Hampshire Community Technical
Colleges (Nashua campus), and Rivier College.
Secondary schools
In 2005, Nashua's public high school was split into Nashua High School South
(home of the Panthers, opened in 1976 and rebuilt/reopened in 2004) and the new Nashua
High School North (home of the Titans, opened in 2002) off Broad Street.
The city has two private religious high schools: Bishop Guertin High
School, a coeducational Catholic high school, and Nashua Christian Academy, a coeducational K-12 Christian school.
Middle schools
Elementary schools
Sports
As of 2006, Nashua's only professional sports team is a Can-Am
minor league baseball team: The Nashua Pride, which has played at Holman Stadium since 1998. Before the Pride, Holman was the home stadium for the
independent Nashua Hawks; the AA Nashua Pirates; the AA Nashua
Angels; and the A Nashua Dodgers, the first racially integrated professional baseball
team in the 20th century.[2]
In collegiate sports, Nashua is home to the Daniel Webster College Eagles and Rivier College Raiders, who compete in the
Great Northeast Athletic Conference or GNAC.
The Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps (1997, 1998,
and 2004 Drum Corps International Division II World Champions) is based in
Nashua.
See also
References
External links
Coordinates:
42.751038° N 71.480817°
W
