Editing Allenstown, New Hampshire (section)

== History ==
Allenstown takes its name from 17th-century provincial governor [[Samuel Allen (New Hampshire governor)|Samuel Allen]]. It was granted in 1721 but not incorporated until July 2, 1831.<ref>{{Cite book| url=http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/New_Hampshire_1875/050.html| title=Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire| date=1875| last=Fogg| first=Alonso J.| publication-place=Concord, N.H.| publisher=D.L. Guernsey| page=50| access-date=December 13, 2021}}</ref> A part of neighboring [[Bow, New Hampshire|Bow]] was annexed to Allenstown in 1815, and a portion of [[Hooksett, New Hampshire|Hooksett]] was annexed in 1853.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.hooksett.org/Pages/HooksettNH_WebDocs/HistSketches/intro| title=Town of Hooksett Brief History: Introduction| last=Hardy| first=Charles R.| access-date=February 18, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720000255/http://www.hooksett.org/Pages/HooksettNH_WebDocs/HistSketches/intro| archive-date=July 20, 2011| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nh.searchroots.com/MerrimackCo/merrimack.html| title=Merrimack County History and Genealogy| access-date=February 18, 2011}}</ref>

Most of the town's earliest settlement occurred in the eastern part of town along Deerfield Road, around the area now mostly occupied by Bear Brook State Park, and where the Old [[Allenstown Meeting House]] is located. Following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the town's population shifted from the east to the west part of town, centered around the confluence of the [[Merrimack River|Merrimack]] and [[Suncook River|Suncook]] rivers, in the area now known as [[Suncook, New Hampshire|Suncook]].<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://allenstown-alt.mafware.com/historical-society/Allenstown-historical-society.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816004842/http://allenstown-alt.mafware.com/historical-society/Allenstown-historical-society.pdf |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |url-status=live| title=A Brief History of Allenstown| publisher=Allenstown Historical Society| access-date=December 13, 2021}}</ref>

Railroads were instrumental to the development of Allenstown. First, the [[Portsmouth and Concord Railroad|Concord and Portsmouth Railroad]] running from Candia and points east arrived in the 1852, but that line was subsequently torn up from Candia to Allenstown, with a new branch being built from the Suncook River down to the Hooksett Falls in 1862. The [[Suncook Valley Railroad]] would follow in 1869, which ran northeast along the river, first to [[Pittsfield, New Hampshire|Pittsfield]] and later, to [[Center Barnstead, New Hampshire|Center Barnstead]]. While the Suncook depot was just across the river in Pembroke, the Suncook Valley Railroad built Allenstown another depot in the northern part of town, along what is now Verville Road. In 1902, the Concord & Manchester Electric Railway came to town, connecting its two namesakes. It crossed the Suncook Valley track adjacent to the Catholic Church on Main Street; the Blodgett depot was built at that location to facilitate transfers between the steam road and the interurban.<ref name=Martel>{{cite book |last=Martel |first=Carol |date=2008 |title=Suncook Village |publisher=Arcadia |isbn=9780738557526}}</ref>

Allenstown, at the junction of the Suncook and Merrimack rivers, proved a prime location in which to harness the Suncook's power for manufacturing. The China Mill, the only large [[textile mill]] in the Allenstown part of Suncook, was built in 1868.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rbs0.com/suncook.htm|title = Suncook, NH}}</ref> At this time, a large number of [[French Canadians]], mostly from [[Quebec]], began emigrating to the area to work in the mills. Eventually, Suncook became one of many New England industrial villages known to locals as "[[Little Canada (term)|le petit Canada]]."<ref name=Martel/>

In 2006, Allenstown was hit hard by the [[2006 New England flood|Mother's Day Flood]]. More than {{convert|10|in}} of rainfall caused the Suncook River to overflow, inundating homes, roads, and other low-lying areas. As a result of the flood, 14 flood-prone homes in Allenstown were bought out with federal money and demolished in order to avoid more flooding and evacuations in the future.<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.nhbr.com/August-29-2008/Money-for-flood-victims-in-Allenstown-surprising/| title=Money for flood victims in Allenstown surprising| work=NH Business Review| date=September 9, 2008| access-date=December 13, 2021}}</ref>