Editing Brentwood, New Hampshire (section)

==History==
An [[Abenaki]] tribe called the [[Pennacook]] farmed, fished and hunted in what is now Brentwood. Two main foot trails ran through the town, one along the [[Exeter River]], where [[arrowhead]]s and other stone and wooden artifacts have been found. At Pickpocket Dam, this pathway joined with the Pentucket Trail leading south to Pentucket (now [[Haverhill, Massachusetts]]) and north further into Pennacook territory.

The first non-native settlers came in 1652 to start a [[sawmill]] powered by a waterfall on the Exeter River.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homepage of the Brentwood Historical Society, NH |url=http://www.brentwoodnhhistory.org/ |website=www.brentwoodnhhistory.org}}</ref>

===Division and redivision===
The town was once a part of [[Exeter, New Hampshire|Exeter]] known as Brentwood (or Brintwood) Parish. It was named after [[Brentwood, Essex|Brentwood]], [[Essex]], originally called "Burnt Wood", where, in 1177, [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] granted permission for {{convert|40|acre|m2}} of the king's forest to be cut, burned and cultivated.

Beginning in 1738, residents living in the southwestern portion of Exeter, now Brentwood and [[Fremont, New Hampshire|Fremont]], petitioned to be set off, but were denied. They cited difficulty of getting to the Exeter church/meetinghouse, where weekly attendance was obligatory, and the requirement to pay Exeter taxes.<ref name="ExeterHist">{{Cite web |last=Rimkunas |first=Barbara |date=June 21, 2013 |title=The Secessionists |url=https://exeterhistory.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-secessionists.html |publisher=Exeter Historical Society}}</ref> Eighteen people wrote in dissent, saying that even the proposed new town would require travel more than two miles to a new meetinghouse.<ref name=Congreg />{{Rp|4}} On June 26, 1742, colonial governor [[Benning Wentworth]] set Brentwood off from Exeter and incorporated it.<ref>[http://gedcomindex.com/Reference/New_Hampshire_1875/076.html Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire, 1875, page 76] Article in ''Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire (1875)]</ref>

The meetinghouse was planned at "the west side of the 'Gully'", but those living south of the Exeter River said it was hard to reach in spring and fall. For a while, church was held at two venues, north and south of the river.<ref name="Congreg">{{Cite web |last=Dean |first=Benjamin Angier |date=April 25, 1889 |title=Annuals of the Brentwood, N.H. Congregational church and parish |url=http://archive.org/details/annualsofbrentwo00dean |publisher=Boston, T. W. Ripley |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>{{Rp|6}}

Residents petitioned for a dividing line between the midpoints of the northern and southern boundaries. In 1744, Gov. Wentworth issued a King's Patent to establish a new town called "Keeneborough Parish", named after his friend, Sir Benjamin Keene (1697–1757), English minister to [[Spain]]. Brentwood continued to tax the residents of Keeneborough;<ref name="ExeterHist" /> one resident was imprisoned for failing to pay, and the [[Legislature|General Assembly]] called Wentworth's action a "usurpation."<ref name=Congreg />{{Rp|8–9}} Minister Nathaniel Trask reconciled the factions and Keeneborough reunited with Brentwood in 1750.<ref name="ExeterHist" /> The westerners petitioned again for separation in 1757 and 1763. In 1764, Brentwood did divide, the western half calling itself "Poplin" (now Fremont).

After Rev. Trask's death in 1789, the Congregationalists lamented the decline of religion and morality in favor of alcohol. The town licensed its first "[[dram shop]]" in 1792 and licensed 28 of them over eleven years.<ref name=Congreg />{{Rp|17–19}} A handful of slaves were held in Brentwood, but none at the 1800 or subsequent censuses.<ref name=Congreg />{{Rp|24}}

===Development===
[[Watermill|Mills]] along the rivers produced [[lumber]] and manufactured goods in the early days. The economy later shifted towards [[agriculture]]. The town is now predominantly residential.

The [[Rockingham County, New Hampshire|Rockingham County]] Complex on North Road (the only road owned by the county) traces its history to 1916.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About [Rockingham County] |url=http://www.rockinghamcountynh.org/about/ |publisher=Rockingham County}}</ref> It was called the "poor farm" or the "county farm", but the only current farming is hay. It has administrative offices, a [[nursing home]], and the county jail. In 1997, when county offices and courts moved from the Exeter courthouse to a former industrial headquarters off [[New Hampshire Route 125|Calef Road]], Brentwood became the [[county seat]].<ref name="GR6" />

Retail development is focused along Calef Road, though home businesses exist elsewhere for historical reasons. There is an industrial zone in the northeast, along Pine Road, which spans Brentwood and Exeter. In 2012, Exeter, resenting the wear on its part of the road from heavy vehicles from the businesses in Brentwood, posted a weight limit on its part, which led to lengthy detours and a lawsuit and counter-suit.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 13, 2012 |title=Exeter sued over Pine Road weight limit |url=https://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20120113/NEWS/201130344 |publisher=Seacoast Online}}</ref> These were settled in 2014, as the judge ruled that Exeter's posting was illegal. Brentwood had to reimburse Exeter, but only the amounts for upgrading Pine Road to handle the heavy vehicles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sanborn, Aaron |date=April 18, 2014 |title=Exeter dealt a blow in Pine Road lawsuit ruling |url=http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20140418/NEWS/404180330 |publisher=Seacoast Online}}</ref>

The 2014 fatal shooting of police officer Stephen Arkell, who arrived at a condominium to investigate a domestic disturbance,<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 13, 2014 |title=Brentwood, NH Mourns Slain Police Officer Stephen Arkell |url=https://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/05/13/brentwood-nh-mourns-slain-police-officer-stephen-arkell/ |access-date=December 23, 2018 |publisher=CBS Boston}}</ref> led to many memorials and continuing events in his name, such as an annual [[5K run]]. In 2021, the section of [[New Hampshire Route 125|Route 125]] within Brentwood was officially named the Officer Stephen Arkell Memorial Highway.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.fosters.com/story/news/local/2021/07/11/route-125-named-honor-fallen-brentwood-nh-police-officer-stephen-arkell/7914970002/ |title=A true Granite State hero: Route 125 named in honor of fallen Brentwood officer |first=Kathleen D. |last=Bailey |website=[[Foster's Daily Democrat]] |location=[[Dover, New Hampshire]] |url-access=limited |date=July 11, 2021 |accessdate=July 12, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20200125/bill-would-name-rt-125-in-brentwood-in-honor-of-stephen-arkell |title=Bill would name Rt. 125 in Brentwood in honor of Stephen Arkell |first=Alex |last=LaCasse |website=seacoastonline.com |url-access=limited |date=January 28, 2020 |accessdate=July 12, 2021}}</ref>