Editing Stratham, New Hampshire (section)

== History ==
[[Image:Trolley at Stratham Hill Park, Stratham, NH.jpg|thumb|left|Stratham Hill Park {{circa|1905}}]]
Stratham was settled in 1631 and incorporated in 1716. The area, called ''Winnicutt'' by the [[Pennacook]] [[Native Americans in the United States|people]], was known as "Squamscott Patent" or "Point of Rocks" because of its location between [[Great Bay (New Hampshire)|Great Bay]] and the Squamscott River. The sixth town in the colony to be incorporated, the town was named for [[Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford|Wriothesley Russell]], Baron Howland of [[Streatham]], a friend of [[Province of New Hampshire|New Hampshire]] Royal Governor [[Samuel Shute]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&dq=coolidge%20mansfield%20history%20description%20new%20england%201859&pg=PA657 Austin J. Coolidge & John B. Mansfield, ''A History and Description of New England;'' Boston, Massachusetts 1859]</ref>

The town is unusual among [[New England]] settlements of its size in having been comprehensively mapped in 1793 by Phinehas Merrill.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buehler |first=Michael |title=1793 Phinehas Merrill plan of Stratham, New Hampshire |url=https://bostonraremaps.com/inventory/1793-phinehas-merrill-stratham/ |access-date=October 11, 2021 |website=Boston Rare Maps |date=August 8, 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref> It is therefore possible to identify how many of the extant buildings of the town predate the map.

Each summer since 1967, the town hosts the Stratham Fair, held at Stratham Hill Park. However, the fair has been canceled each year since 2020, initially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is unlikely to return due to net operating losses in its final year and outdated equipment and infrastructure.<ref>{{Cite web |last=LaCasse |first=Alexander |title=Stratham Fair canceled for second year in a row due to COVID |url=https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/2021/05/06/stratham-nh-fair-canceled-covid-second-year-row-due-covid/4960008001/ |access-date=October 11, 2021 |website=Seacoastonline.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hisham |first1=Aqeel |title=Stratham Fair canceled again in 2022: Here's why and what is taking its place |url=https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/12/stratham-nh-fair-canceled-again-4-h-smmmerfest-2022/7282129001/ |website=Portsmouth Herald |access-date=April 18, 2023}}</ref>

The town has multiple properties listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], including the [[John Crockett House]], [[Emery Farm (Stratham, New Hampshire)|Emery Farm]], and original [[Stratham Historical Society|Wiggin Memorial Library]] building.

{{more|National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire}}