Editing Boscawen, New Hampshire

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Boscawen, New Hampshire
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_skyline      = Hannahdustin statue.JPG
| image_seal         = Seal of Boscawen, New Hampshire.png
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = [[Hannah Duston]] statue
| image_flag         = Flag of Boscawen, New Hampshire.gif
| image_map          = Merrimack County New Hampshire incorporated and unincorporated areas Boscawen highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 300px
| map_caption        = Location in [[Merrimack County, New Hampshire|Merrimack County]] and the state of [[New Hampshire]].
| settlement_type    = [[New England town|Town]]
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = 
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[New Hampshire]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in New Hampshire|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Merrimack County, New Hampshire|Merrimack]]
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = [[Board of selectmen|Select Board]]
| leader_name        = {{ubl|Lorrie J. Carey, Chair|Bill Bevans|Matthew T. Burdick}}
| leader_title1      = Town Administrator
| leader_name1       = Katie Phelps
| established_title  = [[Incorporation (municipal government)|Incorporated]]
| established_date   = 1760
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021">{{cite web |title=2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files – New Hampshire |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2021_Gazetteer/2021_gaz_cousubs_33.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=December 13, 2021}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 66.12
| area_total_sq_mi   = 
| area_land_km2      = 64.46
| area_land_sq_mi    = 
| area_water_km2     = 1.66
| area_water_sq_mi   = 
| area_water_percent = 2.50
| population_as_of   = 2020
| population_footnotes = <ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=&g=0600000US3301306260&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1| title=Boscawen town, Merrimack County, New Hampshire: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| access-date=December 13, 2021}}</ref>
| population_total   = 3998
| population_density_km2 = 62.0
| population_density_sq_mi = 
| timezone           = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = [[Eastern Daylight Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| coordinates        = {{coord|43|18|54|N|71|37|15|W|region:US-NH|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = 319
| website            = {{URL|www.townofboscawen.org}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 03303
| area_code          = [[Area code 603|603]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 33-06260
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 0873547
| footnotes          = 
}}
'''Boscawen''' is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Merrimack County, New Hampshire|Merrimack County]], [[New Hampshire]], United States. The population was 3,998 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2020"/>

==History==
The native [[Pennacook]] people called the area [[List of place names in New England of aboriginal origin|''Contoocook'']], meaning "place of the river near pines". In March 1697, [[Hannah Duston]] and her nurse, Mary Neff, were captured by [[Abenaki]] Indians and taken to a temporary village on an island at the confluence of the [[Contoocook River|Contoocook]] and [[Merrimack River|Merrimack]] rivers, at the site of what is now Boscawen. In late April, Duston and two other captives killed ten of the Abenaki family members holding them hostage, including six children, and escaped by canoe to [[Haverhill, Massachusetts]].<ref>[http://www.boscawenhistoricalsociety.org/hannah-duston-heroine-and-witness/ Dain Trafton, "Hannah Duston - Heroine and Witness: William Andrews' Monumental Statue of Hannah Duston." Address delivered at the Deerfield-Wellesley Symposium, 14 March, 2015.] Boscawen Historical Society website, accessed March 5, 2019.</ref>

On June 6, 1733, Governor [[Jonathan Belcher]] granted the land to John Coffin and 90 others, most from [[Newbury, Massachusetts]]. Settled in 1734, the community soon had a [[meetinghouse]], [[sawmill]], [[gristmill]] and [[ferry]] across the [[Merrimack River]]. A [[garrison]] offered protection, but raiding parties during the [[French and Indian Wars]] left some dead or carried into captivity.<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book| last = Coolidge| first = Austin J.| author2=John B. Mansfield| title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge| year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n462 424]–426| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

On April 22, 1760, Contoocook Plantation was incorporated as a town by Governor [[Benning Wentworth]], who named it for [[Edward Boscawen]], the British [[admiral]] who distinguished himself at the 1758 [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)|Siege of Louisbourg]]. With a generally level surface, the town provided good [[arable land|farmland]], and became noted for its [[apple]], [[pear]] and [[cherry]] [[orchard]]s. Bounded by the Merrimack and [[Contoocook River|Contoocook]] rivers, it had abundant sources of [[water power]] for [[watermill|mills]].

Industries soon included a [[cotton]] mill, a [[woolen]] factory, nine sawmills, a gristmill, a [[saw]] manufacturer and [[machine shop]], and a [[chair]] and [[match]] factory. A [[mill town]] village developed at Fisherville (now [[Penacook]]), which straddled the river border with [[Concord, New Hampshire|Concord]].<ref name="Coolidge"/> In 1846, the [[Northern Railroad (New Hampshire)|Northern Railroad]] was built through Boscawen, opening the following winter.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0Cg40yEUlkcC&dq=Northern%20Railroad%20passed%20through%20Boscawen%20in&pg=PA207 Charles Carleton Coffin, ''The History of Boscawen and Webster from 1733 to 1878;'' Concord, New Hampshire 1878]</ref>

Sometime around 1846, the town's postmaster became one of about a dozen in the country to issue provisional [[postage stamp]]s before the official issue came out in 1847. The stamps were an adaptation of a [[postmark]], simply reading <small>'''PAID / 5 / CENTS'''</small>, typeset in blue on a yellowish paper. These are extremely rare; in 2003, the estimated price at auction was US$225,000.<ref>[http://indianerrors.com/rare%20stamps/rarestamps.htm Boscawen provisional postage stamps] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303081031/http://indianerrors.com/rare%20stamps/rarestamps.htm |date=March 3, 2009 }}</ref>

The 1915 Boscawen Public Library was designed by noted [[Boston]] architect [[Guy Lowell]].
[[File:Boscawen Municipal Facility.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|The former Penacook Academy on North Main Street, listed on the [[New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places]], now serves as the Boscawen Municipal Facility.]]
<gallery>
Image:Main Street Looking North, Boscawen, NH.jpg|Street view {{circa|1905}}
Image:Railroad Station, Boscawen, NH.jpg|[[Boston & Maine Railroad|B. & M.]] Station in 1908
Image:Penacook House Boscawen New Hampshire.jpg|The Penacook House
</gallery>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|66.1|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|64.5|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|1.7|km2|order=flip}} are water, comprising 2.50% of the town.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021"/> The highest point in Boscawen is an unnamed summit at Raleigh Farm near the town's northern border, where the elevation reaches approximately {{convert|930|ft|m}} above [[sea level]]. The town is drained by the [[Merrimack River]], which forms the town's eastern border, and by the [[Contoocook River]], a tributary.

The town is served by [[U.S. Route 3 in New Hampshire|U.S. Route 3]] and [[U.S. Route 4 in New Hampshire|U.S. Route 4]].

=== Adjacent municipalities ===
* [[Franklin, New Hampshire|Franklin]] (north)
* [[Northfield, New Hampshire|Northfield]] (northeast)
* [[Canterbury, New Hampshire|Canterbury]] (east)
* [[Concord, New Hampshire|Concord]] (south)
* [[Webster, New Hampshire|Webster]] (west)
* [[Salisbury, New Hampshire|Salisbury]] (northwest)


==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1790= 1108
|1800= 1414
|1810= 1829
|1820= 2113
|1830= 2093
|1840= 1965
|1850= 2063
|1860= 2274
|1870= 1637
|1880= 1381
|1890= 1487
|1900= 1455
|1910= 1240
|1920= 1260
|1930= 1359
|1940= 1663
|1950= 1857
|1960= 2181
|1970= 3162
|1980= 3435
|1990= 3586
|2000= 3672
|2010= 3965
|2020= 3998
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="Census 2020"/><ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 4, 2016 }}</ref>
}}

According to the 2019–2023 [[American Community Survey]] five-year estimates, Boscawen had 4,002 residents, 1,356 households, and approximately 854 families.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://censusreporter.org/profiles/06000US3301306260-boscawen-town-merrimack-county-nh/ |title=Boscawen town, Merrimack County, New Hampshire – Profile data (ACS 2023 5-year) |publisher=Census Reporter |access-date=April 30, 2025}}</ref> The population density was {{cvt|160.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2}}. There were 1,389 housing units at an average density of {{cvt|55.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2}}.

The racial makeup of the town was approximately 96.75% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.55% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.05% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.00% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], and 1.65% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were about 1.10% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/new-hampshire/boscawen |title=Boscawen, New Hampshire – Population & Demographics (2025) |publisher=World Population Review |access-date=April 30, 2025}}</ref>

Of the 1,356 households, roughly 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. About 24.0% of all households consisted of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60, and the average family size was about 3.00.

In terms of age distribution, 18.0% of residents were under the age of 18, 7.0% were from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.4 years. For every 100 females, there were about 96 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were about 94 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $80,724, and the median income for a family was $99,408.<ref>{{cite web |title=Explore Census Data: Boscawen town, Merrimack County, NH (ACS 5-Year, 2019–2023) |url=https://data.census.gov/profile?g=0600000US3301306260 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=May 1, 2025}}</ref>

Elektrisola Incorporated is the largest source of employment for Boscawen-area residents.

==Sites of interest==
* [[Hannah Duston Memorial State Historic Site]]
* [http://www.nhsvc.com NH State Veterans Cemetery]

== Notable people ==
<!-- Note:
· Only people who already have a Wikipedia article may appear here. This establishes notability.
· The article must mention how they are associated with Boscawen, whether born, raised, or residing.
· The fact of their association should have a reliable source cited.
· Alphabetical by last name please.
· All others will be deleted.
-->
* [[Claire D. Clarke]] (died 2022), New Hampshire state representative<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=46730 Our Campaigns.com-Claire Clarke]</ref>
* [[Moody Currier]] (1806–1898), 40th [[List of Governors of New Hampshire|governor of New Hampshire]]<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.nga.org/governor/moody-currier/| title=Gov. Moody Currier| publisher=National Governors Association| access-date=April 18, 2019}}</ref>
* [[John Adams Dix]] (1798–1879), New York City Postmaster, 24th [[List of Governors of New York|governor of New York]], Major General in the US Civil War<ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0I4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA262| title=History of the Bench and Bar of New York |volume=1| last=McAdam |display-authors=et al | first=David| date=1897| pages=307–309| publisher=New York History Company| access-date=April 18, 2019}}</ref>
* [[Marion Dix Sullivan]] (1802–1860), songwriter, composer<ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6gQAAAAYAAJ&q=marion+dix+sullivan&pg=PA151 |title=Franklin Square Song Collection: Two Hundred Favorite Songs, Volume 5 |last=McCaskey |first=John Piersol |year=1888 |access-date=April 18, 2019}}</ref>
* [[Moses G. Farmer]] (1820–1893), electrical engineer, inventor<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://eliotmaine.org/mosespage.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619234400/http://eliotmaine.org/mosespage.htm| url-status=dead| archive-date=June 19, 2006| title=Moses G. Farmer, Eliot's Inventor| last=Vetter| first=Edward H.| publisher=Town of Eliot, Maine| access-date=April 18, 2019}}</ref>
* [[William P. Fessenden]] (1806–1869), US senator, [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]]<ref>{{CongBio|F000099|name=FESSENDEN, William Pitt (1806 - 1869)|inline=yes}}</ref>
* [[Charles Gordon Greene]] (1804–1886), journalist<ref name=Greene>{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Greene, Nathaniel|year=1900}}</ref>
* [[Nathaniel Greene (journalist)|Nathaniel Greene]] (1797–1877), journalist<ref name=Greene/>
* [[Lucia Ames Mead]] (1856–1936), author<ref>[[Sandra Opdycke]], [http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-01055.html "Lucia True Ames Mead"] in ''American National Biography Online'' (2000).</ref>
* [[Lyndon A. Smith]] (1854–1918), politician, Minnesota attorney general<ref name="mnhs">{{cite book |title=Twentieth Biennial Report for the Years 1917 and 1918 |date=1919 |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society |location=Saint Paul, Minn. |page=39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Chw_AQAAMAAJ&q=%22Lyndon+Ambrose+Smith%22&pg=RA1-PA39}}</ref>
* [[Bradford N. Stevens]] (1813–1885), US congressman<ref>{{CongBio|S000876|name=STEVENS, Bradford Newcomb (1813 - 1885)|inline=yes}}</ref>
* [[Daniel Webster]] (1782–1852), US congressman, senator, Secretary of State; unsuccessful presidential candidate<ref>{{cite book |last=Remini |first=Robert V. |date=1997 |title=Daniel Webster: The Man and His Time |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |pages=[https://archive.org/details/danielwebsterman00remi/page/78 78-79] |isbn=0-393-04552-8 |author-link=Robert V. Remini |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/danielwebsterman00remi/page/78 }}</ref>

==References==

{{portal|New Hampshire}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Boscawen, New Hampshire}}
* {{Official website|www.townofboscawen.org}}
* [https://www.boscawenpubliclibrary.org/ Boscawen Public Library]
* [https://www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/products/cp/profiles-htm/boscawen.htm New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile]

{{Geographic location
 | Centre = Boscawen
 | North = [[Franklin, New Hampshire|Franklin]]
 | Northeast = [[Northfield, New Hampshire|Northfield]]
 | East = [[Canterbury, New Hampshire|Canterbury]]
 | Southeast = [[Concord, New Hampshire|Concord]]
 | South = [[Concord, New Hampshire|Concord]]
 | Southwest = [[Webster, New Hampshire|Webster]]
 | West = [[Webster, New Hampshire|Webster]]
 | Northwest = [[Salisbury, New Hampshire|Salisbury]]
}}

{{Merrimack County, New Hampshire}}
{{Merrimack River}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Boscawen, New Hampshire| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Merrimack County, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Towns in New Hampshire]]
[[Category:New Hampshire populated places on the Merrimack River]]