Pepperell

History

Pepperell was first settled in 1720 as a part of Groton, and was officially incorporated as its own town in 1775. The founders named it after Sir William Pepperrell, a Massachusetts colonial soldier who led the Siege of Louisbourg during the French and Indian War. The town was noted for its good soil and orchards. Since its formation, the town was active in the American independence movement. Being located northwest of Concord, Pepperell never saw British attack during the American Revolutionary War, though several Pepperell men fought at the Old North Bridge during the Battle of Concord, and a British spy was captured by women on guard at the site of the Pepperell covered bridge (see Prudence Wright). William Prescott, a resident of Pepperell, served as the commander at the Battle of Bunker Hill in what is now the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston. By 1837, when the population was 1,586, Pepperell had three paper mills, one of which was managed by Warren F. Daniell. It also produced palm leaf hats, boots and shoes. In 1848, the Worcester & Nashua Railroad was built through East Pepperell along the Nashua River as part of a through route from Worcester to Portland. In 1886 the line became part of the Boston & Maine Railroad, who continued to operate trains to Worcester and Nashua, as well as connections to Portland, Maine, and beyond. Pepperell was also a station on the Boston & Maine's Milford Branch between Squannacook Junction and Milford, New Hampshire. In 1938, the Milford Branch was abandoned from Pepperell to South Milford. Trains continued to operate as far as Pepperell until 1941, when the tracks to Squannacook Junction were also abandoned, leaving Pepperell's paper mill without direct rail service. To correct this, a trestle bridge and rail connection…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.2 square miles (60.0 km), of which 22.6 square miles (58.4 km) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km) (2.63%) is water. Pepperell is located at the confluence of the Nissitissit River with the Nashua River. According to the Pepperell Reader, the town is situated on a long extinct volcano that helped shape much of New England's geology. Pepperell borders Brookline and Hollis, New Hampshire to the north, Dunstable to the east, Groton to the south, Townsend to the west, and Nashua, New Hampshire to the northeast via the Nashua River. Pepperell is served by state routes 111, 113 and 119.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  16,481
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,485
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  14,580
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,031
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  12,866
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,483
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,445
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  11,464

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2025-01-27
  9 km SE of York Harbor, Maine
• M 2.7 — 2023-12-23
  5 km SW of Chichester, New Hampshire
• M 2.7 — 2018-02-15
  0 km SE of East Kingston, New Hampshire
• M 2.8 — 2016-03-21
  4 km ESE of Warner, New Hampshire
• M 2.61 — 2013-10-11
  New Hampshire
• M 3.15 — 2010-09-26
  2 km SW of Canterbury, New Hampshire