New Boston

History

The town was first granted in 1736 by colonial governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. At the time, lands to the west of the Merrimack River, disputed between the two provinces, were treated by Belcher as part of Massachusetts, and he granted the town to several Boston families. It was to have been called "Lanestown" or "Piscataquog Township", but by 1751 they called it "New Boston" after their hometown. Not all the grantees took up their claims, and the land was regranted 10 years later to settlers from Londonderry, New Hampshire. When the town was incorporated in 1763, Governor Benning Wentworth formally recognized the long-used name of "New Boston". In 1820, the town had 25 sawmills, six grain mills, two clothing mills, two carding mills, two tanneries and a bark mill. It also had 14 schoolhouses and a tavern. The Great Village Fire of 1887, which started when a spark from a cooper's shop set a barn on fire, destroyed nearly 40 buildings in the lower village. In 1893, the railroad came to New Boston, and farm produce was sent by rail to city markets. Passenger service was discontinued in 1931, and the tracks were removed in 1935. Today the former grade is the multi-use New Boston Rail Trail. The town is home to the New Boston Space Force Station, which started as an Army Air Corps bombing range in 1942. By 1960, it had become a U.S. Air Force base for tracking military satellites. In July 2021, the facility was given its current name and began operating as part of the United States Space Force. New Boston was also home to the Gravity Research Foundation from the late 1940s through the mid-1960s. Founder Roger Babson placed it in New Boston because he believed it safe from nuclear fallout should New York or Boston be attacked. Dodge's Store,…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 0.92% of the town. New Boston is drained by the South Branch and Middle Branch of the Piscataquog River, except for the town's southeastern corner, which is drained by Joe English Brook, a tributary of Baboosic Brook. The entire town is part of the Merrimack River watershed. Joe English Hill, elevation above sea level and the highest point in the town, is in the south. The town is crossed by state routes 13, 77, and 136. The three state highways meet in the center of the town at New Boston village. Klondike Corner is a low-density residential area in the southeastern part of the town. * Weare (north) * Goffstown (east) * Bedford (southeast) * Amherst (southeast) * Mont Vernon (south) * Lyndeborough (southwest) * Francestown (west)

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,460
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,146
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  7,580
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,304
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,043
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  6,998
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,631
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  6,230

Largest nearby schools

• Bedford High School
  High · Bedford · 1,391 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Goffstown High School
  High · Goffstown · 1,033 students · 11.7:1 ratio
• Mountain View Middle School
  Middle · Goffstown · 829 students · 11.5:1 ratio
• Clark-Wilkins School
  Elementary · Amherst · 708 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Ross A. Lurgio Middle School
  Middle · Bedford · 700 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Riddle Brook School
  Elementary · Bedford · 526 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Maple Avenue School
  Elementary · Goffstown · 524 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Weare Middle School
  Middle · Weare · 524 students · 11.9:1 ratio

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 2.9 — 2023-04-25
  4 km SW of Center Sandwich, 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