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City of Concord History
Concord: A Brief Historic Overview
Located in the geographic center of New Hampshire, Concord is bounded on the north by
Webster, Boscawen and Canterbury; on the east by Loudon and Chichester; on the south by Pembroke, Bow and Dunbarton; and on the west by Hopkinton. The fertile flood plains along the Merrimack River provided the impetus for early settlement in this area.
The Concord area is part of the land occupied by the Western Abenaki peoples prior to European contact. Population estimates for this region, essentially all of what is now Vermont and New Hampshire, range from 5,000 to 10,000 people at the beginning of the 17th century. People in this region tended to move from large towns to small camps at various times of the year. The area around Concord itself was the land of the Penacook, and evidence of 16th and 17th century European contact has been found along the Merrimack south of Concord and to the northeast around Ossipee Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee. During the first decades of the 18th century, the general area was ravaged by warfare as a result of struggles between France and England and efforts at native extirpation by New English.
1726-1808
Concord was founded by Europeans around 1720, when Captain Ebenezer Eastman arrived from Haverhill with a group of settlers. The initial plantation of “Pennycook” was formed by a grant in 1725. The plan of Concord was unusual in that it was laid out as a nuclear town (commonly used in Massachusetts) rather than as a range township (the plan most commonly used in early New Hampshire settlements). This meant that most of the lots and later homes were located in the central village, primarily along Main Street. In 1727, the area east of the river and in what is now West Concord was laid out and and by late 1731 over 85 houses had been at least partially erected in the town In 1733, the plantation was incorporated as the town of Rumford. In 1744, Rumford was fortified with ten blockhouses during the first French War (also known as King George’s war, 1744-1748). Following the Revolutionary War, Concord benefited from its position as the terminus of both the First and Fourth Turnpikes. Residential and mercantile activity remained clustered at the north end of Main Street although the villages of West and East Concord continued to evolve throughout this period.
1808-1842
Concord was designated as New Hampshire’s state capital in 1808, dramatically impacting city’s commercial, professional and industrial development. The first State Prison was built in 1812, followed by State House of 1819. In 1823, Concord became the county seat or shire town for Merrimack County. The business district, concentrated on the north end of Main Street, began to branch off into other areas. Most of the City’s existing streets were in place by 1834, with the village core extending from Main Street on the east to Penacook on the north, Merrimack Street on the west and West, Water and Hall Streets on the south. Houses and businesses lined Main, State, South and Green Streets. Diverse manufacturing and extraction industries supplanted agriculture as the dominant economy of Concord during this period – granite quarrying, furniture making, musical instrument building, and the manufacture of freight vehicles by the Abbot-Downing Company (founded 1813) were the most prominent. The villages surrounding Concord’s center continued to expand slowly, but residential growth remained concentrated in the Central Village.
1842-1914
The arrival of the railroad in 1842 had a profound impact on Concord and ushered in the City’s period of greatest change. After the eventual consolidation of over 30 separate railroad lines, the Boston & Maine (B & M) Railroad emerged as the primary company in New Hampshire. The City’s population doubled in the decade following the railroad’s arrival, reaching approximately 9,000 in 1853. It was in that year that Concord became incorporated as a City. The granite industry expanded significantly in the post-Civil War period and Concord granite became highly sought-after throughout the country. The success of the Abbot-Downing coachworks spawned numerous ancillary industries such as harness and axle makers. Printers, belt makers, iron foundries and silver makers all prospered and expanded during this time period, benefiting from a highly skilled workforce. At the close of this period, the railroad was the city’s largest employer.
The New Hampshire State Hospital opened in 1842, and a new prison facility on North State Street opened in 1880. A civic district emerged around the newly renovated State House during the 1880s that eventually included the Post Office, Courthouse, State Library and City Hall. The city initiated a period of major civic construction in the final quarter of the 19th century, with the construction of police and fire stations, sewerage and water works systems, numerous schools, a city stable and ward house, and the establishment of a public library.
Residential development exploded during this period and by the first decade of the twentieth century many of Concord’s downtown neighborhoods were fully developed. Most of the homes were single-family, wood-frame houses, although a large number of duplexes (including the distinctive “Concord duplex”) and a number of brick homes are found throughout the city. Starting in 1878, streetcar lines than ran from South Main Street up to Penacook brought residents to and from work and led to even more substantial growth in the West End, West Concord and Penacook.
During this era, the village of Penacook (initially called Fisherville) became known as a center of textile and furniture manufacturing, while East and West Concord continued to grow at a steadier pace with West Concord benefiting from country’s reliance on Concord granite. A strong rural tradition of farming continued in the areas immediately surrounding the city’s urban area.
1914-1945
In the years following World War I, following a pattern seen throughout New England, the influence of the railroad and industries of Concord began to wane. Electronics, printing and insurance replaced the railroad as the leading employers during this period. The rise of the automobile brought about changes in the character of the city as major arteries were widened and forced out the street railways. Relatively little construction took place during this period. Residential growth continued at a slower pace and was concentrated in the South End and apart from the Concord Public Library and the State House Annex, few Municipal structures were built during this time.
1945-2004
The use of passenger rail continued to decline after World War II and came to an end in the 1970s. The grand station was replaced by a shopping center in 1960, but Concord remained at the nexus of the state due to the completion of Interstates 93 and 89. The railroad, the granite industry and many of the smaller industrial concerns closed their shops by the middle of the twentieth century, so in 1954 the Concord Regional Development Corporation was formed to attract new industry. Though a successful venture, the State of New Hampshire became the largest employer in the City, closely followed by the medical field. Residential development picked up after World War II with major subdivisions in the Heights, South End, East Concord and along Fisherville Road. In the final decade of the 20th century, substantial, large-scale retail development occurred at the east end of Loudon Road.
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