Merrimack NH Town Information | Town of Merrimack, NH

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Merrimack NH Town Information

Merrimack is a one hour commute from Boston, one hour from the seacoast, and one hour from the mountains, placing this thriving community of approximately 27,000 people right in the heart of it all. It is a town rich in history. For example, Matthew Thornton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, called Merrimack home.

Merrimack was officially incorporated in 1746, a year largely regarded as Merrimack's birthday, although only the southern portion (primarily what is known as Thornton's Ferry) of the current boundaries of town was included in the original town, with the northern portion of what is now Merrimack (primarily what is known as Reed's Ferry) being added a few years later.

The Boston and Maine Railroad laid tracks through the town in the 19th century, with several stations operating until the mid-20th century when the advent of the automobile transformed Merrimack from a largely agricultural community to a bedroom community of Boston and nearby cities in New Hampshire. Since 1970 it has been the home of an Anheuser-Busch brewery, their easternmost, and one of their smallest plants in the United States. It is home to a brewery tour and one of the five stables for the Budweiser Clydesdales.

Population in July 2009: 26,683. Population change since 2000: +6.2%

Males: 13,293	(49.8%)
Females: 13,390	(50.2%)

Median resident age:	36.0 years
New Hampshire median age:	37.1 years

Zip codes: 03054

Estimated median household income in 2008: $89,235 (it was $68,817 in 2000)

Merrimack:	$89,235
New Hampshire:	$63,731

Estimated per capita income in 2008: $35,982

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.4 square miles (87 km2), of which 32.6 sq mi (84 km2) is land and 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km2) (2.48%) is water. The highest point in Merrimack is an unnamed hill in the northwestern part of town that reaches 512 feet (156 m) above sea level.

Education

The six public schools in Merrimack are managed by the Merrimack School District and include Thorntons Ferry Elementary School, Reeds Ferry Elementary School, James Mastricola Elementary School, James Mastricola Upper Elementary School, Merrimack Middle School and Merrimack High School. In addition, there is a charter school, the Academy for Science and Design, established for the 2007-08 academic year, which is New Hampshire's first charter school to concentrate on science, math, engineering, and design and is free of tuition fees. Merrimack High School has won one state championship in baseball (2007), three in softball (1980, 1988, 2001), one in football (1987), two in soccer (1998 girls, 2007 boys), three in indoor track (1999, 2007, 2008), four in outdoor track (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007), one in cross-country (2006), one in skiing (1979), one in volleyball (2001), and three in basketball (1967, 2003, 2004).

Local

The town government consists of a 7-member Town Council. This form of government was recently adopted by a ballot measure on May 25, 2006.

Each March, the town conducts two deliberative sessions (school and general) to decide what warrant articles will be on the Town General Election ballot in April, one of which is always election of town officers, and another is the budget. If the budget is not approved by the voters, the town's governing council either holds an emergency hearing regarding a new budget or goes forward with the priors years' budget, amended with any time sensitive information pending upon the current year.

The Merrimack Village District administers the water system that serves the central area of the town.

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