Concord: History

Concord: History

Merrimack River Site Becomes State Capital

The site of present-day Concord was occupied as early as 1660 when a trading post operated on the west bank of the Merrimack River. The Pennacook tribe called the area "penna cook," which meant "crooked place" or "bend in the river." The Pennacooks and the area's European settlers coexisted for many years, sharing the bounty of the Merrimack River Valley. The real influx of European settlers began in 1727, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony gave permission for a settlement to be built called Pennacook Plantation. The town was incorporated by Massachusetts in 1733 and renamed Rumford. In 1741 New Hampshire challenged Massachusetts's dominion over Rumford and a series of border arguments ensued. The town was reincorporated by New Hampshire in 1765 and called Concord to mark the ending of the strife. The townspeople subsisted by farming, later supplementing their crops with a saw mill and a grist mill powered by the waters of the Merrimack River.

Partly because of its friendly relations with the neighboring Native American tribes, the town grew rapidly. By the time of the Revolutionary War, Concord could muster three companies of troops who saw service in the battles of Lexington, Concord (Massachusetts), and Bunker Hill. The town's war hero, General John Stark, is remembered with a statue in front of the State House. New Hampshire played a key role in U.S. history when it became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution in 1788. Only nine states were required and the signing is commemorated with a plaque at Walker and Boutin streets.

In 1808 Concord became the capital of New Hampshire and the site of the biennial meeting of the General Court, the largest state legislature in the country. At one time, the lower house sat more than four hundred legislators who were elected at the township level. Industry began to flourish after the War of 1812, when the newly dug Middlesex Canal facilitated water transport between Concord and Boston. This transportation-distribution link was strengthened when the rail lines began operating between the two cities in 1842.

Distribution Needs Shape Concord's Future

History of another sort was made in 1813 when wheelwright Lewis Downing opened his Concord wagon building business. After coach builder J. Stephen Abbot arrived to offer engineering improvements in 1827, the business grew rapidly. The Concord stagecoach became the vehicle of choice for the Wells Fargo Company, which hauled both freight and passengers to the American West. From 1826 until 1900, the Abbot and Downing Company built three thousand coaches in shops that occupied six acres and employed 275 people. Orders for the wagon were received from around the world, including Peru, Mexico, Australia, and South Africa. The Civil War created a further demand for Abbot and Down-ing's wagons, which were used as ambulances and to haul army supplies.

Two other industries that thrived in Concord in the mid-nineteenth century were granite quarrying and publishing. The granite quarries north of town yielded stone used in the facade of the State House and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Printing was the forte of the Rumford Press, at one time the third largest printer in the country. Among the prestigious magazines printed by Rumford were the Atlantic Monthly and Reader's Digest. Rumford Press grew to employ six hundred workers, whose products required the establishment of a separate branch of the U.S. Post Office to handle the extra mail.

Franklin Pierce, the only New Hampshireman elected to the Oval Office, served as the nation's fourteenth president. He lived in Concord from 1857 until his death in 1869. Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science religion, was born five miles from Concord and later lived in the city. She built the granite First Church of Christ, Scientist in the Gothic Revival style in 1905. Concord's economy diversified as the years passed. By the mid-1900s, the city was established as a distribution point for dairy products and apples. Concord also supported growth in manufacturing, especially electrical products. Insurance and services are expected to remain important economic sectors into the twenty-first century.

Today's Concord, though by all accounts a small and still-charming city, thrives with a strong economic, educational, arts, and cultural climate. Downtown developments in the last years of the twentieth century and early in the new century, particularly in the form of tourist attractions and retail, have made Concord even more attractive to its residents and visitors.

Historical Information: New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park Street, Concord, NH 03301; telephone (603)228-6688