East Derry, also known as the Upper Village, is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the town of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Rockingham County, New Hampshire Rockingham County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the population was 314,176, making it New Hampshire's second-most populous county. The county seat is Brentwood. Rockingham County is part of the Boston-Cam ...

. The village center constitutes the East Derry Historic District, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. It is located on a hill close to the geographic center of the town of Derry along East Derry Road, approximately east of Derry's downtown. East Derry has a separate ZIP code (03041) from the rest of the town of Derry.

Alan Shepard Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he beca ...

lived in the village as a boy. Station #4 of the Derry Fire Department is located in the village.

History

Derry's Upper Village area was settled in 1719 by Scots-Irish

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

seeking to escape persecution in their homeland, and is the town's oldest settlement. The area was incorporated as part of Londonderry in 1722, and was split off and incorporated as Derry in 1827. The village's oldest building is the First Church, built in 1769 and enlarged in 1824. Behind the church is the cemetery in which many of its early settlers are buried. The village's growth was spurred by the Choate and MacGregor families in its early years, but affiliated with the church. The village flourished as a somewhat independent entity in the 19th century, with its own post office and shops (one of which, dating to 1850, still stands on the north side of East Derry Road). The village was home to Derry's first secondary school, and was also home to John Pinkerton, founding benefactor of the

Pinkerton Academy Pinkerton Academy is a secondary school in Derry, New Hampshire, United States. It serves roughly 3,269 students, making it by far the largest high school in New Hampshire, more than 1,300 students greater than the next largest high school. Pi ...

, a private school (founded 1814) which also serves the town's high school needs. It was also the location of the Adams Female Academy, founded in 1824; it was the first academy for women in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The village center includes the Taylor Library, the 1875 town hall (now a historical society property), and a number of fine Federal period houses from the early 19th century. It also includes the childhood home of astronaut

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in New Hampshire Unincorporated communities in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Derry, New Hampshire

History

See also

References