Brentwood is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Rockingham County,

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

, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 4,490.

History

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

tribe called the

Pennacook The Pennacook, also known by the names Penacook and Pennacock, were Algonquian Indigenous people who lived in what is now Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. They were not a united tribe but a network of politically and culturally ...

farmed, fished and hunted in what is now Brentwood. Two main foot trails ran through the town, one along the

Exeter River The Exeter River is a river located in Rockingham County in southeastern New Hampshire, United States. It rises in the town of Chester, southeast of Manchester. It follows a winding course east and northeast to Exeter, where it becomes the Sq ...

, where

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. ...

s and other stone and wooden artifacts have been found. At Pickpocket Dam, this pathway joined with the Pentucket Trail leading south to Pentucket (now

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

) and north further into Pennacook territory. The first non-native settlers came in 1652 to start a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

Division and redivision

The town was once a part of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

known as Brentwood (or Brintwood) Parish. It was named after Brentwood,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, originally called "Burnt Wood", where, in 1177, King Henry II granted permission for of the king's forest to be cut, burned and cultivated. Beginning in 1738, residents living in the southwestern portion of Exeter, now Brentwood and Fremont, petitioned to be set off, but were denied. They cited difficulty of getting to the Exeter church/meetinghouse, where weekly attendance was obligatory, and the requirement to pay Exeter taxes. Eighteen people wrote in dissent, saying that even the proposed new town would require travel more than two miles to a new meetinghouse. On June 26, 1742, colonial governor

Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant, landowner and colonial administrator who served as the List of colonial governors of New Hampshire, governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. He is best known ...

set Brentwood off from Exeter and incorporated it. The meetinghouse was planned at "the west side of the 'Gully'", but those living south of the Exeter River said it was hard to reach in spring and fall. For a while, church was held at two venues, north and south of the river. Residents petitioned for a dividing line between the midpoints of the northern and southern boundaries. In 1744, Gov. Wentworth issued a King's Patent to establish a new town called "Keeneborough Parish", named after his friend, Sir Benjamin Keene (1697–1757), English minister to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Brentwood continued to tax the residents of Keeneborough; one resident was imprisoned for failing to pay, and the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

called Wentworth's action a "usurpation." Minister Nathaniel Trask reconciled the factions and Keeneborough reunited with Brentwood in 1750. The westerners petitioned again for separation in 1757 and 1763. In 1764, Brentwood did divide, the western half calling itself "Poplin" (now Fremont). After Rev. Trask's death in 1789, the Congregationalists lamented the decline of religion and morality in favor of alcohol. The town licensed its first "

dram shop A dram shop (or dramshop) is a bar, tavern or similar commercial establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold. Traditionally, it is a shop where spirits were sold by the dram, a small unit of liquid. Dram shop liability refers to the body of ...

" in 1792 and licensed 28 of them over eleven years. A handful of slaves were held in Brentwood, but none at the 1800 or subsequent censuses.

Development

Mills along the rivers produced

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and manufactured goods in the early days. The economy later shifted towards

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. The town is now predominantly residential. The Rockingham County Complex on North Road (the only road owned by the county) traces its history to 1916. It was called the "poor farm" or the "county farm", but the only current farming is hay. It has administrative offices, a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

, and the county jail. In 1997, when county offices and courts moved from the Exeter courthouse to a former industrial headquarters off Calef Road, Brentwood became the

. Retail development is focused along Calef Road, though home businesses exist elsewhere for historical reasons. There is an industrial zone in the northeast, along Pine Road, which spans Brentwood and Exeter. In 2012, Exeter, resenting the wear on its part of the road from heavy vehicles from the businesses in Brentwood, posted a weight limit on its part, which led to lengthy detours and a lawsuit and counter-suit. These were settled in 2014, as the judge ruled that Exeter's posting was illegal. Brentwood had to reimburse Exeter, but only the amounts for upgrading Pine Road to handle the heavy vehicles. The 2014 fatal shooting of police officer Stephen Arkell, who arrived at a condominium to investigate a domestic disturbance, led to many memorials and continuing events in his name, such as an annual

5K run The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually distinguished from the 5000 me ...

. In 2021, the section of Route 125 within Brentwood was officially named the Officer Stephen Arkell Memorial Highway.

Geography

Brentwood is a nearly square quadrangle, except that the town line follows the Exeter River in the southeastern corner. Brentwood has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 0.93% of the town. The highest point in Brentwood is Great Hill, at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, whose summit is in the southeastern corner of the town. The town is drained by the

and its tributary Dudley Brook. The Piscassic River, a tributary of the

Lamprey River The Lamprey River is a river in southeastern New Hampshire, the United States. It rises in Meadow Lake in Northwood, and flows south, then generally east through Raymond, Epping, Lee, Durham and finally Newmarket. Here, it meets Great Ba ...

, crosses the northwestern corner of the town. Brentwood lies fully within the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River to the Atlant ...

(Coastal)

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

Adjacent municipalities

* Epping (north) *

(east) *

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

(south) * Fremont (west)

Government

Brentwood's executive is a five-person

board of selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

, serving staggered three-year terms and meeting weekly (biweekly in spring and summer). Brentwood's legislature is a

town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

, held in March, at which every registered voter can vote on the annual town budget and amendments to it. The Swasey Elementary School has a separate town meeting. Classes above Grade 6 travel to regional schools in School Administrative Unit (SAU) 16. SAU 16 is governed by official ballot referendum (SB 2), in which there is a "deliberative" town meeting but the final vote is by secret ballot in all participating towns, at the same annual election at which voters elect town and school officials. Every town in SAU 16 votes on the representative(s) of it and of all other towns in SAU 16. Citizen petitions have sought to change Brentwood's two town meetings to SB 2, but have always fallen short of the 60% vote required. However, the 2025 municipal town meeting voted to cap the municipal budget at 4% growth above the prior year, not adjusted for inflation or population change.

Transportation

Middle Road ( Route 111A) runs east/west and bisects the town. Other east/west roads are North Road and South Road. Calef Road ( Route 125) is the principal north/south road. The expressway Route 101 approximately follows Brentwood's northern boundary. It provides access to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and to the Seacoast. Route 101 crosses into northeast Brentwood, as does Route 27 (old 101) beyond it. Part of

New England Dragway New England Dragway is a mile NHRA dragway in Epping, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The track hosts the New England Nationals event as part of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The track also hosts a regional event ...

is in Brentwood. Route 111A east to

gains access to Route 7 of the COAST bus system, and to a train station served by the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

'' Downeaster.'' At the

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

lot off Calef Road just north of Brentwood, there is bus service to

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and its

Logan Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

. Shuttle bus service can be arranged to Manchester Boston Regional Airport.

Religion

The original church, on Route 111A, is now known as the Pilgrim United Church of Christ, Brentwood-Kingston. In addition, Brentwood First Baptist Church has been at the same location since 1771. Grace Ministries holds religious services and a Christian grade school in a former industrial building on Calef Road. There is also a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which has two congregations.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 4,486 people, 1,319 households, and 1,087 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,350 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.7%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.5% some other race, and 1.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population. There were 1,319 households, out of which 46.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.6% were headed by

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.6% were non-families. 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02, and the average family size was 3.33. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.6 males. For the period 2007–2011, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $110,250, and the median income for a family was $111,650. Male full-time workers had a median income of $69,565 versus $55,000 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $37,385. About 1.0% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 0.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Ted King (born 1983), professional cyclist * Joshua Smith (1760–1795), author, minister * William Morrill Wadley (1813–1882), railroad superintendent

References

External links

*
Brentwood Historical Society

* ttps://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/repositories/2/resources/1618 Brentwood, NH Records of Court of Common Pleasat Dartmouth College Library {{authority control Towns in Rockingham County, New Hampshire County seats in New Hampshire Towns in New Hampshire