Loudon 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 ...

in Merrimack 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. The population was 5,576 at the 2020 census. Loudon is the home of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The main village in town, where 711 people lived at the 2020 census, is defined as the Loudon census-designated place and is located along the Soucook River at the southern terminus of New Hampshire Route 129.

History

The town of Loudon was originally incorporated by Governor John Wentworth on January 23, 1773. Loudon was originally formed of territory taken from

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. The new town was named in honor of John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, a Scottish soldier and leader of British military forces in North America during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. Loudoun also helped to establish an independent

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

of colonial militia, called Rogers' Rangers, who were attached to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the French and Indian War. One of Lord Loudoun's aides, John Loudon McAdam, invented a new process called

macadam Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam , in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the original mat ...

izing for building roads that were more durable and less muddy than soil-based roads.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 1.45% of the town. The town's highest point is near its northern border, where an unnamed summit just north of the location known as Sabattus Heights reaches 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 ...

Adjacent municipalities

* Gilmanton (north) * Barnstead (northeast) * Pittsfield (east) *

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

(southeast) * Pembroke (south) * Concord (southwest) *

(west)

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 5,317 people, 1,966 households, and 1,459 families living in the town. There were 2,081 housing units, of which 115, or 5.5%, were vacant. The racial makeup of the town was 98.3%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.4%

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n, 0.0%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

or Pacific Islander, 0.1% some other race, and 0.8% from two or more races. 0.8% of the population were

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. Of the 1,966 households, 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.0% 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, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70, and the average family size was 3.05. In the town, 23.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.8% were from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 34.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males. For the period 2011-2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $65,417, and the median income for a family was $72,266. Male full-time workers had a median income of $57,422 versus $41,201 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 $30,248. 11.8% of the population and 6.9% of families were below the poverty line. 13.5% of the population under the age of 18 and 3.0% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.

Education

* The town of Loudon sends children to Loudon Elementary School for

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through fifth grade. * Children in grades 6, 7, and 8 attend Merrimack Valley Middle School in Penacook. * Children in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 attend Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook.

Media

The Loudon Communications Council publishes a monthly newspaper, ''The Loudon Ledger'', that is freely distributed by mail in town, with digital PDF versions published on the Town of Loudon website. As of March 2021, the digital archive has all issues of ''The Loudon Ledger'' published from October 2005 onward as well as the July 2005 issue.

Sites of interest

Loudon is home to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which in the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

is home to the Ambetter 301 and formerly the ISM Connect 300, in the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

the ROXOR 200, formerly in the

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series i ...

the UNOH 175, in the

American Canadian Tour The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) is an independent regional stock car racing series based in the northeastern United States, and Eastern Canada. The American-Canadian Tour was founded in 1979 and conducts professionally-run stock car racing event ...

the Bond Auto Invitational, and is also home to the Loudon Classic, known as "America's Oldest Motorcycle Race".

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Towns in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Populated places established in 1773 Towns in New Hampshire