Nottingham 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 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. The population was 5,229 at the 2020 census, up from 4,785 at the 2010 census. It is the location of

Pawtuckaway State Park Pawtuckaway State Park is a preserve in New Hampshire, United States. It is one of the largest state parks in southeastern New HampshireJohn Wentworth, Nottingham was named for

Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea PC (2 July 16471 January 1730) was an English Tory politician and peer who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Known as Lord Nottingham until 1729, then as Lord Winchilsea. ...

. The earl was a close friend of Samuel Shute and Joseph Dudley, previous colonial governors of

. Among the grantees was Peregrine White, descendant of Peregrine White of the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

'', the first child of English parentage born in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. At one time, the town had 17

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

s in operation. The town was site of a massacre in September 1747, when Elizabeth Simpson, Robert Beard and Nathaniel Folsom were slain by Indians of the Winnipesaukee tribe. Nottingham once included Deerfield, incorporated in 1766, and Northwood, in 1773. Four Revolutionary War generals were from Nottingham: Joseph Cilley,

Henry Dearborn Henry Dearborn (February 23, 1751 – June 6, 1829) was an American military officer and politician. In the Revolutionary War, he served under Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec, of which his journal provides an important record ...

, Henry Butler, and Thomas Bartlett. Nottingham has the oldest continually operating municipal

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

center in the country, and it was the first town in the nation to make recycling mandatory. The recycling center began operation in January 1974.

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 4.00% of the town. Containing 14 lakes and ponds, Nottingham is drained by the Pawtuckaway,

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

, and Little rivers, all tributaries of the Lamprey River, which passes south and east of the town and flows into Great Bay at Newmarket. The town's highest point is the North Peak of Mount Pawtuckaway, 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 ...

. The circular-shaped Pawtuckaway Mountains are a prime example of what geologists term a

ring dike A ring dike or ring dyke is an Intrusive rock, intrusive igneous body that is circular, oval or arcuate in plan and has steep contacts. While the widths of ring dikes differ, they can be up to several thousand meters. The most commonly accepted me ...

complex. Named communities in the town include Nottingham village, Nottingham Square, North Nottingham, and West Nottingham.

Adjacent municipalities

* Barrington (northeast) * Lee (east) * Epping (southeast) *

Raymond Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

(southwest) * Deerfield (west) * Northwood (northwest)

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 2000, there were 3,701 people, 1,331 households, and 1,048 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,592 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.38%

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 ...

, 0.19%

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 ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.27% from other races, and 0.38% 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 0.70% of the population. There were 1,331 households, out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.9% were

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, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 15.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $62,423, and the median income for a family was $65,510. Males had a median income of $41,182 versus $29,738 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 $24,879. About 0.9% of families and 2.5% 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 1.2% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town of Nottingham provides kindergarten through 8th grade education at Nottingham Elementary School. The town pays tuition to Dover High School for its high school-aged students,Nottingham Community Profile
NH Dept. of Employment Security website and also has an agreement with

Coe-Brown Northwood Academy Coe-Brown Northwood Academy is a comprehensive secondary institution in Northwood, New Hampshire, United States. It serves all students from the towns of Strafford, Nottingham and Northwood. History Coe-Brown Northwood Academy was founded ...

in neighboring Northwood.

Notable people

* Bradbury Cilley (1760–1831), U.S. congressman * Jonathan Cilley (1802–1838), U.S. congressman, died in a duel with another congressman, William J. Graves of Kentucky * Joseph Cilley (1734–1799), state senator, Revolutionary War general * Joseph Cilley (1791–1887), U.S. senator from New Hampshire *

(1751–1829), U.S. congressman from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and Revolutionary War general * James Patrick Kelly (born 1951),

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author *

Else Holmelund Minarik Else Holmelund Minarik (née Holmelund; September 13, 1920 – July 12, 2012) was a Danish-born American author of more than 40 children's books. She was most commonly associated with her ''Little Bear (book), Little Bear'' series of children's b ...

(1920–2012), author of children's books * Annie Bartlett Shepard (1861–1944), anti-suffragist

Sites of interest

Pawtuckaway State Park Pawtuckaway State Park is a preserve in New Hampshire, United States. It is one of the largest state parks in southeastern New HampshireSquare Schoolhouse – historic schoolhouse, now a museum. It is one of the best-preserved mid-19th century schoolhouses in southern New Hampshire. *

Dame School Dame schools were small, privately run schools for children aged two to five. They emerged in Great Britain and its colonies during the Early modern Britain, early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman ...

– historic meeting house, school, and now local historical museum

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile

Nottingham Historical Society
{{authority control Nottingham, New Hampshire Towns in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Populated places established in 1722 Towns in New Hampshire Recycling in the United States