Familypedia
Register
Advertisement
This article is based on the corresponding article in another wiki. For Familypedia purposes, it requires significantly more historical detail on phases of this location's development. The ideal article for a place will give the reader a feel for what it was like to live at that location at the time their relatives were alive there. Also desirable are links to organizations that may be repositories of genealogical information..
Please help to improve this page yourself if you can.


Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Map of New Hampshire highlighting Rockingham County
Location in the state of New Hampshire
Map of the U.S
New Hampshire's location in the U.S.
Founded 1769
Seat Brentwood
Largest Town Derry
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

794.34 sq mi (2,057 km²)
694.96 sq mi (1,800 km²)
99.38 sq mi (257 km²), 12.47%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

314,176
425/sq mi (164/km²)
Website co.rockingham.nh.us

Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of 2020, the population was 314,176.[1] The county seat is Brentwood.[2]

History[]

The area that today is Rockingham County was first settled by Europeans moving north from the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts as early as 1623. The government was linked tightly with Massachusetts until New Hampshire became a separate colony in 1679, but counties weren't introduced until 1769.

Rockingham was identified in 1769 as one of five original counties for the colony. It is named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, who had been Prime Minister in 1765-1766. The county was organized in 1771, with its county seat at Exeter. In 1844 its area was reduced by the formation of Belknap County to the northwest. In 1997 the county court facilities were moved to Brentwood, a rural town adjacent to Exeter.[3]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 794 square miles (2,060 km2), of which 695 sq mi (1,800 km2) is land and 99 sq mi (260 km2) (12.47%) is water. The highest point in Rockingham County is Nottingham Mountain, at 1,340 feet (410 m), in the town of Deerfield.

Adjacent counties[]

National protected area[]

  • Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1790 43,184
1800 45,427 5.2%
1810 50,175 10.5%
1820 55,246 10.1%
1830 44,325 −19.8%
1840 45,771 3.3%
1850 49,194 7.5%
1860 50,122 1.9%
1870 47,297 −5.6%
1880 49,064 3.7%
1890 49,650 1.2%
1900 51,118 3.0%
1910 52,188 2.1%
1920 52,498 0.6%
1930 53,750 2.4%
1940 58,142 8.2%
1950 70,059 20.5%
1960 99,029 41.4%
1970 138,951 40.3%
1980 190,345 37.0%
1990 245,845 29.2%
2000 277,359 12.8%
2010 295,223 6.4%
[4][5][6]
Rockingham County SAU

Map of school administrative units in Rockingham County

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 277,359 people, 104,529 households, and 74,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 399 people per square mile (154/km²). There were 113,023 housing units at an average density of 163 per square mile (63/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.80% White, 0.58% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. 1.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.1% were of Irish, 14.6% English, 11.8% Italian, 10.5% French, 8.0% French Canadian, 6.0% German and 5.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.3% spoke English, 1.8% French and 1.3% Spanish as their first language.

There were 104,529 households out of which 35.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 32.80% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 10.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $58,150, and the median income for a family was $66,345. (These figures had risen to $72,600 and $85,361 respectively, as of a 2007 estimate.[8]) Males had a median income of $45,598 versus $30,741 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,656. About 3.10% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.00% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns[]

There are 37 communities in Rockingham County - 36 towns and the City of Portsmouth:

City/Town Population (2000) Population Ranking Land Area km² Area Ranking Density /km² Density Ranking
Atkinson 6,178 14 28.8 28 214.3 11
Auburn 4,682 19 65.3 11 71.7 26
Brentwood 3,197 30 43.6 16 73.4 25
Candia 3,911 23 78.5 5 49.8 31
Chester 3,792 24 67.1 10 56.5 37
Danville 4,023 22 30.3 27 132.6 18
Deerfield 3,678 26 131.9 1 27.9 36
Derry 34,021 1 92.7 4 367.0 4
East Kingston 1,784 33 25.9 31 68.9 27
Epping 5,476 16 67.4 9 32.9 34
Exeter 14,058 6 50.9 13 276.4 7
Fremont 3,510 28 44.4 15 79.0 24
Greenland 3,208 29 27.2 30 118.1 21
Hampstead 8,297 9 34.5 21 240.5 9
Hampton 14,937 5 33.7 22 442.6 3
Hampton Falls 1,880 32 31.6 25 59.4 29
Kensington 1,893 31 31.0 26 61.2 28
Kingston 5,862 15 50.8 14 115.4 22
Londonderry 23,236 3 108.3 3 214.6 10
New Castle 1,010 35 2.1 37 469.8 2
Newfields 1,551 34 18.2 36 85.3 23
Newington 775 37 21.7 34 35.8 33
Newmarket 8,027 10 32.5 24 247.0 8
Newton 4,289 20 25.7 32 167.1 13
North Hampton 4,259 21 36.0 20 118.2 20
Northwood 3,640 27 72.5 7 50.2 30
Nottingham 3,701 25 120.4 2 30.8 35
Plaistow 7,747 12 27.5 29 281.4 6
Portsmouth 20,784 4 40.4 17 514.1 1
Raymond 9,674 8 74.5 6 129.8 19
Rye 5,182 17 32.7 23 158.5 15
Salem 29,115 2 64.0 12 169.9 12
Sandown 5,143 18 36.0 19 142.8 17
Seabrook 7,934 11 22.9 33 345.7 5
South Hampton 844 36 20.4 35 41.4 32
Stratham 6,355 13 39.1 18 162.4 14
Windham 10,709 7 69.4 8 154.3 16
Totals: 278,362 1,800 155.0

Attractions[]

The Rockingham County Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in Brentwood. Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth is a collection of historic buildings from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. Canobie Lake Park, located in Salem, is an amusement park that opened in 1902. Also in Salem is Rockingham Park racetrack, which features weekly horse racing, and America's Stonehenge, which claims to be a pre-Columbian collection of stone structures. Derry was home to poet Robert Frost, who taught at nearby Pinkerton Academy. His home, the Robert Frost Farm, has been preserved as a state park.

Rockingham County is also home to New Hampshire's entire seacoast and features several popular resort towns. Hampton Beach has a boardwalk and Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. The town of Rye features several undeveloped beaches such as Odiorne Point State Park and contains New Hampshire's portion of the Isles of Shoals. Seabrook contains the Seabrook Greyhound Racing Park and the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, the last nuclear plant opened in the United States.

Politics[]

Rockingham County has historically been a Republican stronghold, but the county is now competitive. Three Democratic presidential nominees have won it since 1964, including Joe Biden in 2020, who was the first to win a majority since Lyndon B. Johnson.

The county is divided between the Democratic stronghold that is the Seacoast Region, and the more sparsely populated conservative inland portions of the county.

Rockingham County is one of only twelve counties to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020.[lower-alpha 1]

United States presidential election results for Rockingham County, New Hampshire[9]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 95,858 48.09% 100,064 50.20% 3,420 1.72%
2016 90,447 49.85% 79,994 44.09% 10,993 6.06%
2012 87,921 51.59% 80,142 47.03% 2,360 1.38%
2008 81,917 48.81% 83,723 49.89% 2,182 1.30%
2004 82,069 51.68% 75,437 47.50% 1,310 0.82%
2000 65,860 49.09% 61,628 45.93% 6,685 4.98%
1996 46,201 40.80% 53,644 47.37% 13,403 11.84%
1992 47,353 38.25% 44,317 35.80% 32,136 25.96%
1988 64,034 63.15% 35,775 35.28% 1,596 1.57%
1984 57,586 69.01% 25,557 30.63% 297 0.36%
1980 45,960 57.83% 21,712 27.32% 11,802 14.85%
1976 36,738 53.92% 30,051 44.11% 1,341 1.97%
1972 38,825 63.09% 21,998 35.75% 718 1.17%
1968 28,842 54.98% 21,195 40.41% 2,419 4.61%
1964 19,498 41.70% 27,256 58.30% 0 0.00%
1960 28,032 62.16% 17,063 37.84% 0 0.00%
1956 28,226 73.42% 10,198 26.53% 18 0.05%
1952 26,280 68.58% 12,040 31.42% 0 0.00%
1948 18,890 60.68% 11,937 38.35% 301 0.97%
1944 17,144 56.55% 13,170 43.44% 2 0.01%
1940 16,223 53.68% 14,001 46.32% 0 0.00%
1936 15,466 54.75% 12,207 43.21% 576 2.04%
1932 14,902 56.44% 11,363 43.03% 140 0.53%
1928 17,590 69.18% 7,782 30.61% 53 0.21%
1924 14,530 68.42% 6,073 28.60% 634 2.99%
1920 13,811 67.29% 6,582 32.07% 132 0.64%
1916 5,866 50.29% 5,637 48.32% 162 1.39%
1912 4,231 37.54% 4,306 38.21% 2,733 24.25%
1908 6,814 60.34% 4,118 36.47% 361 3.20%
1904 7,216 60.97% 4,320 36.50% 299 2.53%
1900 7,363 59.29% 4,719 38.00% 337 2.71%
1896 7,881 69.32% 2,992 26.32% 496 4.36%
1892 6,380 50.75% 5,961 47.42% 230 1.83%
1888 6,450 48.76% 6,553 49.54% 226 1.71%
1884 6,162 50.63% 5,682 46.69% 326 2.68%
1880 6,960 53.25% 5,989 45.82% 121 0.93%
1876 6,422 53.51% 5,576 46.46% 3 0.02%



See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire

External links[]

References[]

Coordinates: 42°59′N 71°05′W / 42.99, -71.09


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Rockingham County, New Hampshire. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.


Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "lower-alpha", but no corresponding <references group="lower-alpha"/> tag was found

Advertisement