Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,494 at the 2010 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire. In 2013, Merrimack was named the twenty-third best place to live in the United States by CNN Money Magazine. There are four villages in the town: Merrimack Village (formerly known as Souhegan Village), Thorntons Ferry, Reeds Ferry, and South Merrimack.
Shadows of the former villages that now make Merrimack still exist. However, the boundaries and exact definitions are unclear due to the expansion of suburban development in the town during the latter half of the 20th century.
Thorntons Ferry
The area of town near Naticook Lake and Continental Boulevard, the name of this area comes from Matthew Thornton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence who lived in Merrimack and is now buried in a cemetery near the intersection of Daniel Webster Highway (U.S. Route 3) and Greeley Street. Thorntons Ferry Elementary School is located on Camp Sargent Road.
Reeds Ferry
The northern portion of the town, Reeds Ferry is centered on the current intersection of Bedford Road and Daniel Webster Highway. The boundaries of the area are unclear, as the northwestern part of town near Baboosic Lake is not traditionally considered a portion of Reeds Ferry. While as a defined village it was located mostly near the Merrimack River, the area near Baboosic Lake may now possibly be seen as part of Reeds Ferry. Reeds Ferry Elementary School is located on Lyons Road.
South Merrimack
Centered on Pennichuck Square on Rte. 101A and Continental Boulevard, South Merrimack is usually considered to be the southwestern part of town near Rte. 101A and Boston Post Road. However, the southeastern portion of town near Harris Pond might also be considered part of South Merrimack or Thornton’s Ferry.
Merrimack Village
The center of town is not known as “Merrimack Village” per se, but constitutes the area between the more defined Reeds Ferry and Thorntons Ferry areas. Largely considered to be located at the Public Library on the corner of Baboosic Lake Road and Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack Village was built along the Souhegan River that roughly cuts the current town in half. The elementary school in this part of town is named after James Mastricola, who deeded the land to the town upon his death. The lower and upper elementary schools, the middle school, Merrimack High School, the library, and the current town hall, among other buildings, are all located on the land formerly owned by Mastricola.
The “village” is considered to extend westward to the Amherst border. This is due in large part to the former Town Meetinghouse, which was located on the corner of Turkey Hill Road and Meetinghouse Road.
PC Connection and Brookstone are based in Merrimack. Merrimack Canoe Company was started in Merrimack before being relocated to Tennessee. Other notable employers include Fidelity Investments, Anheuser-Busch, Campers Inn, and BAE Systems.
Opened in 2012, the Merrimack Premium Outlets are a 560,000-square-foot (52,000 m2) retail mall area with 12 buildings, parking lots, and other site improvements located off exit 10 of the Everett Turnpike.
The six public schools in Merrimack are managed by the Merrimack School District and include Thorntons Ferry Elementary School, Reeds Ferry Elementary School, James Mastricola Elementary School, James Mastricola Upper Elementary School, Merrimack Middle School and Merrimack High School. Merrimack High School has won one state championship in baseball (2007), three in softball (1980, 1988, 2001), one in football (1987), two in soccer (1998 girls, 2007 boys), three in indoor track (1999, 2007, 2008), four in outdoor track (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007), one in cross-country (2006), one in girls lacrosse (2012), one in skiing (1979), two in volleyball (2001, 2014), and four in basketball (1967, 2003, 2004, 2012).
The Academy for Science and Design was a charter school established for the 2007-08 academic year; it was New Hampshire’s first charter school to concentrate on science, math, engineering, and design and is free of tuition fees. The school has since moved to Nashua. In 2014, the Gate City Charter School for the Arts opened its doors to students.
The Rotary Nashua West club has organized the Rock’N Ribfest every year since 2003. The Ribfest has been held on the Anheuser-Busch grounds of Merrimack for the last eight years and was held there once again on June 15–17, 2012. The Ribfest is the official site for the New Hampshire state barbecue championship, where judges taste test the Northeast’s best BBQ from more than 30 competitors.
Content courtesy of Wikipedia.org