Londonderry NH, a brief early History

1718 - a group of Irish immigrants visited the area then called Nutfield because of the abundance of nut bearing trees in the area. They believed it would be a good site for a community, settled and developed the community and four years later, in June 1722, the Nutfield area was incorporated as a township and renamed Londonderry after the city in Ireland from which most of the settlers had come.

Early settlers spread out into surrounding villages, bringing Scottish and Irish names like Antrim, Derry and Dunbarton. Londonderry was the second largest town in early colonial times. The original Londonderry township encompassed much of the area now known as Derry, Londonderry and Windham and also parts of Manchester, Salem, and Hudson. These towns have a rich history with many famous sons including: Revolutionary War Hero General John Stark, signer of the Declaration of Independence Matthew Thornton, poet Robert Frost, and the first American in space Alan B. Shepard.

In 1790, the first year that a census was taken in Londonderry, the population was 2,622.

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