The primary settlement in the town, where 11,147 people resided at the 2020 census,[4] is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Durham census-designated place (CDP) and includes the densely populated portion of the town centered on the intersection of New Hampshire Route 108 and Main Street, which includes the university that dominates the town.
Durham sits beside Great Bay at the mouth of the Oyster River, an ideal location for people who lived close to the land, like the Western Abenaki and their ancestors who have lived in the region for an estimated 11,000 years.[5] The Shankhassick[6] (now Oyster) River provided shellfish and access to the north woods for hunting and trapping; the sea provided food and access to long-established trade routes between tribes both north and south; and the open meadows provided land on which crops could be easily cultivated. Wecannecohunt (or Wecohamet),[7] as the settlement was known until English settlers arrived, proved immediately attractive to them, too.[5]
English settlers first colonized the region in 1622 when King James I granted Sir Fernandino Gorges and John Mason "all that part or porcon of that country now commonly called New-England ... between the latitude of forty and fortyeight degrees northerly latitude," including every island within 100 miles of the coast and "all the lands, soyle, grounds, havens, ports, rivers, mines, ... minerals, pearls and pretious stones, woods, queries, marshes waters, fishings, hunting, hawking, fowling, commodities and hereditaments whatsoever."[8] Gorges and Mason agreed to split the vast tract along the Piscataqua River (still known by its Abenaki name pesgatak was, for "the water looks dark").[9] Gorges took the tract to the east and named it Maine. Mason took the land to west and named it New Hampshire.[10] The region was first named "N'dakinna".[11] It is the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Pennacook and Wabanaki peoples.[12]
Colonists first arrived in Wecannecohunt in 1622, the year of the Gorges-Mason grant.[13] They spent their earliest years fishing, cutting, and trapping to sell salted fish, lumber, and fur to European markets. By 1633, colonists were spread along the tidal shores of the Oyster River, and by 1640, they were "in 'recognized possession' of lands up to the fall line."[14] Colonial Durham was first known as the Oyster River Plantation.[13] The English settlers brought non-native livestock aboard their ships, "thousands of cattle, swine, sheep, and horses," requiring them to clear acres merely for pasture. Wecannecohunt's fields, carefully cultivated across centuries, were trampled and their crops destroyed. "The animals exacerbated a host of problems related to subsistence practices, land use, property rights and, ultimately, political authority." When violence between the colonized and the colonizers erupted, livestock were frequently killed. The Abenaki saw them as a direct threat to their food supply.[15]
During King William's War, on July 18, 1694, the fledgling English colonial settlement was attacked in the Raid on Oyster River by French career soldier Claude-Sébastien de Villieu with about 250 Abenaki from Norridgewock under command of their sagamore Bomazeen (or Bomoseen). In all, 104 inhabitants were killed and 27 taken captive,[16] with half the dwellings, including the garrisons, pillaged and burned to the ground.
Oyster River was part of Dover throughout its first century.[13] The Plantation was granted rights as an independent parish in 1716 and incorporated as a township in 1732 when it was renamed Durham.[17] Rev. Hugh Adams claimed to have proposed the name "Durham" in an address to the General Assembly in 1738.[18][19] Two of the earliest settlers of Dover were William and Edward Hilton, the direct descendants of Sir William de Hilton, Lord of Hilton Castle in County Durham, England, but there is nothing to prove that Durham was named in their honor.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 24.7 square miles (64.1km2), of which 22.4 square miles (58.0km2) are land and 2.4 square miles (6.1km2) are water, comprising 9.50% of the town.[1] The town is drained by the Oyster River. The highest point in Durham is Beech Hill, at 291 feet (89m) above sea level, located on the town's northern border.[27] Durham lies fully within the Piscataqua River (coastal) watershed.[28]
The demographics of Durham are strongly influenced by the presence of the main campus of the University of New Hampshire. As of the 2010 census, there were 14,638 people, 2,960 households, and 1,544 families residing in the town. There were 3,092 housing units, of which 132 (4.3%) were vacant. 7,266 town residents lived in group quarters, such as dormitories, rather than in households. The racial makeup of the town was 93.8% white, 0.9% African American, 0.1% Native American, 3.2% Asian, 0.01% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.4% some other race, and 1.6% from two or more races. 2.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[32]
Of the 2,960 households, 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were headed by married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.8% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49, and the average family size was 2.94.[32]
In the town, 8.6% of the population were under the age of 18; 64.3% were from 18 to 24; 7.7% from 25 to 44; 12.5% from 45 to 64; and 6.9% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.[32]
For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $71,190, and the median income for a family was $120,039. Male full-time workers had a median income of $72,197 compared to $58,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,650. 24.5% of the population and 1.4% of families were below the poverty line. 0.7% of the population under the age of 18 and 5.1% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.[33]
Arts and culture
Downtown at Madbury Road and Main Street
Libraries
Over the years, the people of Durham have created several libraries:
Durham Social Library (1815–1857): This library was incorporated by act of the New Hampshire Legislature in 1815. The library contained several hundred books and had a nearly 50-person member body.
Durham Agricultural Library (1862–1881): Formed on February 3, 1862, with Benjamin Thompson as president, this library was small (approximately 72 books) and vocationally-based.
Durham Social Library (1881–1892): Organized on March 9, 1881, this library had a 80-person member body and several hundred books. In 1883, the Richardson house was purchased to house the library. It eventually merged with the Durham Public Library.
Durham Public Library (1892–1906): Established in 1892 through the provisions of an act of the state of New Hampshire, this was the town's first "public" library. It contained more than 3,500 books and eventually merged with the library of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.
Library of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts (1893–): This library came to Durham with the arrival of the College in 1893. Initially, the College housed the library in a single room in Thompson Hall. In 1900, Hamilton Smith gave the University $10,000 to construct a library; another $20,000 was obtained from Andrew Carnegie. In 1907—a year after the town and the college agreed to merge their collective library resources—the building (Hamilton Smith Hall) was completed.[34]
Dimond Library (1958): This library was constructed to replace Hamilton Smith Hall—which was reconfigured as an academic building with lecture-oriented classrooms—as the university's primary knowledge repository.[35] The building was designed in the Mid-century Modern style.
Durham Public Library (1997): By a margin of 2-1, Durham voters passed a charter amendment to establish a board of trustees and allow plans for a new public library to go forward. In July 1997, a temporary space for the building was selected. Under the guidance of the trustees and a newly-formed "Friends of the Library" group, many Durham residents came forward to sheetrock, paint, assemble shelves, and allocate 719 boxes of books. On July 21, 1997, a dedication ceremony was held for the new library, with GovernorJeanne Shaheen as the keynote speaker. It was the first new public library to be established in New Hampshire in almost a century. It was relocated to a newly-constructed building on Madbury Road in 2013.[36]
Wagon Hill Farm: One of Durham’s largest lots of open land. Originally settled by the Davis Family around 1654, this property is 139 acres and extends from the Oyster River to across Route 4 to the Madbury town line. There is about 6,000 feet of shoreline within the property.[40] The original house sat closer to the Oyster River compared to the white farmhouse seen today, which was built in 1804. In total, this land was owned by the Davis, Bickford, Chesley, and Tirrell Family.[41] Since 1989, the town of Durham has been maintaining and preserving the property, allowing the public to use it. Some activities to do are hiking, running, dog walking, picnicking, photography, snow shoeing, and cross country skiing.[42] At the top of the hill, the wooden wagon sits.
Inside the Durham Post Office, there is a 16-panel mural called “Pages From the Past”. This was donated by the Woman’s Club of Durham in 1959, and each panel shows a different part of Durham’s history. These panels include art showing the first settlement in 1623, the area’s natural resources, Native American’s, early transportation, the first school and meeting house, and early religion and education.[43]
The panel “Cruel Adversity” has faced some controversy. This mural shows a Native American crouching behind a bush carrying a torch and bow and arrows. In the background, there is a garrison house in which the Native American is looking at. According to the town, the panel is based on the 1694 Oyster River Massacre. The mural has been said to inaccurately portray the local Native Americans negatively, and from a European perspective only.[44]
The mural is located inside a federal building. Policy states that artwork has to be preserved and protected for public view. In 2017, the post office had offered to add interpretive text for the panel.[45]
Government
In the United States House of Representatives, Durham is located in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District and has been represented by DemocratChris Pappas since January 3, 2019.[46] He is the first and only gay person to represent New Hampshire in the United States Congress.[47] In the New Hampshire Senate, the town is located in District 21 and has been represented by Democrat Rebecca Perkins Kwoka since December 2, 2020.[48] She is the State Senate minority leader and the first openly LGBTQ+ woman to serve in the chamber.[49] In the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Durham comprises the districts Strafford 10 and Strafford 20. The former is represented by Democrats Wayne M. Burton, Timothy O. Horrigan, Loren Selig, and Marjorie K. Smith, while latter is represented by Democrat Allan Howland.[50] It is represented in the New Hampshire Executive Council by Joseph D. Kenney, a five-term Republican who has occupied the role of District 1 Executive Councilor since March 11, 2014.[51]
Durham town vote by party in United States presidential elections[a]
A police force of some manner has served Durham since at least 1848.[88] Durham Police Department is made up of 21 full-time and 2 part-time officers and provides service 24 hours a day.[89]
The Police Department's Adopt-A-Cop program was instituted in 1999 to improve relationships between University of New Hampshire fraternities. Each fraternity is assigned a police officer who attends house meetings and events and acts a liaison between the fraternity and the community.[90]
Fire department and EMS
The first fire department in Durham was organized in 1927, and the first salaried firefighter was employed in 1934.[91]
The Durham Fire Department is one of the few fire departments in the country that is funded by both a municipality and a university.[91]
↑The state of New Hampshire retains a collection of official publications detailing United States presidential election results by town since the year 1888. Such information for prior years is not available from official sources on the internet. For the source detailing the results of the 1900 United States presidential election, the state electors representing each party and their respective tickets can be found on pp. 64-65. Statistics under "Other" are based purely on the published figures and thus lower-bound, for the manner in which the state represents votes for third parties and write-ins from 1888 to 2024 is not standardized.
↑"Land Acknowledgement". Indigenous NH Collaborative Collective. February 7, 2020. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
↑U.S. Geological Survey. Dover Quadrangle, New Hampshire-Maine map. 1:62,500. 15 Minute Series (Topographic). Washington D.C.: USGS, 1956. Available from University of New Hampshire Dimond Library Documents Department & Data Center, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 26, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) accessed March 17, 2009.
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