Concord's history dates back thousands of years to Native American settlements along the banks of the Merrimack River. English-speaking immigrants before the American Revolution settled the city and the area has been called home by legendary figures such as 19th Century statesman Daniel Webster and Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy. A more recent well-known native is late teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, who taught in Concord and after whom the local planetarium is named. Much has been done by residents, the city, nearby towns and local historical societies to preserve the area’s heritage.

Early Settlers
The native inhabitants of the region were the Western Abenaki people (also called Pennacook).

Settlers from the English colony of Massachusetts, attracted by good soil for farming in the valley and easy transportation for trading on the river, made their way north in 1725.

Historic Buildings
Some of Concord s earliest houses, including the 263-year-old Reverend Timothy Walker House, can be seen today at the north end of Main Street. Walker was Concord's first minister and founding father, and his 1734 home is considered the oldest two-story house between Massachusetts and Canada.

In the city's early days, it was surrounded by Rumford Garrison, erected for the protection of the community's first nine families. Downtown is a historical gold mine with buildings such as The Eagle Hotel (which accommodated Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Harrison, Jefferson Davis, Charles Lindbergh and Eleanor Roosevelt), Eagle Square (home of the Museum of New Hampshire History), Phenix Hall (built on the spot where Abraham Lincoln spoke just prior to being elected president), New Hampshire State Library (the oldest of its kind in the nation), Bicentennial Square (a former 1890 police station), the First Baptist Church (its bell was made at Paul Revere s Foundry) and the First Church of Christ Scientist (opened five years after Baker Eddy moved to Concord from Bow in 1892).

Seat of State Government
In the years following the Revolutionary War, the city’s central location made it a logical choice for the state capital and, in 1808, Concord was named the official seat of government. Today, the State House, built of granite in 1819 by state prison inmates, is the oldest state capital in which the legislative branches meet in their original chambers.

Concord’s central location between Boston and Canada made it an important site for inland trade and commerce. For more than a century and until recent times, it was the northern New England hub of the railroad industry.

Industries Leave Legacies
In the 19th Century, one of the city’s best-known industries was carriage manufacturing. The Concord Coach, often seen in western movies and credited with opening the American West, was made here and one is displayed at the Museum of New Hampshire History.

Granite quarrying earned the state its nickname, The Granite State. Local stone from nearby Rattlesnake Hill was used for the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. The quarry remains active and is still a major granite supplier.

Penacook, the crooked place, was the original name the Western Abenaki gave the land surrounding the winding turns of the Merrimack River. Settlers from the English colony of Massachusetts, attracted to the valley by the good soil for farming as well as the easy transportation provided by the river, made their way north beginning in 1725.

The Penacook section of Concord, located at the northern end of the Concord city limits on the west side of the Merrimack River, was first permanently settled in 1758. Although the township of PennyCook, as all of Concord was known, had been established in 1726, early settlement was concentrated at the north end of North Main Street in the central village.

Penacook's early industry included small lumber mills, a grist mill and a carding and cloth finishing mill that ushered in the woolen manufacturing industry that thrived in Penacook for nearly a hundred years. Other important industries to emerge included furniture manufacturing as well as electrical production and instrument manufacturing. Concord and Penacook residents take great pride in their city, and much has been done to preserve its history. Some of the earliest houses, including the 263-year-old Reverend Timothy Walker House, can be seen today at the north end of Main Street. Walker was Concord's first minister and its founding father. His home is considered the oldest two-story house between Massachusetts and Canada.

In the years following the Revolutionary War, the city's central location made it a logical choice for the state capital, and in 1808, Concord was named the official seat of state government. Since then, Concord has been the hub of political activity within the state. New Hampshire boasts the largest legislature in the country. Its 400 members each are paid $100 annually. The spotlight shines on the city and state every four years when New Hampshire citizens vote in the First in the Nation New Hampshire Presidential Primary.

A compact, but bustling, downtown lies along the west bank of the Merrimack, and is easily accessible from I-93. As with much of the rest of the city, downtown is a historical gold mine with buildings such as The Eagle Hotel, host to Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Harrison, Jefferson Davis, Charles Lindbergh and Eleanor Roosevelt; Eagle Square, home of the Museum of New Hampshire History; Phenix Hall, built on the spot where Abraham Lincoln spoke just before being elected president; the New Hampshire State Library, the oldest of its kind in the nation; the First Baptist Church Ð its bell was made at Paul Revere's foundry; and the First Church of Christ Scientist, first opened in 1892. Visitors and residents alike can experience the nostalgia of quaint shops, offices and eateries housed in these and other restored Victorian-era buildings and homes.