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Nashua, New Hampshire

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Nashua, New Hampshire
Official seal of Nashua, New Hampshire
Seal
Nickname: 
Gate City
Location in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
Location in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
CountyHillsborough County
Incorporated1746
Government
 • Mayor
Town Council		Bernard A. Streeter (Rep)
(see Politics section)
Elevation
46 m (151 ft)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total86,605
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
Websitewww.gonashua.com

Nashua is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA. As of the 2000 census, Nashua had a total population of 86,605, making it the second largest city in the state after Manchester. As of 2005, the population is estimated to be 87,986.[1]

Built around the now-departed textile industry, in recent decades it has been swept up in southern New Hampshire's economic expansion as part of the Boston, Massachusetts, region. Nashua was twice named "Best Place to Live in America" in annual surveys by Money magazine.[2] It is the only city to get the No. 1 ranking two times—in 1987 and 1997.

History

Like many New England cities, Nashua grew because of textile mills using water power. The city was originally part of the Dunstable grant in Massachusetts and lies approximately in the center of the original 1673 grant. When the state line was redrawn in 1741, the town of Dunstable, Massachusetts, was divided in two. Dunstable, New Hampshire, was incorporated from the northern part of the town.

File:Mills, Nashua, NH.jpg
Nashua Manufacturing Company in 1921

By 1836, Nashua Manufacturing Company had built three cotton mills and was producing 9.3 million yards of cotton cloth annually on 710 looms, and the town of Dunstable was renamed "Nashua." The legislature declared that it was now named for the Nashua River. Six railroad lines crossed the city with 56 trains entering and departing daily before the Civil War.

What is now Nashua broke in two for a while, following a tax dispute between the town of Nashville north of the Nashua River, where most of the wealthier people lived, and town of Nashua south of the river. The two joined together and chartered the city in 1853.

The textile business started moving to the South during the Great Depression, with the last mill closing in 1949. Sanders Associates, a newly created defense firm that is now part of BAE Systems, moved into one of the closed mills and launched the city's rebirth. The arrival of Digital Equipment Corp. (now part of Hewlett-Packard) in the 1970s made the city part of the Boston-area high-tech corridor.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 82.5 km² (31.8 mi²). 80.0 km² (30.9 mi²) of it is land and 2.5 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (2.98%) is water. The highest point in Nashua is Long Hill (418 feet / 127 meters above sea level), in the southern part of the city.

Dam on the Nashua River, 200 meters East of Main St.

The city is bordered on the east by the Merrimack River, across which lies the town of Hudson, New Hampshire. To the north is Merrimack, New Hampshire, west is Hollis, New Hampshire, and south is Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. The city is roughly bisected by the Nashua River.

As with much of New England, the weather in the city varies greatly throughout the year. Harsh winters often batter the area while the summers can be scorching; it is a four-season area.

Demographics

File:Court House, Nashua, NH.jpg
Court House in c. 1910

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 86,605 people, 34,614 households, and 22,083 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,082.5/km² (2,803.5/mi²). There were 35,387 housing units at an average density of 442.3/km² (1,145.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.25% White, 2.01% African American, 0.32% Native American, 3.88% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.05% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.22% of the population.

Hunt Library Building in 2006

There were 34,614 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $51,969, and the median income for a family was $61,102. Males had a median income of $43,893 versus $29,171 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,209. About 5.0% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Template:Nashua State Reps

Nashua Aldermen
Name Classification
Brian McCarthy At-Large
James Tollner At-Large
Steven Bolton At-Large
David Deane At-Large
Fred Teeboom At-Large
David Rootovich At-Large
Mark S. Cookson Ward 1
Richard LaRose Ward 2
Dan Richardson Ward 3
Marc Plamondon Ward 4
Mike Tabacsko Ward 5
Robert Dion Ward 6
Richard Flynn Ward 7
Dave MacLaughlin Ward 8
Gregory Williams Ward 9

The city's government is headed by Mayor Bernie Streeter and the fifteen Aldermen, six at-large Aldermen elected three at a time every four years, and nine ward Aldermen, one for each ward in the city, elected every two years.

Like other municipalities in New Hampshire, elections for city offices are technically nonpartisan. However, state and federal election results in the city were overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats during the 2004 Election [3], with the Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry winning in all 9 wards of Nashua [4], Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate John Lynch winning in 6 of the 9 wards [5] while the two candidates were neck and neck in their races elsewhere in the state.

In the New Hampshire General Court, Nashua is represented in the House by Hillsborough County's 20th (Ward 1), 21st (Ward 2), 22nd (Ward 3), 23rd (Ward 4), 24th (Ward 6), 25th (Ward 7) and 26th (Wards 5, 8 and 9) districts and in the Senate by District 12 (Wards 1, 2, 5 and 9, shared with Hollis, Mason, and Brookline) and District 13 (Wards 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8).

The 2005 city election saw a conservative slant [6] and a recall petition gathered against Mayor Streeter. [7] Ironically, Streeter first came to power via a recall of his predecessor, Don Davidson, who has now announced his intention to challenge Streeter in the recall election. Streeter successfully challenged this recall, drawing a ruling from a judge stating that only the city's aldermen may move to remove the mayor from office. A main feature of the election was the city government's attempt to take over, via eminent domain, the local water utility, Pennichuck Water Works, against its wishes. In the run-up to the election, the utility ran many advocacy ads in the local media, and their "slate" of candidates opposing the takeover was elected.

Commerce

File:Main Street, Nashua, NH.jpg
Main Street in the 1920s

The city may be best known today as a shopping mecca to residents of Massachusetts who come north of the state border to take advantage of the lack of a sales tax in New Hampshire, particularly at the 1,000,000 square foot Pheasant Lane Mall just over the Tyngsboro/Nashua border.

The Mall is the anchor for the "South Nashua" commercial area, which spans from Tyngsboro to Exit 3 on the Daniel Webster Highway. The rest of the city's commercial zoning is focused primarily along the Main Street area and the Broad Street/Amherst Street corridor.

There is a use tax that Massachusetts charges its residents to pay for items purchased in New Hampshire that are subject to taxation in Massachusetts, but it is unknown if anyone actually pays.

Unusually for a city of its size and commercial importance, there are no movie theaters within city limits as of 2006, although a regional franchise cinema/pub is being planned for Exit 6 off of the Everett Turnpike.

The Route 101A corridor between Nashua and Milford has become a commercial destination. A push by international retailer Wal-Mart to suplant discount store Building #19 along Amherst Street sparked protest over wetlands.

Nashua's downtown is a regional commercial, entertainment, and dining destination. Recent plans have incorporated the Nashua River into the design of a pedestrian friendly walkway. The Nashua Riverwalk is a large, public/private venture funded through the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF).

The city is home to a number of technical firms, including Nashua Corporation, which took its name from the city and river. Nashua Corp. was a leading producer of floppy disks through the early 1990s, making the Nashua name well-known in the personal computering world. Defense contractor BAE Systems and computer firm Hewlett-Packard are largest representatives of the high-tech industry prominent in the region.

Education

According to the 2000 U.S Census, 22,700 residents over age three currently are enrolled in a Nashua educational institution, approximately a fourth of the city. [8]

Colleges

Entrance of Daniel Webster College

Nashua is not considered a college town compared to locales such as Durham, New Hampshire, but as of 2006 the city has 5,000 students enrolled at six colleges: Hesser College Nashua campus, Southern New Hampshire University Nashua campus, Franklin Pierce College Nashua campus, Daniel Webster College, the New Hampshire Community Technical College Nashua campus, and Rivier College.

High schools

After 2004, the city's only high school was split into the old Nashua South (home of the "Panthers", opened in 1976 and rebuilt/reopened in 2004) and the new Nashua North (home of the "Titans", opened in 2002) on Broad Street.

The city has two private religious high schools: Bishop Guertin High School (home of the "Cardinals"), a coeducational Catholic high school, and Nashua Christian Academy (home of the "Eagles"), a coeducational K-12 Christian school.

Middle schools

Entrance to Pennichuck Middle School

Elementary schools

Media

The city has a daily newspaper, the Nashua Telegraph, which is printed in neighboring Hudson, New Hampshire. Nashua also has two weekly newspapers, The Broadcaster and The Hippo, as well as a regional radio station, WSNH 900 AM (FOX Sports Radio). Another radio station, WSMN 1590 AM (news/talk), is back on the air after going dark in January 2005. Longtime FM station WHOB 106.3 FM moved to Hooksett, New Hampshire, after changing owners in 2004. NH Public Radio has a FM transmitter in Nashua at 88.3 MHz.

Sports

As of 2006, Nashua's only professional sports team is a Can-Am minor league baseball team: The Nashua Pride, which has played at Holman Stadium since 1998. Before the Pride, Holman was the home stadium for the independent Nashua Hawks; the AA Nashua Pirates (the first professional stop for Barry Bonds); and the A Nashua Dodgers, the first racially integrated professional baseball team in the modern age of baseball.

For years, the Nashua High School Panthers were contenders for state championships in many sports because they were one of the largest high schools in the state. This advantage decreased when Nashua High split into a new North school ("The Titans") and the original South school. Both schools compete in the Class L (large) division of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association as well as its counterpart in boys football, girls and boys skiing, girls and boys lacrosse, boys oce hockey and boys wrestling, Division 1. The North/South split became the premier high school rivalry in the city, supplanting the old rivalry between the public high school and the private Bishop Guertin High School, which normally competes in Class L, but is in Division 2 for football.

In collegiate sports, Nashua is home to the Daniel Webster College Eagles and Rivier College Raiders, who compete in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference or GNAC.

The city also has an active running club known as the Gate City Striders.

Other

The Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps (1997, 1998, and 2004 Drum Corps International Division II World Champions) is based in Nashua.

Transportation

Entrance of Boire Field, Nashua's airport

An extension from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail Lowell Line to Nashua is being proposed. Meanwhile, in March 2005, Nashua lost its only scheduled commuter bus service to Boston. However, Greyhound still runs a limited number of buses between the two cities through Vermont Transit.

Two transportation projects have been the subject of recent debate within the City.

The City touts the recent approval of a commuter rail linking Nashua to Lowell with service continuing on to Boston as a smart-growth opportunity for Nashua. Currently slated to break ground in 2007 with possible operation in 2009, there is broad-based skepticism among Nashua residents that project funding may not be approved. The rail line suffered a significant blow in 2004 when the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that monies raised through the state’s excise on gasoline could not be used to fund a commuter rail. Further, plans calling for mixed-use residential and commercial development in the area surrounding the station have been met with outcries to shy away from expanding along the already congested Daniel Webster Highway.

The Broad Street Parkway, an urban throughway linking West Nashua with its urban core via the Millyard, is expected to expedite east-west traffic through the City. Also plagued by funding disputes, the Parkway’s design has been scaled back from its original four-lane design, to a narrower two-lane concept. Parkway proponents claim the design will open up vast areas of land in Nashua’s downtown to development. See the 2000 Nashua Master Plan for more detail.

U.S. Highway 3 and the Everett Turnpike run through the city. Nashua Municipal Airport (Boire Field), a general aviation facility, is located in the city's northwest corner. Public transportation is provided by the Nashua Transit System.

Maps of the Nashua area often show a stretch of freeway forming a circumferential highway through Nashua and the neighboring town of Hudson. Only a small section of the south end of this highway (Exit 2 off U.S. Route 3) has been built, and it is unclear whether the highway will ever be completed. If finished, the Nashua-Hudson Circumferential Highway would be part of the Everett Turnpike, and would rejoin the mainline highway at a hypothetical Exit 9 in northern Nashua.

Famous residents, past and present

  • Nashua is the birthplace of football player Greg Landry.

See also

External links

City Hall in 2006

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

References

  1. ^ "2005 Population Estimates of New Hampshire Cities and Towns", NH Office of Energy and Planning, July 2006.
  2. ^ "Not the best, but not too shabby", Nashua Telegraph, July 18, 2006.
  3. ^ "GOP incumbents unseated in area House races", Nashua Telegraph, November 4, 2004.
  4. ^ "State General Election, November 2, 2004: President and Vice President of the United States", State of New Hampshire Elections Division.
  5. ^ "State General Election, November 2, 2004: Governor", State of New Hampshire Elections Division.
  6. ^ Nashua Telegraph.
  7. ^ Nashua Telegraph.
  8. ^ "Profile of Selected Social Characteristics. 2000", U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF 3) - Sample Data.


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