Epping, New Hampshire

History

Epping was originally part of Exeter, one of the four original New Hampshire townships. Starting in 1710, Exeter awarded free wood lots in the area to encourage settlement. In 1741, Epping was granted a charter and incorporated as a town. It was the last New Hampshire town chartered by Governor Jonathan Belcher before the Province of New Hampshire was granted a governor who did not also govern the neighboring Province of Massachusetts Bay. Epping was named for Epping in England.

Through the 1800s, farming was a principal occupation in Epping. The town also had substantial reserves of clay, long used by local residents to make bricks, and in 1840, the first commercial brickyard was established in Epping.

The village once known as East Epping gave birth in 1863 to a Methodist camp called Camp Hedding.{{Cite web

Epping was once an important junction of the Worcester, Nashua & Rochester Railroad and the Portsmouth & Concord Railroad, later both part of the Boston & Maine Railroad. The north-south WN&R line through town was abandoned in 1932, with a short segment remaining in place south to Fremont to serve a lumber yard and barrel manufacturer located there. This left the east-west Portsmouth Branch between Manchester and Portsmouth as Epping's only access to the national rail network.

Passenger service on the Portsmouth Branch ceased in 1954, although mixed-train service continued until 1960. A regular freight running from Concord to Portsmouth and return served Epping until 1972, after which a local freight out of Concord served the branch as needed, usually once or twice a week and often not passing beyond Epping where the last concentration of customers was located. Customers in Epping at this time included the Merrimack Farmers Exchange and the W.S. Goodrich brickyard. Occasional hi-and-wide freight movements operated over the Portsmouth Branch in the 1970s due to the lack of close clearance points, with several carrying materials destined to the under-construction Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant. Declining track conditions led to the B&M embargoing the branch in December 1979, with the last trains operating to Epping earlier that year and the final train to Raymond following in July 1980 despite the embargo. The Boston & Maine abandoned the track from East Manchester to Newfields in 1982, and the rail was removed in Epping between 1983 and 1985. The railroad beds are now the Rockingham Recreational Trail. Abutments for the WN&R bridge over the Lamprey River can be seen to the west of Route 125.

Geography

A chronic quip about "Epping—the center of the universe" remains visible on bumper stickers.{{Cite web

The town also has a traditional center clustered around Main Street and Route 27, an older road connecting Exeter with Hooksett and Manchester. These parts of town retain their traditional architecture.

The area on Route 27 near the Raymond border is known as West Epping.

The town has a total area of 67.9 km2, of which 67.4 km2 are land and 0.5 km2 are water, comprising 0.70% of the town. Epping is drained by the Lamprey and Piscassic rivers. The highest point in Epping is Kennard Hill at 472 ft above sea level, located in the town's northwest corner. Epping lies fully within the Piscataqua River (Coastal) watershed.

The town center, defined as the Epping census-designated place (CDP), has a total area of 2.7 sqmi, all land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Epping has a warm-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Epping was 100 F on August 2, 1975, while the coldest temperature recorded was -29 F on February 3, 1971.

|Jan record high F = 69 |Feb record high F = 75 |Mar record high F = 89 |Apr record high F = 92 |May record high F = 94 |Jun record high F = 96 |Jul record high F = 99 |Aug record high F = 100 |Sep record high F = 95 |Oct record high F = 85 |Nov record high F = 78 |Dec record high F = 76

|Jan avg record high F = 54.0 |Feb avg record high F = 56.3 |Mar avg record high F = 66.0 |Apr avg record high F = 80.4 |May avg record high F = 88.2 |Jun avg record high F = 91.6 |Jul avg record high F = 92.9 |Aug avg record high F = 91.5 |Sep avg record high F = 88.1 |Oct avg record high F = 78.4 |Nov avg record high F = 68.9 |Dec avg record high F = 57.9 |year avg record high F = 94.9

|Jan avg record low F = -6.2 |Feb avg record low F = -4.1 |Mar avg record low F = 3.7 |Apr avg record low F = 22.0 |May avg record low F = 30.3 |Jun avg record low F = 40.5 |Jul avg record low F = 48.6 |Aug avg record low F = 46.2 |Sep avg record low F = 33.4 |Oct avg record low F = 24.5 |Nov avg record low F = 14.6 |Dec avg record low F = 2.7 |year avg record low F = -9.7

|Jan record low F = -28 |Feb record low F = -29 |Mar record low F = -11 |Apr record low F = 8 |May record low F = 18 |Jun record low F = 32 |Jul record low F = 37 |Aug record low F = 30 |Sep record low F = 21 |Oct record low F = 12 |Nov record low F = -5 |Dec record low F = -22

|Jan snow depth inch = 11.2 |Feb snow depth inch = 12.2 |Mar snow depth inch = 12.3 |Apr snow depth inch = 2.6 |May snow depth inch = 0.0 |Jun snow depth inch = 0.0 |Jul snow depth inch = 0.0 |Aug snow depth inch = 0.0 |Sep snow depth inch = 0.0 |Oct snow depth inch = 0.2 |Nov snow depth inch = 1.3 |Dec snow depth inch = 8.1 |year snow depth inch = 17.2

|access-date = February 9, 2023 |access-date = February 9, 2023

Adjacent municipalities

• Lee (northeast)
• Newmarket (east)
• Newfields (east)
• Exeter (southeast)
• Brentwood (southeast)
• Fremont (southwest)
• Raymond (west)
• Nottingham (northwest)

Culture

There are two auto racing venues in Epping. New England Dragway, New England's only quarter-mile track, runs races Wednesday and Friday nights and all day on the weekends, including the IHRA Amalie Oil North American Nationals and, since 2013, the NHRA New England Nationals. The dragway hosts a popular Halloween display during the second half of October. Star Speedway is a NASCAR stock-car oval operating on Saturdays.

An annual canoe race down the Lamprey River occurs on the last weekend in April. Camp Hedding hosts an annual camp meeting for one week in August and an "olde time fair" on the first Saturday of August every year.

Epping has two annual parades, the memorial parade and the Christmas parade. The memorial parade usually includes youth sports teams, scouts, the combined middle and high school marching band, the fire department, police department, and veterans. The Christmas parade includes a few fire trucks and police cars that go around town with a Santa Claus character and his elves throwing candy to any children who are outside.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,411 people, 2,466 households, and 1,768 families residing in the town. There were 2,723 housing units, of which 257, or 9.4%, were vacant. The racial makeup of the town was 96.2% white, 0.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.03% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.3% some other race, and 1.6% from two or more races. 1.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,466 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were headed by married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60, and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town, 22.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.6% were from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 30.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $77,750, and the median income for a family was $86,886. Male full-time workers had a median income of $66,330 versus $47,538 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,982. 6.3% of the population and 3.3% of families were below the poverty line. 12.1% of the population under the age of 18 and 1.5% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.

Notable people

The men who inspired the town nickname of "Home of Three Governors" are the following:

• William Plumer (1759–1850), US senator; 11th and 13th governor of New Hampshire (1812–1813 / 1816–1819)
• David L. Morril (1772–1849), US senator; 16th governor of New Hampshire (1824–1827)
• Benjamin Franklin Prescott (1833–1895), 36th governor of New Hampshire (1877–1879)

Plumer and Prescott roads honor two of the governors.

· Only people who already have a Wikipedia article may appear here. This establishes notability. · The article must mention how they are associated with Epping, whether born, raised, or residing. · The fact of their association should have a reliable source cited. · Alphabetical by last name please. · All others will be deleted.

Other notable residents include:

• Kerry Bascom (born 1969), forward and coach with the University of Connecticut women's basketball team
• Carl Stearns Clancy (1890–1971), first person to circumnavigate the globe on a motorcycle
• Henry Dearborn (1751–1829), Revolutionary War officer and US Secretary of War
• Sheila LaBarre (born 1958), convicted murderer
• B. G. Plumer (1830–1886), businessman, farmer, politician
• Daniel L. Plumer (1837–1920), Wisconsin politician and businessman

References

References

1. "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files – New Hampshire". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Epping town, Rockingham County, New Hampshire: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau.
3. United States Census Bureau, [https://www.census.gov U.S. Census website], 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
4. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". Govt. Print. Off..
5. "Abandonment Notices".
6. {{Cite gnis. 871296. West Epping
7. "Epping NH - Community Profile". State of New Hampshire.
8. Foster, Debra H.. (1995). "Water Use in New Hampshire: An Activities Guide for Teachers". U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Geological Survey.
9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
10. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (DP-1): Epping town, Rockingham County, New Hampshire". U.S. Census Bureau.
11. "Selected Economic Characteristics: 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (DP03): Epping town, Rockingham County, New Hampshire". U.S. Census Bureau.