Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua, New Hampshire | |
|---|---|
| Nickname: Gate City | |
| Location in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Location in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire | |
| Counties | Hillsborough County |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bernard A. Streeter (Rep) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 86,605 (city proper) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| Website | www.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.
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. 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.
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
Nashua is located at 42°45′4″N 71°28′51″W / 42.75111°N 71.48083°W (42.751038, -71.480817)Template:GR. 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.
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 this 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
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.
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
| 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[1], with the Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry winning in all 9 wards of Nashua [2], Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate John Lynch winning in 6 of the 9 wards [3] 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[4] and a recall petition gathered against Mayor Streeter.[5] 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
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.
Education
According to the 2000 U.S Census[6], 22,700 residents over age three currently are enrolled in a Nashua educational institution, approximately a fourth of the city.
In 2004, Nashua's high school, one of the largest in New Hampshire, split off into a new high school known as Nashua High School North. North is located on Broad Street, just across the Nashua River from the old or "South" high school off Exit 5.
Nashua is currently experiencing an education-funding crisis. Mayor Bernie Streeter has mandated that each city department cut 5% from their budget. In order to do this the Nashua School District has had to consider either closing an elementary school, eliminating high school busing, closing the Alternative Middle School and/or cutting into special education and technical courses.
Nashua is also home to Daniel Webster College, one of the few places in the northeast which hosts an undergraduate program in aviation, which is largely because of its location next to Nashua's airstrip, Boire Field.
Colleges
Nashua is not generally considered a college town compared to nearby 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 split of the two schools has caused an increase in athletic choice but a sudden decrease in athletic success. The once powerful Nashua High teams have split up, leaving them more vulnerable.
The city is also home to Bishop Guertin High School (home of the "Cardinals"), a private, coeducational Catholic high school.
Currently there are 4,486 students enrolled in the Nashua High School system, according to the 2000 US Census.
===Middle schools===
Elementary schools
- Amherst Street
- Birch Hill
- Bicentennial
- Broad Street
- Charlotte Avenue
- Dr. Crisp
Near The Entrance of Bicentennial Elementary School - Fairgrounds (Elem.)
- Infant Jesus
- Ledge Street
- Main Dunstable
- Mount Pleasant
- New Searles
- Saint Christopher
- Sunset Heights
Media
The city has a daily newspaper, the Telegraph of Nashua, 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 (ESPN Radio). Another radio station, WSMN 1590 AM ("the Tiger"), went dark in January 2005. Longtime FM station WHOB 106.3 FM moved to Hooksett, New Hampshire, after changing owners in 2004.
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 was decreased somewhat 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' Ice 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[7], who compete within the Great Northeast Athletic Conference or "GNAC", and Rivier College Raiders, who also compete in the GNAC.
The city also has an active running club known as the Gate City Striders.
Other
The Division II DCI drum and bugle corps The Spartans are based in Nashua. [8]
Transportation
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.
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 actually been built, and it is unknown whether the highway will ever be completed. If finished, the Nashua-Hudson Circumferential Highway would be part of the Everett Turnpike [9], and would rejoin the mainline highway at a hypothetical Exit 9 in northern Nashua.
Famous residents, past and present
Nashua is the birthplace of professional wrestler Triple H, pop singer Mandy Moore, and football player Greg Landry.
Actor Mike O'Malley is a graduate of Bishop Guertin High School.
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
See also
- Citizens Action for Southern New Hampshire
- Mine Falls Park
- John Lovewell (Junior)
- Nashua Corporation
External links
- City of Nashua Official Web Site
- Nashua History Official Web Site
- Nashua Regional Planning Commission
- New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
- Daniel Webster College Website
- Rivier College Website
- Ionel's Nashua regional links
- Lowell Line Extension
- Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter
- Harbor Homes Inc.
- Haunted Gilson Road Cemetery - Nashua's famous haunted cemetery
- Nashua Regional Planning Committee document on the Circumferential Highway
