Danbury, New Hampshire | |
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Town | |
George Gamble Library c. 1912
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Location in Merrimack County and the state of New Hampshire. |
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Coordinates: 43°31′33″N 71°51′48″W / 43.52583°N 71.86333°WCoordinates: 43°31′33″N 71°51′48″W / 43.52583°N 71.86333°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New Hampshire |
County | Merrimack |
Incorporated | 1795 |
Government | |
• Board of Selectmen | Lyn H. England, Chair James D. Phelps Jessica L. Hatch |
Area | |
• Total | 37.7 sq mi (97.7 km2) |
• Land | 37.5 sq mi (97.0 km2) |
• Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2) 0.74% |
Elevation | 825 ft (251 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 1,164 |
• Density | 31/sq mi (12/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 03230 |
Area code(s) | 603 |
FIPS code | 33-16980 |
GNIS feature ID | 0873574 |
Website | www.townofdanburynh.com |
Danbury is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,164 at the 2010 census.
It was first settled about 1771 as a part of Alexandria, but mountainous terrain separated it from the rest of the town. In 1795, it was set off and incorporated, the name suggested by a settler from Danbury, Connecticut. The town later grew by adding land from Wilmot and Hill. Farmers found the surface mostly hilly, but with some good intervales suitable for agriculture. Raising cattle and sheep became the principal occupation. By 1859, when the population was 934, it had seven sawmills, two shingle, lath and clapboard mills, and one tannery.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 37.7 square miles (98 km2), of which 37.5 sq mi (97 km2) is land and 0.3 sq mi (0.78 km2) is water, comprising 0.74% of the town.
The town is drained by the Smith River and lies fully within the Merrimack River watershed. Waukeena Lake, School Pond, and Bog Pond are a few of the bodies of water within the town limits.
The highest point in Danbury is the summit of Tinkham Hill, at 2,320 feet (710 m) above sea level, in the northern part of town. Ragged Mountain is a prominent mountain with multiple summits which occupies the southern portion of town and has a ski area of the same name; the elevation of the Danbury summit of Ragged is 2,225 ft (678 m) above sea level. The Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway hiking trail crosses a corner of Danbury along Ragged Mountain's Ridge Trail. Access to the Ridge Trail from the SRK Greenway is on the SRKG 6.1 mile trail section 9, either from trailhead parking on New Canada Road in Wilmot from the northwest or from Proctor Academy's trailhead parking in Andover from the southeast.