Derry, NH

Derry is located in Rockingham County and though it is still considered a “town” and not a city, it ranks fourth as the most populated communities in the state. Derry offers the benefits of living in a large town with the comfort of it feeling like a small community. It holds its place in history as the birthplace of Alan Shepard, the first American astronaut in space and served as home to poet Robert Frost for a period of time.

First settled by Scottish-Irish families in 1719, Derry was not incorporated until 1827. Derry developed as a textile industry town evolving into a quaint farming community until its post WWII population boom. With the town being in such close proximity to Boston and to Manchester and the construction of I-93 tracking through the community the population exploded. Growth has slowed a bit but it continues to be a popular place to the 34,318 people who call it home.

The most densely populated portions of the town are centered on the intersection of NH Route 28 and Route 102. Interstate 93 provides easy access to Manchester and points south, like Boston, which makes it an ideal commuting town.

Derry encompasses 35.6 square mile, and offers residents shopping convenience with its own Walmart, Shaw’s and Hannaford supermarkets.

It is an easy drive to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, which is the fourth largest airport in New England. It is the secondary airport serving Boston, Massachusetts, and is used by most of the nation's major airlines, with the largest market share held by Southwest Airlines.

Driving distance to select cities:

Concord, NH 28 miles
Portsmouth, NH 53 miles
Boston, Mass. 42 miles
Nashua, NH 12 miles
Manchester, NH 13 miles

Some points of interest include:

ADAMS MEMORIAL OPERA HOUSE: The historic and renovated Adams Memorial Opera House offers a variety of shows including Broadway musicals, plays, children’s theater, dance, concerts and fine art shows. Various local performing art groups hold their productions at the opera house.

ROBERT FROST FARM: The home of poet Robert Frost from 1900 to 1911, this house and land is a New Hampshire state park in use as a historic house museum. The property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the “Robert Frost Homestead.”

Police Department: Derry Police Department is lead by Chief Edward Garone and is made up of approximately 38 sworn patrol officers, nine detectives and an administrative, prosecution and executive department staffed with ranking officers. Patrol division provides service 24-hours a day.

Fire Department: Fire Chief George Klauber oversees a full-time Fire Department made up 88 employees. Emergency staff is on duty twenty-four hours per day.

The school system: The Derry Cooperative School District consists of five Elementary Schools: Ernest P. Barka Elementary School, Derry Village School, East Derry Memorial Elementary School, Grinnell Elementary School, South Range Elementary School. There are two Middle Schools: Gilbert H. Hood Middle School, West Running Brook Middle School.

And the district’s private school, Pinkerton Academy, serves as the high school for Derry, Chester, Hampstead and Auburn. Roughly 3,600 students attend the high school (grades 9 - 12) from the communities. The academy is a private non-profit corporation administered by a headmaster, who in turn acts under the direction of an elected twelve member Board of Trustees. But, in 1949 the academy entered into an agreement with the town of Derry, which marked a significant turning point in the school's history. As a result of the service agreement, Pinkerton educated all high school aged students who lived in Derry. The other towns in the district followed after 1962.

Colleges: An easy commute from Derry: University of NH, Durham, Hesser College – Manchester campus, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences -Manchester, NH Secondary Campus, New Hampshire Institute of Art (formerly called The Manchester Institute of Arts and Sciences), Southern New Hampshire University, located on the boundary between Manchester and Hooksett, University of New Hampshire at Manchester.