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Durham, NH
Community Contact Town of Durham
James Campbell, Director of Planning
15 Newmarket Road
Durham, NH 03824-2898

Telephone (603) 868-8064
Fax (603) 868-8033
E-mail jcampbell@ci.durham.nh.us
Web Site durham.verani.com

Municipal Office Hours Monday through Friday, 8 am - 5 pm

County Strafford
Labor Market Area Rochester-Dover NH-ME Metro-NECTA, NH Portion
Tourism Region Seacoast
Planning Commission Strafford Regional
Regional Development Southeast Economic Development Corp.

Election Districts  
US Congress
District 1
Executive Council
District 3
State Senate
District 21
State Representative
Strafford County District 7
Incorporated: 1732

Origin: Durham started as a parish of Dover called Oyster River Plantation, first settled in 1669. Durham was incorporated in 1732, probably to honor the first Puritan bishop, Richard Barnes, Bishop of Durham. Durham included what is now Lee until 1766, when that town was incorporated. Benjamin Thompson, descendent of an early settler, bequeathed the family estate, the Warner Farm, to be used for establishment of an agricultural college. The state agricultural school, originally set up in Hanover in 1866, was moved to Durham in 1890, becoming the University of New Hampshire in 1923.

Villages and Place Names: Oyster River

Population, Year of the First Census Taken: 1,247 residents in 1790

Population Trends: Population change for Durham, including resident students, totaled 7,914 over 50 years, from 4,770 in 1950 to 12,684 in 2000. The largest decennial percent change was a 61 percent increase between 1960 and 1970. The 2007 Census estimate for Durham was 13,684 residents, which ranked 19th among New Hampshire's incorporated cities and towns.

Population Density, 2007: 624.3 persons per square mile of land area. Durham contains 22.4 square miles of land area and 2.4 square miles of inland water area.
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