Location
Manchester is located in south-central New Hampshire along the Merrimack River, 20 miles from the Massachusetts border and 58 miles from Boston.
Location, location, location. Manchester, NH was rated #7 "Best Small City for Doing Business in America" (Inc. Magazine, 2005)(274 cities ranked)
Recent civic successes in Manchester are the Manchester Airport, the SNHU Arena, the many new restaurants, shops and clubs Downtown, the Fisher Cats ball park, and the adjacent hotel and condominiums.
Nickname
Manchester's nickname is the "Queen City". A state's queen city is the city with the largest population in the state but not the capital city of that state.
Climate
- Like most of New Hampshire, Manchester is a "four seasons" place.
- Average daily January temperature: 14.8 degrees F.
- Average daily July temperature: 70.0 degrees F.
History
- 1810 - Town of Derryfield named Manchester
- 1810 - Incorporation of Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, soon to become the world’s largest producer of textiles
- 1846 - Town of Manchester incorporated as City of Manchester
- 1922 - Nine month strike at Amoskeag Manufacturing Company over wages and hours
- 1935 - Amoskeag Manufacturing Company declares bankruptcy on Christmas Eve
- 1998 – Money Magazine names Manchester the "Number One Small City in the East"
Governance
A Mayor and 14 Aldermen, one from each of 12 wards and two at-large.
Population
- 107,006 (2000 Census)
- 1990-2000 Growth Rate 7.7%
- Largest city in northern New England
- #10 lowest percentage of a $75,000 family income paid in state and local taxes among the largest city in each State and the District of Columbia (Tax Foundation, 2005)
Ethnicity
- Caucasian: 95.67%
- Afro-American: 1.23%
- Other races: 3.10%
- Hispanic population: 5,994
- Number of languages spoken at home by children in Manchester schools: 70+
Area Colleges
Please see the Education page.
Nearest Airport
Manchester Airport -- non-stop service to over 15 cities in eastern and central US and Canada.
Major Highways
Interstates 93 and 293, F.E. Everett Turnpike, NH Routes 101, 3 and 3A.
Attractions
- The Currier Museum of Art, one of the country’s finest smaller art museums
- Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Zimmerman House
- Manchester Historic Association Millyard Museum
- New Hampshire Institute of Art, with changing exhibits in six galleries
- NH Fisher Cats Baseball Stadium, home of the 2004 Eastern League Champion NH Fisher Cats
- Palace Theater, home to the NH Symphony and the Opera League of NH
- SNHU Arena, 10,000-seat civic arena.
- Massabesic Audubon Center and Lake Massabesic
- Amoskeag Fishways Learning and Visitors Center
- SEE Science Center and US FIRST
- Derryfield Country Club an 18 hole municipal golf course
- McIntyre Ski Area offers snow tubing, and is lighted for night skiing.
- Fore more attractions, please see the Recreation page.
Famous For...
- Brigadier General John Stark; his accomplishments include a pivotal victory at the Battle of Bennington during the American Revolutionary War and writing the words “Live Free or Die” in 1809 which later became New Hampshire’s state motto. The Stark Homestead, located on Elm Street, is Manchester’s oldest building and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Once home of the world’s largest textile manufacturing complex along the Merrimack River, the revitalized mill buildings are now central to thriving downtown development
- First credit union in the U.S. – La Caisse Populaire Ste-Marie (now St. Mary’s Bank)
- City Hall Plaza, the tallest building in northern New England
- The Zimmerman House, the only house in New England designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that is
open to the public
- Birthplace of Grace Metalious, author of Peyton Place
- Home to DEKA Research and Development, founded by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway Human Transporter