Hillsborough County

County Seats: Manchester and Nashua.

History: Hillsborough County was organized on May 6, 1771 and named in honor of Will Hill, the Earl of Hillsborough. The county has the largest population in the state with 401,291 residents, as of 2005, nearly half of whom live in Manchester and Nashua. There are 29 other towns throughout the county, ranging in population from 200 to 22,000.

Manchester is the county and state’s largest city.  During the 1800s it was known as the textile capital of the United States. The Amoskeag Mills at Amoskeag Falls on the Merrimack River employed 17,000 people and produced four million yards of cloth per week at its peak.

Nashua, the second largest city in the county and also the state, was the first inland town to be settled in New Hampshire.  Peterborough was the inspiration for and the site of the first performance of the play, Our Town, by Thornton Wilder. The town of Hillsborough was the birthplace of our 14th president, Franklin Pierce.

Dominant industries include manufacture and retail trade. Hillsborough County is the leading source of meals and rooms tax revenues for the state. Colleges in the county include the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, Daniel Webster College and Rivier College in Nashua, Southern New Hampshire University, Hesser College and Springfield College in Manchester and Saint Anselm College in Goffstown. Parks, such as Greenfield, Miller, Fox and Silver Lake State Parks and Beaver Brook and Shieling Forest offer outdoor recreation.  Cultural opportunities can be found at the internationally-acclaimed Currier Museum of Art, The Millyard Museum, the See Science Center and the Institute of Arts and Sciences in Manchester, and the Nashua Arts and Science Center.  The county also boasts several playhouses and theaters, among them, the Palace Theater in Manchester, the American Stage Festival in Nashua, Andy's Summer Playhouse and the Independent Film Festival in Wilton, the Peterborough Players, the Nashua Theater Guild and Nashua Summer Free Movies at Greeley Park.  Annual celebrations include the Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair at the 4H Youth Center in New Boston, the Amoskeag Fishways in Manchester, the Hillsboro Balloon Festival and the High Hopes Balloon Festival in Merrimack, and Pumpkin Festivals in Milford and Goffstown.  There are many ethnic festivals that take place throughout the year.  Hillsborough County is home to several semi-professional sports teams, including the Manchester Fisher Cats baseball, Monarchs ice hockey and Wolves arena football, and the Nashua Pride baseball.  The Verizon Wireless Arena (opened in November 2001) in Manchester is a premier convention center that hosts concerts, sports, trade shows and other events.