Salisbury is a town located in central New Hampshire in the Merrimack Valley region of the state. It is situated in the Northern part of Merrimack County and encompasses a total area of 40.2 square miles, .3 of which is water. As of the 2010 United States Census, Salisbury was home to 1,382 people.
The land that comprises current-day Salisbury was first incorporated as Baker’s Town, while still a part of Massachusetts. When the official border between New Hampshire and Massachusetts was set in 1741, the area then lay on New Hampshire land. It was regranted in 1749 by Masonian proprietors and given the name Stevenstown. Settlement began immediately, and the area?s name was changed several more times, first to Gerrishtown, then to New Salisbury and, finally, to just Salisbury when it was incorporated in 1768.
Less than 1 percent of Salisbury’s total area is made up water. The town includes Blackwater River and lies within the Merrimack River watershed. Its highest point is at Mount Kearsarge, where elevation reaches 1,910 feet above sea level. Over the years, a number of notable people have called Salisbury home, including U.S. Congressman Ichabod Bartlett, former Governor of Vermont Samuel E. Pingree, former Governor of New Hampshire Ezekial A. Straw and former U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster.
Salisbury is governed by an elected Board of Selectmen. The town boasts a full-time police department, a volunteer fire department and volunteer emergency medical services. Children in the area attend schools in the Merrimack Valley Regional School District, which also serves the nearby areas of Boscawen, Loudon, Penacook and Webster. For recreation and entertainment, Salisbury residents can take advantage of the town’s sports leagues, fishing and hunting areas, snowmobile trails and cross country skiing. The town is also located within close proximity of the Ragged Mountain ski resort.