Danbury is a town located in central New Hampshire in the Dartmouth/Sunapee region of the state. It is situated in Northern Merrimack County and encompasses a total area of 37.7 square miles, only .2 of which is water. As of the 2010 United States Census, Danbury was home to 1,164 people.
The land that comprises Danbury was first settled in 1771, though it was a part of the nearby town of Alexandria at the time. In 1795, the area was separated and incorporated as its own town, taking its name from the Connecticut town of the same moniker. In its early years, Danbury was primarily a farming town, but as population grew, the town saw the up crop of many successful mills, including seven sawmills, two shingle mills, two clapboard mills and more. In 1874, the town was transferred from Grafton County to Merrimack County, where it still sits today.
Less than 1 percent of Danbury’s total area is made up of water. The town includes parts of Smith River, Waukeena Lake, School Pond and Bog Pond, and it lies totally within the Merrimack River watershed. It highest point lies at Tinkham Hill, where elevation reaches 2,320 feet above sea level. Danbury is also home to Ragged Mountain, the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Hiking Trail, Ridge Trail and more.
Danbury is governed by an elected Board of Selectmen. The town boasts a part-time police department, a volunteer fire department and volunteer emergency medical services. Top employers in the area include Ragged Mountain Resort, Dick’s Village Store and William Wallace Prefab. Children in the area attend schools in the Newfound Area School District, which also serves the nearby towns of Alexandria, Bridgewater, Bristol, Groton, Hebron and New Hampton.
For entertainment and recreation, Danbury residents can enjoy the town’s various municipal parks, golf courses, youth organizations, fishing and hunting areas, snowmobile trails, bicycle trails and cross country skiing opportunities.