Boscawen is a town located in central New Hampshire in the Merrimack Valley region of the state. It is situated in central Merrimack County and encompasses a total area of 25.4 square miles, .7 of which is water. As of the 2010 United States Census, Boscawen was home to 3,965 people.
The land that comprises Boscawen was first granted to a group of settlers from Newbury, Massachusetts in 1733. At that point in time, it was known as Contoocook Plantation. In 1760, Governor Benning Wentworth incorporated it as a town, naming it after British admiral Edward Boscawen. In its early years, the town was primarily a milling area, boasting cotton mills, sawmills, gristmills and more.
Less than 3 percent of Boscawen’s total area is made up of water. The town includes the Merrimack River and Contoocook River, and its highest point lies at a summit in Raleigh Farm, where elevation reaches 930 feet above sea level. Over the years, Boscawen has been called home by many notable people, including former New York Governor John Adams Dix, U.S. Senator William P. Fessenden, U.S. Congressman Bradford N. Stevens and former Secretary of State Daniel Webster.
Boscawen is governed by an elected Board of Selectmen. The town boasts a full-time police department, a volunteer fire department and private, part-time and volunteer emergency medical services. Top employers in the area include Merrimack County Nursing Home & Jail, Elektrisola Inc., National Lumber, Ross Express, Alan’s Restaurant, KSD, Colby Lumber Company, Town of Boscawen and All States Asphalt.
Children in the area attend schools in the Merrimack Valley Regional School District, which also serves the nearby towns of Loudon, Penacook, Salisbury and Webster. For entertainment and recreation, Boscawen residents can take advantage of the town’s municipal parks, tennis courts, youth organizations, sports leagues, fishing and hunting areas and snowmobile and bicycle trails.