Candia is a town located in Southeastern New Hampshire in the Merrimack Valley region of the state. It is situated in the Western part of Rockingham County and encompasses a total area of 30.6 square miles, only .2 of which is water. As of the 2010 United States Census, Candia was home to 3,909 people.
The land that comprises Candia was originally a part of Chester, known as Charmingfare. It was first settled in 1743, though the area wasn’t incorporated as its own town until two decades later, in 1763. At the time of its incorporated, Governor Benning Wentworth changed Charmingfare’s name to Candia, after the city in Crete he once visited.
Less than 1 percent of Candia’s total area is made up of water. The town is home to parts of the North Branch River and Lamprey River, and it lies completely within the Piscataqua watershed. Its highest point lies at Hall Mountain, where the elevation reaches 941 feet above sea level. Portions of Bear Brook state Park also run through the town.
Candia 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. Top employers in the area include High Speed Technologies, Action Equipment, Severino Construction, Car World, Swain Plumbing & Heating, Precision Auto Body and Liquid Planet Water Park. Children in the area attend the Henry W. Moore School for grades kindergarten through eighth grade and go to Jesse Remington High School for grades nine through 12.
For recreation and entertainment, Candia residents can take advantage of the town’s various municipal parks, golf courses, swimming pools, museums, youth organizations, youth sports leagues, fishing and hunting areas, snowmobile trails and bicycle trails.