Manchester is a city located in Southern New Hampshire in the Merrimack Valley region of the state. It is situated in the Easter part of Hillsborough County and encompasses a total are of 34.9 square miles. As of the 2012 United States Census, Manchester was home to 110,209 people, making it the largest city in the state of New Hampshire and the 10th largest city in all of New England.
The land that comprises Manchester was first known as “Harrytown.” It was later granted as Tyng’s Town to veterans of the Queen Anne’s War in 1735 and incorporated as Derryfield in 1751. It wasn?t until 1810 that the town took on the name “Manchester,” at the suggestion of notable resident Samuel Blodgett. Manchester was eventually incorporated as a city in 1846.
Over the years, the city has seen much growth. In 1998, it was named the Number One Small City in the East by Money Magazine and, in 1999, No. 13 on CNN Money’s 100 best U.S. cities to live and launch a business in. Forbes Magazine also named it one of America’s 100 cheapest places to live in 2009.
More than 5 percent of Manchester’s total area is made up of water. The city is home to parts of the Merrimack River, Piscataquog River, Cohas Brook and Massabesic Lake. Its highest point lies at Wellington Hill, where elevation reaches 570 feet above sea level. Over the years, Manchester has been called home by many notable people, including: comedians Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman and Seth Meyers; cartoonists Bob Montana and Yu-San Moon; U.S. Congressmen Louis C. Wyman, Alphonse Roy, Eugene Elliott Reed, and Sherman Everett Burroughs; U.S. Senators Henry E. Burnham, Daniel Clark and Charles William Tobey; and athletes Chris Carpenter, Steve Balboni, Mike Flanagan, Chip Kelly and Sherman White.
Manchester is governed by an elected mayor and board of aldermen. The city boasts a full-time police department, a municipal fire department and municipal emergency medical services. Top employers in the area include Elliott Hospital, Catholic Medical Center, Southern New Hampshire University, PSNH, Fairpoint Communications and TD Bank. Children in Manchester attend schools in the Manchester School District.