Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 33,109 at the 2010 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the fourth most-populous community in the state. The town's nickname, "Spacetown", derives from the fact that Derry is the birthplace of Alan Shepard, the first astronaut from the United States in space. Derry was also for a time the home of the poet Robert Frost and his family.The primary settlement in town, where 22,015 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Derry census-designated place (CDP) and includes the densely populated portions of the town centered on the intersection of New Hampshire Route 28 and New Hampshire Route 102.HistoryAlthough it was first settled by Scots-Irish families in 1719, Derry was not incorporated until 1827. It was originally a part of Londonderry, as was Windham and portions of Manchester, Salem and Hudson. The town was named after the city of Derry in Ireland, the Irish word "Doire" meaning "oak woods." The first potato planted in the United States was planted here in 1719. The town is the location of two of America's oldest private schools, Pinkerton Academy, founded in 1814 and still in operation, and the closed Adams Female Seminary.
