Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,494 at the 2010 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire. In 2013, Merrimack was named the twenty-third best place to live in the United States by CNN Money Magazine.There are four villages in the town: Merrimack Village (formerly known as Souhegan Village), Thorntons Ferry, Reeds Ferry, and South Merrimack.HistoryThe first known settlers of the area currently known as Merrimack appeared sometime after the last ice age. European settlers first came to the area in the late 17th century when the area was still in dispute between the Province of New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bay Colony.Merrimack is a Native American term meaning sturgeon, a type of fish. The Pennacook Indians named the Merrimack River after this fish because of the vast population that once existed there. The Penacooks spelled it Monnomoke or Merramake. "When the town was incorporated, it took the name of the river and spelled it Merrymac.", according to the Merrimack Historical Society.Merrimack was officially incorporated in 1746, a year largely regarded as Merrimack's birthday, although only the southern portion (primarily what is known as Thornton's Ferry) of the current boundaries of town was included in the original town, with the northern portion of what is now Merrimack (primarily what is known as Reeds Ferry) being added a few years later.
