History of Pembroke NH - Rivers, People, and Industry
Brief History of Pembroke
Geologically Pembroke has been blessed with several ancient floodplains which form the basis of important agricultural soils. Most importantly are the areas next to Buck Street/Suncook River and the Merrimack River. The flat areas along Pembroke Street and Fourth Range Road are also evidence of glacial activity. At the edges of Northwest along the Soucook River the Pine Barrens dominated and have been attractive to commercial development as well as home to the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly.
Like most of New Hampshire, the first human inhabitants were Native Americans, likely Abenaki and Pennacook people. Evidence suggests that the area around White Sands Conservation Area was a gathering place as it was a prominent clearing along the Merrimack River. Plausawa Hill in North Pembroke was named for it's inhabitant who occupied that site until clashes with white settlers.
In Pembroke's early Colonial history, the first white inhabitants of Pembroke were the survivors and descendants of the followers of Captain John Lovell. They fought and died near Conway NH in the French and Indian War in 1725. The first land grant to them was issued in 1728 by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but it appears that in 1727 the state of New Hampshire had granted part of the area to the Town of Bow. One of Captain Lovell’s soldiers, Francis Doyen, became the first white inhabitants to winter over in town in an area which is now off of Whittemore Road next to the Golf Course. The controversy was settled by King and Council provided that those who had already settled in Suncook and Buck Street continue without issue.
The followers of Captain Lovell, originally from Dunstable Massachusetts, favored the Congregational (then known as Puritan) Church and built a meeting house in 1733. In 1736 they called the Reverend Aaron Whittemore to the pulpit where he was known to preach the popular “Fire and Brimstone” sermons of the day. For a time the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians protested paying dues to a church they did not follow and built their own structure on what is now Town Hall. Eventually they joined forces with the Congregationalists realizing that they were more alike than different.
The New Hampshire Legislature formally granted the area in 1759. Governor Wentworth had the habit of naming towns after friends and men of influence in England. Hence, our town is named after the Earl of Pembroke who had been one of Wentworth’s supporters, and it is likely that the Earl never had anything else to do with our fine town after that. The previous Native American name of Suncook became known for the village that grew around the confluence of the Suncook and Merrimack rivers and which became the industrial hub of the town in the 19th and 20th centuries.
After 1760 log cabins gave way to frame houses, the oldest of which are believed to be by Meetinghouse Brook (recently renovated) and at the top of Whittemore Road (former home of Janet Anderson). Perhaps the finest house built in 1780 was the “Kimball Tavern” which boasts two chimneys, two stories, and attic as well as a cellar with double walls for insulation. The Whittemore Homestead and the Peaslee House (now Pembroke Water Works) were built in a similar manner in the early 19th century.
Many men participated in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars from Pembroke. In 1777 Major Caleb Stark, son of General John Stark, called up the 11th NH Militia Regiment, also known as Stickney’s Regiment, in Pembroke NH. From there they participated in reinforcing Fort Ticonderoga and the Battle of Bennington, among other endeavors. Thomas Wallace Knox was a well known Civil War correspondent, known for questioning General Sherman’s sanity and later for a popular series of books, The Boy Traveler, based on his international travel with several telegraph companies. Pembroke Park, at the junction of Pembroke Street and Broadway, was established in the memory of those who fought in the Civil War and did not return.
Like many small New Hampshire towns, Pembroke lost productive members and working farms to the siren call of western farming in the late 1800’s. Range Roads, which were first established to serve residents in all areas of town, largely stopped being kept up by the town in the 1950’s due to a fall in population. However, their usefulness in recreation and for maintaining timber lots has kept their usage rates high. With the introduction of the automobile Pembroke has become a convenient commuting town to both Concord and points south with attractive schools and a rural lifestyle.
Map of Pembroke, New Hampshire 1892