Formed January 1, 1823 (7th county)
Merrimack County (153,800), Concord (43,998)
The masonry building was built in 1857 and remodeled in 1907 and renovated in 1981. It is at Clinton Street at Princeton Street. New Hampshire State Highway 13 is Clinton Street in the part of the town. J. L. Foster provided the courthouse designs. An Administration building was added in 1974. There is a 1991 District Courthouse in Concord and an augmenting courthouse in Franklin. A new courthouse is under construction in 2019. The New Hampshire state capitol is located in this county. Franklin Pierce, the 14th President, is buried in this county. The county looks like a vase tipping northwest. Merrimack County was created on January 1, 1823 from Hillsborough and Rockingham counties as the 7th county. Concord has always been the county seat. The county is named for the Merrimack River. The county seat is named for the settled agreement of the border dispute between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Merrimack County was the birthplace for 9 New Hampshire Governors, Matthew Harvey, Anthony Colby, Noah Martin, Nathaniel Baker, Walter Harriman, Ezekiel A. Straw, Nathaniel Head, Moody Currier, and Frank W. Rollins.
Merrimack County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, and a clerk (executive). It has 3 Commissioners and 45 Delegates (legislative.) Twelve Circuit Court Judges serve Merrimack County (judicial.) Merrimack County is in the south central part of the state. Manchester, New Hampshire is south and Portland, Maine is east of the county. The county center is 11.3 miles Northwest of Concord nearer Boscawen. The county is surrounded clockwise by Belknap, Strafford, Rockingham, Hillsborough, Sullivan, and Grafton counties. Concord is in the southeast quarter of the county. Concord is the county seat and the largest city. It is 28.6% of the county population. The county is pronounced MER-RI-MAK.
The area of the county is 934 square miles. It is 4 out of 10 in the state. It ranks 3 out of 10 in population in the state. It has a density of 164.7 persons per square mile making it 4 out of 10 in the state. Merrimack County has 34.3% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 89 originates in the county and goes northwest into Sullivan County. Interstate Highway 93 crosses north to south from Belknap County to Hillsborough County. United States Highway 3 parallels Interstate Highway 93 from Belknap to Hillsborough counties. United States Highway 4 enters from the east, Rockingham County, and exits to the west, Grafton County. United States Highway 202 is joined with United States Highway 4 from Rockingham County, splits and goes southwest into Hillsborough County. This county is in the Concord Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Concord
Franklin
