Canterbury

Web site: http://www.canterbury-nh.org

Population: 1,687 (1990); 1,979 (2000); 2,303 (2006)

Overview
First granted by Lieutenant Governor John Wentworth in 1727, the town was named for William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury. It was originally a militia timber fort and trading post of Capt. Jeremiah Clough located on a hill near Canterbury Center, where the Pennacook Indians came to trade. The town would be incorporated in 1741. There were several garrison houses or stockades in the area as late as 1758.

The biggest attraction in Canterbury is the Shaker Village, established in 1792. At its peak in the 1850s, over 300 people lived, worked and worshipped in 100 buildings on 4,000 acres (16 km²). They made their living by farming, selling seeds, herbs and herbal medicines; and by manufacturing textiles, pails, brooms and other products. The last resident, Sister Ethel Hudson, died in 1992, and the site is now a museum, founded in 1969, to preserve the heritage of the utopian sect. Canterbury Shaker Village is an internationally known, non-profit historic site with 25 original Shaker buildings, 4 reconstructed Shaker buildings and 694 acres (1.1 sq mi/2.8 km²) of forest, fields, gardens and mill ponds under permanent conservation easement.

Geography
Region: Merrimack Valley
County: Merrimack
Distance from:
o Manchester, NH: 30 miles
o Boston, MA: 82 miles
o New York, NY: 265 miles
o Montreal, Quebec: 255 miles

Town Hall
PO Box 500
Canterbury, NH 03224
Phone: 783-0153
Fax: 783-0501
Alternate Phone: 783-9955

Municipal Information
Government: Selectmen
Planning Board: Elected
Police Department: Full time
Fire Department: Not full time
Nearest Hospital: Concord in Concord (12 miles)

Election Districts
State House District: 35
State Senate District: 7
Executive Council District: 2
U.S. Congress House of Representatives District: 2

Schools
Canterbury Elementary School
15 Baptist Road, Canterbury NH 03224
Phone (603) 783-9944
Fax (603) 783-4981
http://ceselem.shaker.k12.nh.us/

Services

Canterbury Police Department
26 Baptist Rd
Canterbury, NH 03224
(603) 783-0433

Canterbury Volunteer Fire Department
453 Northwest Road
26 Baptist Road
Canterbury, NH 03224
603 783-4798
Fax: 603 783-8964

Elkins Public Library
1 Baptist Road; PO Box 300
Canterbury, NH 03224-0300
Phone: 603-783-4386

Utilities
Electric: PSNH; NH Elec.; Concord Elec.
Gas: Keyspan
Water Supplier: Private wells
Sanitation: Private septic
Curbside Trash Pickup: No
Telephone: Verizon
Cable television service: Yes