Concord, NH

Concord is both New Hampshire’s capital and the seat of Merrimack County. The State House, completed in 1819, remains the country’s oldest state capitol in which legislators meet in the original chambers. Concord had 43,976 residents in 2020. European settlers established Penacook there in 1659, using a name derived from an Abenaki word for “bend in the river”; Governor Benning Wentworth renamed the community Concord in 1765 after a boundary dispute with Bow was resolved. The Merrimack River runs northwest to southeast through the city, while Penacook Lake in the west is its largest lake and main water source. Institutions include the University of New Hampshire School of Law, NHTI, St. Paul’s School, and the state police and fire academies.