Salem

Web site: http://www.ci.salem.nh.us

Population: 25,746 (1990); 28,112 (2000); 29,580 (2006)

Overview

The area was first settled in 1652. As early as 1736, Salem was the "North Parish" of Methuen, Massachusetts, or "Methuen District." In 1741, when the boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire was re-established, the "North Parish" became part of New Hampshire, and was given the name "Salem," taken from nearby Salem, Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1750 by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth.

In 1902, Canobie Lake Park was established in Salem by the Massachusetts Northeast Street Railway Company, to encourage leisure excursions on its trolleys. The plan was successful, and the enterprise quickly became one of the leading resorts of its type in New England. Crowds arrived from all over, including the nearby mill towns of Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell and Methuen in Massachusetts, and Manchester and Nashua in New Hampshire. Factory workers and others found respite strolling along tree-lined promenades, between flower-beds or beside the lake. Rides, arcades and a dance hall provided lively entertainments. The rise of the automobile, however, brought the decline of the trolley. But Canobie Lake Park, one of the few former street railway amusement resorts still in existence, continues to be popular.

Other features of Salem's tourism history include Rockingham Park Race Track, the first horse race track in New England, and "America's Stonehenge", a curiosity (formerly "Mystery Hill.") A recent attraction in town is the Icenter, a skating arena. The Church of Spiritual Life, a Spiritualist Church, meets at the town Masonic Hall.

Starting in the 1950s, Salem developed rapidly as part of Greater Boston, with suburban-style residential neighborhoods and a long strip of commercial development along NH Route 28. Recent (c. 2006) commercial construction has continued to focus on Route 28, as well as on the commercial zone off Exit 2 on Interstate 93.

Services
Salem Fire Department
Salem Fire Department Headquarters
152 Main Street
Salem, NH 03079
Non-Emergency: (603) 890-2200

Salem Police Department
9 Veterans Memorial Parkway
Salem, NH 03079
Main Telephone: (603) 893-1911
Main Fax: (603) 894-4861

Kelley Library
234 Main Street
Salem NH 03079
Phone: (603) 898-7064
email: kelleylb@salem.lib.nh.us
http://www.salem.lib.nh.us/

Utilities
Electric: Granite State
Gas: Northern Utilities
Water Supplier: Salem Water Dept.
Sanitation: Municipal
Curbside Trash Pickup: No
Telephone: Verizon
Cable television service: Yes