Aktinson NH Historical Society

The Town of Atkinson, NH

Atkinson has a rich history, dating back to before the American Revolution. The town was part of a tract of land purchased from the Indians by settlers of Haverhill, MA on November 15, 1642. The first settlements were made in 1728 by Benjamin Richards of Rochester and Johathan and Edmund Page and John Dow of Haverhill.

Set off from Plaistow on Septempber 23, 1767, Atkinson was named for Colonel Theodore Atkinson. Col. Atkinson had been a commander of some renown durning the French and Indian wars and served as collector of customs at Portsmouth. In 1748, he was appointed Secretary of the New Hampshire Colony, a position he received through his uncle, Benning Wentworth, then governor of the colony. Although he never actually lived in Atkinson, his estate, located on Providence Hill Road, was known as the Atkinson Farm. The farm was attended by a caretaker who annually sent the Colonel a wild turkey as his payment of rent.

Colonel Atkinson served as secretary of the colony until the Revolution, and was on of the Masonian Proprietors who parceled out New Hampshire lands to over 30,000 settlers. Colonel Atkinson bequested funds to establish Atkinson Academy, incorporated in 1787. In 1809, the state granted 13,000 acres of land in Coos County to the Academy, in unincorporated place now know as Atkinson & Gilmarnton Academy Grant.

Atkinson Academy, the second oldest co-educational school in the country, was founded as a boys' school in 1787 by Reverend Stephen Peabody, General Nathaniel Peabody and Doctor William Cogswell; it began admitting girls in 1791. The school building burned to the ground in 1802, and was rebuilt in 1803 at a cost of $2,500. That building remains a part of the Academy, with only four classrooms. Other historic buildings, such as the Kimball House and Rockwell School (current police station) grace this southern New Hampshire town.

Relatives of former President John Quincy Adams live in Atkinson, along with famous politicians and businessmen.