The village is named after the Contoocook River that runs through it. The name Contoocook comes from the Pennacook tribe of Native Americans and perhaps means "place of the river near pines". Other variations of the name include the Abenaki meaning "nut trees river" or Natick language meaning "small plantation at the river". In previous centuries the area was known as "Contoocookville". It is the birthplace of Civil War naval officer George H. Perkins. His daughter Isabel Weld Perkins and his son-in-law Larz Anderson maintained Perkins Manor as one of several summer homes.
In describing the approach to Perkins Manor one commentator writes:
Passages that mention Contoocook, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Henniker, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, from the date of the Canada grant by the province of Massachusetts, in 1735, to 18801880 · page 373Read the page →
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workmen. Mr. Whitney built the present covered bridge at West Henniker, and, in company with Button Woods, built all the bridges upon the line of the Concord & Claremont and Contoocook Valley Railroads. They constructed bridges for many years, when Mr. Whitney retired from the busi-
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History of the town of Henniker, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, from the date of the Canada grant by the province of Massachusetts, in 1735, to 18801880 · page 431Read the page →
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Windham on horseback, and carry a child in her arms ; and only last year she rode to Grantham, a distance of twentyseven miles, to visit her son. In early life she used frequently to ferry people across the Contoocook river, at a ferrying-place near her father's house, the landing of which is still plainly to be seen. Her life covers almost the entire history of the town of Henniker, it being incorporated in 1768, and much of its unwritten history has been and can
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A history of the town of New London, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, 1779-1899 .1899Read the page →
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In the spring of 1734 he was one of the party who made the first settlement at Contoocook (now Boscawen), and soon after m. Tabitha, dau. of Dea. Jacob and Mercy (Clough) Flanders, who had come to Contoocook from South Hampton, Mass. Ananiah, their fifth and youngest child, b. July 22, 1743, was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary war, and after
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Contoocook, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1899
2017
2017
2003