Atkinson, New Hampshire
town in New Hampshire, USA
Atkinson is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,087 at the 2020 census. It is located 34 miles north of Boston and is part of the Greater Boston region.
History
Atkinson's history dates back to the American Revolution. The community was incorporated September 3, 1767, and was named after Colonel Theodore Atkinson, a local landowner.
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, which has since been expanded, with only four classrooms.
The Kimball House Museum occupies a structure that was built in 1772 by the Reverend Stephen Peabody. In April 1907, Rev.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Atkinson, New Hampshire” as town in New Hampshire, USA. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as town in New Hampshire, USA. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3349760. VIAF identifies the subject as 158458488. The Library of Congress control number is n99014062. Authority coordinates are 42.838, -71.147. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1767, 1787 and 1791.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Atkinson, New Hampshire”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Atkinson, New Hampshire primary sources, Atkinson, New Hampshire archive and Atkinson research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Atkinson, New Hampshire”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Atkinson, New Hampshire” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.