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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Contoocook (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Contoocook. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Contoocook is located in Merrimack County.

To see how the shape of New Hampshire's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Merrimack County: Belknap, Grafton, Hillsborough, Rockingham, Strafford & Sullivan.

Below are the counties that are near Contoocook. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Contoocook:

  • Merrimack County     (The home county of Contoocook)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Contoocook, with the one closest to Contoocook listed first.
    • Hopkinton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Webster
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Merrimack County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,974 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webster <1>
    • Lower Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lower Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Village
      • Lower Village is located in Merrimack County
    • Penacook
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Warner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Henniker
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Boscawen
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • East Concord
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Boyce
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Boyce. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyce
      • Boyce is located in Merrimack County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Boyce
      • From Contoocook to Boyce
    • Concord
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Dunbarton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bow
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
      • Bow is located in Merrimack County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,063 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bow <1>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bow
      • From Contoocook to Bow
  • Belknap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Contoocook, with the one closest to Contoocook listed first.
    • Allens Mills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Gardners Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Tilton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tilton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
      • Tilton is located in Belknap County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tilton <1>
    • Sanbornton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sanbornton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanbornton
      • Sanbornton is located in Belknap County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,012 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sanbornton <1>
    • Belmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilmanton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Gaza
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lower Gilmanton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Winnisquam
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Barnstead
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnstead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstead
      • Barnstead is located in Belknap County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,777 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Barnstead <1>
    • Laconia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wildwood Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Village
      • Wildwood Village is located in Belknap County
  • Cheshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Contoocook, with the one closest to Contoocook listed first.
    • Mill Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
      • Mill Village is located in Cheshire County
    • Stoddard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stoddard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
      • Stoddard is located in Cheshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,254 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stoddard <1>
    • Eastview
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eastview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastview
      • Eastview is located in Cheshire County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eastview
      • From Contoocook to Eastview
    • Marlow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marlow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
      • Marlow is located in Cheshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
    • Nelson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bonds Corner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Dublin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dublin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Dublin is located in Cheshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,555 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dublin <1>
    • Harrisville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sullivan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Gilsum
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilsum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilsum
      • Gilsum is located in Cheshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilsum <1>
    • Lower Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lower Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Village
      • Lower Village is located in Cheshire County
    • Roxbury
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roxbury have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
      • Roxbury is located in Cheshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
  • Grafton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Contoocook, with the one closest to Contoocook listed first.
    • South Alexandria
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Bristol
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Grafton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grafton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
      • Grafton is located in Grafton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grafton <1>
    • East Grafton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Alexandria
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Bridgewater
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgewater have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgewater
      • Bridgewater is located in Grafton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,082 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgewater <1>
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Contoocook, with the one closest to Contoocook listed first.
    • Chase Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chase Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase Village
      • Chase Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • North Weare
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Slab City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slab City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
      • Slab City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Weare
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • East Deering
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillsboro
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Tavern Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tavern Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tavern Village
      • Tavern Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Deering
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillsboro Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillsboro Lower Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Holton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holton
      • Holton is located in Hillsborough County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Holton
      • From Contoocook to Holton
    • Hillsboro Upper Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Contoocook, with the one closest to Contoocook listed first.
    • Auburn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Deerfield Center
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • James City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for James City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James City
      • James City is located in Rockingham County
    • Candia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Candia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candia
      • Candia is located in Rockingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,959 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Candia <1>
    • Deerfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deerfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
      • Deerfield is located in Rockingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,564 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deerfield <1>
    • Northwood Ridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • East Candia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
      • Wilson is located in Rockingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilson
      • From Contoocook to Wilson
    • Northwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Chester
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Raymond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
      • Raymond is located in Rockingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,573 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymond <1>
    • Derry Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derry Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry Village
      • Derry Village is located in Rockingham County
  • Strafford County
  • Sullivan County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Contoocook, see our County-by-County Page for Contoocook.

Cemeteries Near Contoocook ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Contoocook.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Contoocook covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Contoocook, with the one closest to Contoocook listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Contoocook had a population of 410 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Contoocook, with the one closest to Contoocook listed first.

  • Tyler
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tyler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
    • Tyler is located in Merrimack County
  • West Hopkinton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Hopkinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hopkinton
    • West Hopkinton is located in Merrimack County
  • Hopkinton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Davisville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davisville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davisville
    • Davisville is located in Merrimack County
  • Bagley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bagley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
    • Bagley is located in Merrimack County
  • Webster
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Webster is located in Merrimack County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,974 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webster <1>
  • Henniker
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Penacook
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Warner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • North Weare
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • West Concord
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Concord have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Concord
    • West Concord is located in Merrimack County
  • Boscawen
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Weare
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • East Weare ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Weare have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Weare
      • East Weare is located in Hillsborough County
    • East Concord
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Contoocook. See our List of 1890's Communities around Contoocook.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Contoocook ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 209 newspapers that have been published in the area around Contoocook.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Contoocook. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Contoocook and those printed in the larger area surrounding Contoocook.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<6> of Contoocook.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Contoocook:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Contoocook. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of New Hampshire: https://www.nh.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Contoocook, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Contoocook) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Contoocook. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2224, Longitude: -71.7137    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025