Peterborough

Peterborough, town (township), Hillsborough county, southern New Hampshire, U.S., that lies at the confluence of the Contoocook and Nubanusit rivers. It includes the communities of Peterborough and West Peterborough. The site, granted in 1737 and named for Charles Mordaunt, 3rd earl of Peterborough, was permanently settled in 1749 and incorporated in 1760. The town became famous after the establishment of the MacDowell Colony there by Marian Nevins MacDowell and her husband, composer Edward Alexander MacDowell,...