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is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 12,664 at the 2000 census. Durham is home to the University of New Hampshire.
The primary settlement in town, where more than 71% of the population resides, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Durham census-designated place (CDP) and includes the densely-populated portion of the town centered on the intersection of New Hampshire Route 108 and Main Street and including the university which dominates the town.
Situated beside Great Bay at the mouth of the Oyster River, Durham was originally called Oyster River Plantation. It was settled in 1635 as a part of Dover.
During King William's War, on July 18, 1694, the English settlement was attacked in the "Oyster River Massacre" by French career soldier Sebastien de Villieu with about 250 Abenaki Indians from Norridgewock under command of their sagamore, Bomazeen (or Bomoseen). In all, 45 inhabitants were killed and 49 taken captive, with half the dwellings, including 5 garrisons, burned to the ground. Crops were destroyed and livestock killed, causing famine and destitution for survivors. The community would rebuild, however, and by 1716 Durham was a separate parish, named after Durham, England. Incorporated in 1732, Durham once included portions of the present-day towns of Madbury, Lee and Newmarket. Because of its arable land, the town would develop as a farming community.
A descendant of an early settler, Benjamin Thompson bequeathed his assets and family estate, Warner Farm, to the state for the establishment of an agricultural college. Originally founded in 1866, at Hanover, the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts moved to Durham in 1893, and became University of New Hampshire in 1923. Thompson Hall, built in 1892 with an iconic clock tower, is named in his honor. Designed in the Romanesque Revival style by the Concord architectural firm of Dow & Randlett, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.