First granted in 1728, the town was known as "Lovewell's Town", in honor of Captain John Lovewell, who built the stockade at Ossipee. Shortly afterward, the town took the name of "Suncook", the PennacookAbenaki name for the river flowing through the area. When the town was incorporated in 1759 by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth, it was given the name "Pembroke" in honor of Henry Herbert, ninth Earl of Pembroke in southern Wales. Pembroke's early history is reflected in the various mills of the downtown area, located to use water power from the Suncook River. The better-known mills were the Pembroke Mills, Webster Manufacturing and China Manufacturing, all producing print cloth. Pembroke industries included brickmaking, with bricks manufactured from clay along the Merrimack River. In 1852, the Concord and Portsmouth Railroad established a station in Pembroke.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and is water, comprising 0.70% of the town. Pembroke is drained by the Suncook, Soucook and Merrimack rivers. The highest point in town, Plausawa Hill, elevation above sea level, is in the north.
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,897 people, 2,661 households, and 1,876 families residing in the town. The population density was 302.1 people per square mile. There were 2,734 housing units at an average density of 119.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 97.84% White, 0.38% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.43% of the population. There were 2,661 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,494, and the median income for a family was $57,106. Males had a median income of $37,786 versus $26,781 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,800. About 3.0% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
There are currently four public schools in Pembroke. The Village School is located in the village of Suncook and houses kindergarten and first grade. The Hill School is attended by children in the second, third, and fourth grades. Three Rivers School, named after the three rivers that form most of the borders of the town, was built in the early 1990s and contains fifth through eighth grade. The town's high school is Pembroke Academy, founded in 1818 as a private school. The school today is public and takes students from Pembroke and from the neighboring towns of Allenstown, Epsom, Chichester, and historically, Deerfield. With approximately 1,000 students, the school is Class I in athletics, the second highest class, and the mascot of the school is the Spartan.
Notable people
Robert E. Cochran, Alamo defender, born in Pembroke; Cochran County, Texas, is named after him
