Template:Wp-Atkinson, New Hampshire-History

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Atkinson's history dates back to the American Revolution. The community was incorporated September 3, 1767,^[1] and was named after Colonel Theodore Atkinson,^[2] 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. Joseph A. Kimball, a summer resident, purchased the building from the Maddocks family in order to create a library for the town.

Atkinson's history can be read about in the book Atkinson Then and Now, which can be purchased at the Atkinson Public Library on Academy Avenue.

Atkinson celebrated its 250th anniversary Labor Day weekend 2017.