Pelham: the Town that Nobody Wanted

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When the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1629, its charter described the northern boundary of the province like this:

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all those Landes and Hereditaments whatsoever, which lye and be within the Space of Three English Myles to the Northward of the saide River, called Monomack, alias Merrymack, or to the Northward of any and every parte thereof.

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This simple description led to decades of disputes between what would become Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The colonists at the time did not know that the Merrimack River, which runs roughly east-west close to the coast, actually turns northward and runs past present-day Concord, NH. Using a line three miles north of the river as the boundary makes less sense knowing the course of the river as we do today.

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Both New Hampshire and Massachusetts interpreted the boundary description in a way that would maximize their respective territories:

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• New Hampshire claimed the boundary was a line stretching due west of the point on the coast three miles north of the mouth of the Merrimack River

• Massachusetts claimed the boundary was a line three miles north of the river, following the course of the river even after it turns northward

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You can see both claimed boundaries in the map below. The green line is New Hampshire's claim, and the blue line is Massachusetts' claim. Note that a small area of land (which includes present-day Pelham) was claimed by neither province!