Newmarket offers small-town living a short drive from bigger towns
Once a town dominated by thriving textile mills and a shipbuilding enterprise, water has powered Newmarket for generations. Today, the draw of the Great Bay, the Lamprey River and its many brooks and ponds is more recreational, and the town is known for its charming downtown and rural outskirts. “It’s a quintessential New England town that’s been upgraded. It’s not just the hardware store anymore, it’s these little artisan cafés and shops,” says David Orlick, the owner of The Dors Group at Keller Williams Realty Metropolitan. He’s sold houses in the area for eight years. “…If you love a small-town feel with a big town capability, that’s the spot.” This big town capability, Orlick adds, is thanks to Newmarket’s proximity to bigger towns, including a 10-mile drive to Dover and a 13-mile drive to Portsmouth.
Cafés, restaurants, live music and essentials in a walkable downtown
Newmarket’s walkable downtown is studded with cafes, restaurants and shops. Crackskull’s Coffee & Books doubles as a café and bookstore, with plenty of tables and chairs where visitors can cozy up with a drink and a book. The Big Bean Newmarket Kitchen & Bar is popular for breakfast, and The Oak House is known for classics like hot dogs, hamburgers and fries with plenty of vegetarian options. The little downtown even has a cat café full of adoptable furballs called The Tipsy Tabby. The Stone Church Music Club hosts live music, drag shows, open mic nights and more every weekend — and even some weekdays — in a restored 1832 meeting house. Most essentials are found right in town, including a post office, library and Newberry Farms Market for groceries.
Frequent but small community events, bigger festivals in Portsmouth
Little events are part of life in Newmarket. “It’s vibrant, especially on the weekends in the summertime; there’s always something going on,” Orlick says. There’s a Halloween costume contest, a summer concert series in Schanda Park and Backyard Bash, which is the biggest event of the year. Held in August, the bash features live music, carnival rides, contests, fireworks and plenty of food. For bigger events, Orlick says residents make the 30-minute drive to Portsmouth. “That’s where you’re going to have the big pride parade at the end of June, where you’re going to have a huge arts show,” he says.
Single-family houses, condos and mobile homes with a wide price range
Colonial Revivals, Cape Cods and new traditional houses line many of Newmarket’s streets. Most single-family homes start at about $410,000. Homes in Newmarket’s more populated center typically max out at around $640,000, but houses further from town with a bit more room to breathe — perhaps even some acreage — usually max out at about $980,000. The occasional house with extensive acreage or the small handful waterfront homes can climb as high as $1.4 million. On the other end of the spectrum, small mobile homes can cost between $100,000 and $200,000, while condos typically range between $370,000 and $680,000. All these price points, with the median price sitting at $575,000, open Newmarket up to a wide range of potential buyers.
Career prep at Newmarket Junior-High School
Niche gives the Newmarket School District a B-plus. Containing just two schools, all children attend Newmarket Elementary School, which has an A-minus, before moving to Newmarket Junior/Senior High School. Although Niche has separate pages for the junior-high school, both of which earn a B, the schools are combined and share the same building. Juniors and seniors can enroll in the Seacoast School of Technology, a career and technical education curriculum that offers 12 programs in fields like biomedical science, welding and pre-engineering.
The University of New Hampshire, which offers 200 programs in over 100 fields of study, is about 5 miles away in nearby Durham.
Kayaking and hiking in Newmarket’s parks, golfing and a rec center
With so many sources of water threading through Newmarket, kayaking and fishing are major pastimes. Schanda Park offers a boat ramp into the Lamprey River near downtown, and there’s another boat launch in the Sliding Rock Conservation and Recreation Area. Forests and nature preserves also provide plentiful outdoor recreation for those who don’t want to get their feet wet. “There is not a single outdoor activity that you cannot do within a five-minute ride,” Orlick says. There are hiking trails throughout the town, and Orlick says there are also trails where people can ride ATVs or go skiing or snowshoeing in the winter. Even golfers will find somewhere to play in Newmarket — Rockingham Country Club, a public 9-hole golf course. Newmarket also has an active recreation center that hosts events for residents of all ages, from workshops centered around making sourdough bread to gymnastics classes, summer camps and after school programs for kids. Just outside the rec center, there’s a large splash pad and a skate park.
Newmarket is also just 25 minutes from popular beaches like Jenness State Beach and Hampton Beach. “So you have all the benefits of living on the coast of New Hampshire without the cost, and a small-town vibe to boot,” Orlick says.
Major roads to nearby hotspots, hospitals
State Route 108 and state Route 152 join together to form Newmarket’s Main Street. Following Main Street north leads to Durham, which is about 4 miles away, and to Dover, about 10 miles away. Route 108 heads south toward Exeter, which is 8 miles away. “You can be in Maine in about 30 minutes, and you can be in Massachusetts in about 30 minutes,” Orlick says. “You can buy something in Newmarket and have great proximity to everything.” Lamprey Health Care provides some basic healthcare needs — from primary doctor visits to women’s health and behavioral health — right in Newmarket. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital and Portsmouth Regional Hospital are about 11 miles away.
Potential for flooding along the town’s river and brooks
Newmarket has a major risk of flooding, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency placing parts of the town — especially parts near the river or its brooks — as special flood hazard areas. Hurricanes can also pass over Newmarket, contributing to this risk of flooding and bringing a risk of high winds.
Written By
Christina Norwood
