Lyndeborough was first granted a charter in 1734 as Salem-Canada, a delayed payment to the Salem, Mass., veterans of the failed Canada expedition of 1690. It became the Town of Lyndeborough in 1764, named for Benjamin Lynde, Jr., a prominent Salem judge.
Because the town lacks a good year-round source of water power, Lyndeborough was never a real mill town. The industry, for which the town is famous, was the Lyndeborough Glass Factory, which operated in South Lyndeborough from 1866 to 1886, producing some of the finest glass in northern New England. Peter Clark’s Pottery produced popular red ware in North Lyndeborough for at least two generations before relocating to Concord before 1900. Both glass and pottery are much sought after by collectors. A bog iron furnace produced pots, kettles and griddles in the early 1800s.
Lyndeborough was always an agricultural town and was well known for blueberries through the 1960s, sending hundreds of quarts of berries to the Boston markets. Later, the eastern part of town was well known for its apple production. Maple syrup is now the main crop.
Population change for Lyndeborough totaled 1,089 over 50 years from 594 in 1960 to 1,683 in 2010. The 2010 population estimate for Lyndeborough was 1,683 residents which ranked 150th among New Hampshire’s incorporated cities and towns. Most residents now commute to work and local business is home-based with both skilled craftsmen and home offices.