Newmarket is the southernmost town in the Strafford planning region. The town was organized as a part of Exeter by the Massachusetts Colony on traditionally Squamscot lands. The budding community took on a small agricultural economy before the creation of the Newmarket Manufacturing Company in 1822, igniting the textile industry in Newmarket with help from its key location on the Lamprey River. Industry declined as the town entered the 20th century Following the Great Depression the shoemaking industry found a home in Newmarket. Today, Newmarket is in a central location between the Seacoast, the Route 101 corridor, and the Merrimack Valley. Based on the traditions of the Squamscot and Wampanoeg tribes, for several decades a fishing weir has been installed on the Lamprey River at Schanda Conservation Park. The weir consists of stakes installed in the mud from which nets are hung to catch fish.