One of the original border towns, Nelson was first known as Monadnock Number 6. In 1767, it was renamed Packersfield after Thomas Packer, one of the grantees, who was high sheriff of Portsmouth. It kept that name until 1814, when it was renamed in honor of Lord Horatio Nelson, who died on board the British ship Victory in the war against Napoleon. Nelson includes the village of Munsonville.
