The Town of Goffstown was incorporated on June 17, 1761 and is named for Colonel John Goffe, an early settler, soldier and civic leader. Goffstown was originally a farming community.

The first settlers in the 1700s found the area magnificently forested with hardwood on the hill and unexcelled stands of white pine on the "pine plains", which extended along Mast Road. This area was so named for the many pine trees suitable for ship masts which were cut and hauled to the Merrimack River for use by the Royal British Navy.

The first settlement was on the north bank of the Piscataquog River in what is now Grasmere Village, the seat of the town government for more than 100 years. Goffstown Village grew up around the falls on the Piscataquog River where local industry developed because of the availability of water power. Pinardville developed rapidly in the era of the electric trolley car as a residential suburb for employees of the mills in the City of Manchester. The steam railroad also played a part in creating the Town's nodular pattern of development with stations at Grasmere, Shirley Station, Goffstown Village and Parker Station. To date, Grasmere, the Village, and Pinardville exist as three distinct areas of town.