Last updated on June 23rd, 2024
New Hampshire is the 41st most populous and the 46th most extensive of the 50 states of the United States. It is the state in the New England region of the north-eastern United States. New Hampshire attained statehood on June 21, 1788, becoming the 9th state to join the union. Its three bordering states are Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
New Hampshire (nicknamed: Granite State, Mother of Rivers, White Mountain State) has 10 counties. The state’s capital is Concord. The postal abbreviation for New Hampshire is NH. The area code for New Hampshire is 603. With these facts about New Hampshire, let us learn more about its history, geography, culture, people and more.
Facts about New Hampshire
1. The state is named New Hampshire after the Hampshire County in England.
2. The state’s motto is “Live Free or Die.” The state declared its independence from England in Exeter on January 5, 1776. It was the ninth state to ratify the constitution.
3. In 1776, New Hampshire became the first colony to create a constitution and declare its independence from Great Britain.
4. New Hampshire is one of the thirteen original colonies. It was initially named “North Virginia,” then “New England” and finally “New Hampshire.”
5. With 400 members, New Hampshire’s state house is the largest of all the states. Minnesota has the largest state senate with 67 members.
6. The state is nicknamed “The Granite State” because granite from the state was supplied for building structures mainly in Boston and Washington D.C., and many other small towns. The pink colored Conway Granite and the gray colored Concord Granite are two granites that were quarried locally and shipped widely. The granites got their names from the towns in which they were first quarried.
7. Other nicknames of the state include: Mother of Rivers: for the rivers of New England that originate in our Mountains; White Mountain State: for its white mountain range and Switzerland of America: for its beautiful mountain scenery.
8. More than 13,000 years ago, Native Americans settled in this area known today as New Hampshire. These settlers were a combination of many tribes known as Abenaki people.
9. In 1961, Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. born in New Hampshire became the first American to travel into space. And in 1971, he walked on the moon – becoming the fifth man in the process. His first flight into the space lasted for a good fifteen minutes and traveled 116 miles into the atmosphere.
New Hampshire on the map
10. New Hampshire has the shortest coastline of any U.S. state. The coastline is just 18 miles long.
11. Marilla Ricker, from New Durham, became the first female lawyer in the state in 1890. That was after she petitioned the New Hampshire Bar. Another interesting fact about Marilla Ricker is that she was also the first female to run for governor of New Hampshire in 1910.
12. The founders of McDonald’s, Richard and Mac, are from Manchester, New Hampshire. The brother started this when their father lost his job at a shoe factory after 42 years.
13. Ralph Baer Memorial was unveiled recently in Manchester, NH to honor the “father of video games” – Ralph Henry Baer. On May 10, 2019, Baer’s statue was unveiled in Arms Park, Manchester. In 1968, Baer created the “Brown Box” a device that allowed players to control moving dots on a TV screen. The prototype of the box was sold to Magnovax in 1972 and the company marketed the first ever commercially sold video game in the world. The game was sold as the Magnavox Odyssey Home Video Game System. The invention led to the flourishing of the today’s multibillion dollar gaming industry. The iconic inventor had more than 150 patents awarded to him during his lifetime.
14. One of the moon’s craters is named after an astronomer Ambrose Swasey. He was born in Exeter, New Hampshire on December 19, 1846.
New Hampshire with bordering states
15. New Hampshire is the only state that offers ski jumping as a high school sport. Bode Miller hails from the state. He is a winner of 6 Olympics medals including one gold, three silver and two bronze medals. He learnt the art of skiing in Franconia.
16. The fourteenth president of the United States—Franklin Pierce—was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire.
17. The first Automobile to drive up Mount Washington was the Stanley Steamer of Freelan O. Stanley in 1899. Stanley and his wife, Flora, completed the trip together.
18. Four months before his famous Lexington ride (April 18, 1775); Paul Revere rode a longer ride to Portsmouth, New Hampshire on December 13, 1774.
19. Famously known as Uncle Sam, Samuel Wilson grew-up in Mason, New Hampshire. When he was 14 years old, his family moved to Mason and settled in a hundred acre farm.
20. The first alarm clock was invented by Levi Hutchins from Concorde, New Hampshire, in 1787. This simple device only went off at 4 in the morning.
21. Virgil White from West Ossipee, New Hampshire, invented the first snowmobile. He added a conversion kit with skis to the front of the Ford automobile.
22. Henniker in New Hampshire is the place where competitive paintball originated. A dozen friends got together with paintball markers from Nel-Spot 007 for a match.
23. The only FAA-approved ice runway, in the lower 48 states, is a stretch of New Hampshire’s Winnipesaukee’s lake water. Formerly known as the Alton Bay Seaplane Base, it was first opened to airplane traffic in 2009. The runway is 2,730 feet long and 100 feet wide.
24. Concord, Hopkinton and Salisbury were the three cities that were initially picked up for the construction of the state capitol. Eventually it was decided that the state house would be built in Concord. The availability of granite in the north end of the town might have helped in choosing Concord for building the state house. Interestingly, the cutting, shaping and facing of the stones was done by the inmates of the state prison. The original building cost of construction was approximately $82,000.
25. The first wind farm in the US was constructed on Crotched Mountain in southern New Hampshire in December 1980. The wind farm consisted of 20 wind turbines.
26. It took nearly 50 years to pave the well-known Mount Washington road in New Hampshire. The 7.6-mile road paving process started in the 1970s and was completed in 2022.
27. Stone walls were a standard way to separate land in New Hampshire since its beginning. Rocks were also strewn everywhere when the land was cleared for farming.
28. The world’s first cog railway was built in 1869 and still pushes the train up Mt. Washington. It is the second steepest rack railway in the world after the Pilatus Railway in Switzerland.
29. Since 2008, the fleet of trains used in the Cog Railway on Mount Washington has operated on Bio-Diesel. Before 2008, for last 139 years they were operating as steam engines.
30. Cornish-Windsor Bridge in New Hampshire is the longest wooden covered bridge and the longest two-span covered bridge in the world. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge is approximately 449 feet (137 m) long and 24 feet (7 m) wide.
31. The first fishing village in New Hampshire was established in 1623 by European settlers. Dover Point and Odiorne Point are where some of these villages started.
32. The world’s first totally tax-supported public library was established in Peterborough in 1833.
33. In July 1944 financiers from 44 countries gathered at Mount Washington Hotel for the Bretton Woods International Monetary Conference and the American dollar was designated the standard of international exchange. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund was also established at the same time. The World Bank and the IMF are both based in Washington, D.C., and work closely with each other.
34. New Hampshire has the lowest poverty rate in the U.S. It is also one of the wealthiest states in the Union.
35. There is no tax on earned income in New Hampshire. Tennessee and New Hampshire do tax investment income, however. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not impose state income tax.
36. A hydroelectric power station in the Salmon Falls River provides electricity to many towns in the area. The South Berwick project lies in the intersection of the town of South Berwick.
37. Tourism is the state’s second-largest industry.
38. The first restaurant to claim the name Chicken Tenders was the Puritan Backroom, Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1974. It was added to their menu and became a big hit.
39. New Hampshire produces more than 90,000 gallons of maple syrup every year. Harvesting begins in late February with cold nights and sunny days.
40. The first potato grown in the United States was planted in New Hampshire in 1719.
41. Belknap County, 3 mi (4.8 km) east of Ashland is considered as the geographic center of New Hampshire.
42. Ground winds as high as 231 miles an hour were recorded atop the peaks of Mount Washington on April 12, 1934. This remained a world record until 1996. The wind speeds are comparable to winds in Category 5 hurricanes and F4 tornadoes.
43. A natural rock formation in the Cannon Mountains, Franconia that resembled a human face collapsed on May 3, 2003. It was known as the Old Man in the Mountain.
44. More than four-fifths of the state is forested. After Maine, it is the second-most forested state in the U.S.
45. New Hampshire has 93 state park properties. Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site is the only national park site in NH.
46. One of the most challenging hiking trails in New Hampshire is to the summit of Mount Washington. A round trip to the peak can take about eight to complete.
47. Piscataqua River is the third-fastest tidal river in the US.
48. The river Merrimack originates in Franklin, New Hampshire, and provides life-giving water to more than half a million people. The water quality has improved significantly since the 1970s.
49. Lake Winnipesaukee and the surrounding lakes (Winnisquam and Opechee) are the primary recreation focus of the state during the non-ski months of the year.
50. The oldest summer resort in the US is Wolfoboro in New Hampshire. It has become the favorite destination for people from America and even princes from other countries.
51. One way in New Hampshire to pass the time is to enjoy summer theaters. This summer tradition is something you will find all over the state.
52. Did you know that Jumanji was filmed in Keen, New Hampshire? In the movie, there is a scene where the animals stampede along Main Street.
53. The poet, Sarah Josepha hale from Newport, is one of two people credited with the existence of the children’s rhyme ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
54. New Hampshire is home to more than 500 species of vertebrate animals.
55. The ladybug has been the official state bug of New Hampshire since 1977. Students from Broken Down Grammar School in Concorde chose the Bug of Luck.
56. The state bird of New Hampshire, the purple finch, is not purple but a pink rose color. These birds can be seen all over New Hampshire year-round.
57. A fun fact is that New Hampshire has only four purple birds. A common purple bird in New Hampshire is the European Starling.
58. Moose is the largest land mammal in New Hampshire. An adult moose averages 1,000 pounds and stands 6 feet tall at the shoulders. Surprisingly, their front legs are longer than their hind legs which helps them to jump over fallen trees and debris of other sorts. They also have keen sense of smell and hearing.
59. In April 1772, millers rioted against the pine tree law in Weare, New Hampshire. Some believe the Pine Tree Riot inspired the Boston Tea Party.
60. The first strike organized by women workers in the United States took place in New Hampshire on December 30, 1828. The strike was organized to protest against the new policies of the Dover Cotton Factory that banned talking on the job. Nearly half of the 800 mill girls walked out in protest of the reduction in their wages by 5 cents a day. Men on the contrary were paid at a higher rate.
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