kids encyclopedia robot

New Hampshire facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
New Hampshire
State of New Hampshire
Flag of New Hampshire Official seal of New Hampshire
Nickname(s): 
The Granite State
The White Mountain State
Motto(s): 
Anthem: "Old New Hampshire"
Map of the United States with New Hampshire highlighted
Map of the United States with New Hampshire highlighted
Country United States
Before statehood Province of New Hampshire
Admitted to the Union June 21, 1788 (9th)
Capital Concord
Largest city Manchester
Largest metro Greater Boston (combined)
Manchester–Nashua (metro)
Nashua (urban)
Legislature General Court
 • Upper house Senate
 • Lower house House of Representatives
Area
 • Total 9,349 sq mi (24,214 km2)
Area rank 46th
Dimensions
 • Length 190 mi (305 km)
 • Width 68 mi (110 km)
Elevation
1,000 ft (300 m)
Highest elevation 6,288 ft (1,916.66 m)
Lowest elevation
(Atlantic Ocean)
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 1,377,529
 • Rank 41st
 • Density 147.3/sq mi (56.9/km2)
 • Density rank 21st
 • Median household income
$73,381
 • Income rank
8th
Demonym(s) Granite Stater,
New Hampshirite
Language
 • Official language English
(French allowed for official business with Quebec)
Time zone UTC−05:00 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−04:00 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation
NH
ISO 3166 code US-NH
Trad. abbreviation N.H.
Latitude 42° 42′ N to 45° 18′ N
Longitude 70° 36′ W to 72° 33′ W
New Hampshire state symbols
Flag of New Hampshire.svg
Seal of New Hampshire.svg
The Seal of New Hampshire
Living insignia
Amphibian Red-spotted newt
Notophthalmus viridescens
Bird Purple finch
Haemorhous purpureus
Butterfly Karner Blue
Lycaeides melissa samuelis
Dog breed Chinook
Fish Freshwater: Brook trout
Salvelinus fontinalis
Saltwater: Striped bass
Morone saxatilis
Flower Purple lilac
Syringa vulgaris
Insect Ladybug
Coccinellidae
Mammal White-tailed deer
Odocoileus virginianus
Tree White birch
Betula papyrifera
Inanimate insignia
Food Fruit: Pumpkin
Vegetable: White Potato
Berry: Blackberry
Gemstone Smoky quartz
Mineral Beryl
Rock Granite
Sport Skiing
Tartan New Hampshire state tartan
State route marker
New Hampshire state route marker
State quarter
New Hampshire quarter dollar coin
Released in 2000
Lists of United States state symbols

New Hampshire ( HAMP-shər) is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Of the 50 U.S. states, New Hampshire is the fifth smallest by area and the tenth least populous, with slightly more than 1.3 million residents. Concord is the state capital, while Manchester is the largest city. New Hampshire's motto, "Live Free or Die", reflects its role in the American Revolutionary War; its nickname, "The Granite State", refers to its extensive granite formations and quarries. It is best known nationwide for holding the first primary (after the Iowa caucus) in the U.S. presidential election cycle.

New Hampshire was inhabited for thousands of years by Algonquian-speaking peoples such as the Abenaki. Europeans arrived in the early 17th century, with the English establishing some of the earliest nonindigenous settlements. The Province of New Hampshire was established in 1629, named after the English county of Hampshire. Following mounting tensions between the British colonies and the crown during the 1760s, New Hampshire saw one of the earliest overt acts of rebellion, with the seizing of Fort William and Mary from the British in 1774. In January 1776, it became the first of the British North American colonies to establish an independent government and its own state constitution; six months later, it signed the United States Declaration of Independence and contributed troops, ships, and supplies in the war against Britain. In June 1788, it was the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, bringing that document into effect.

Through the mid-19th century, New Hampshire was an active center of abolitionism, and fielded close to 32,000 men for the Union during the U.S. Civil War. After the war, the state saw rapid industrialization and population growth, becoming a center of textile manufacturing, shoemaking, and papermaking; the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester was at one time the largest cotton textile plant in the world. The Merrimack and Connecticut rivers were lined with industrial mills, most of which employed workers from Canada and Europe; French Canadians formed the most significant influx of immigrants, and today roughly a quarter of all New Hampshire residents claim French American ancestry, second only to Maine.

Reflecting a nationwide trend, New Hampshire's industrial sector declined after the Second World War. Since 1950, its economy has heavily diversified to include financial and professional services, real estate, education, and transportation, with manufacturing still higher than the national average. Beginning in the 1980s, its population surged as major highways connected it to the Greater Boston and led to more bedroom communities. In the 21st century, New Hampshire is among the wealthiest states in the U.S., with the seventh highest median household income and some of the lowest rates of poverty, unemployment, and crime. It is one of only nine states without an income tax, and has no taxes on sales, capital gains, or inheritance; consequently, its overall tax burden is the lowest in the U.S. after Florida. New Hampshire ranks among the top ten states in metrics such as governance, healthcare, socioeconomic opportunity, and fiscal stability.

With its mountainous and heavily forested terrain, New Hampshire has a growing tourism sector centered on outdoor recreation. It has some of the highest ski mountains on the East Coast and is a major destination for winter sports; Mount Monadnock is among the most climbed mountains in the U.S. Other activities include observing the fall foliage, summer cottages along many lakes and the seacoast, motor sports at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Motorcycle Week, a popular motorcycle rally held in Weirs Beach in Laconia. The White Mountain National Forest links the Vermont and Maine portions of the Appalachian Trail, and has the Mount Washington Auto Road, where visitors may drive to the top of 6,288-foot (1,917 m) Mount Washington.

Etymology

The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire by Captain John Mason.

Geography

National-atlas-new-hampshire
New Hampshire, showing roads, rivers and major cities
New Hampshire Shaded Relief 5
Shaded relief map of New Hampshire
Mount Adams NH from Madison
Mount Adams (5,774 ft or 1,760 m) is part of New Hampshire's Presidential Range.

New Hampshire is part of the New England region. It is bounded by Quebec, Canada, to the north and northwest; Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east; Massachusetts to the south; and Vermont to the west. New Hampshire's major regions are the Great North Woods, the White Mountains, the Lakes Region, the Seacoast, the Merrimack Valley, the Monadnock Region, and the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee area. New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any U.S. coastal state, with a length of 18 miles (29 km), sometimes measured as only 13 miles (21 km). New Hampshire was home to the rock formation called the Old Man of the Mountain, a face-like profile in Franconia Notch, until the formation disintegrated in May 2003.

The White Mountains range in New Hampshire spans the north-central portion of the state, with Mount Washington the tallest in the northeastern U.S. – site of the second-highest wind speed ever recorded – and other mountains like Mount Madison and Mount Adams surrounding it. With hurricane-force winds every third day on average, over 100 recorded deaths among visitors, and conspicuous krumholtz (dwarf, matted trees much like a carpet of bonsai trees), the climate on the upper reaches of Mount Washington has inspired the weather observatory on the peak to claim that the area has the "World's Worst Weather".

In the flatter southwest corner of New Hampshire, the landmark Mount Monadnock has given its name to a class of earth-forms – a monadnock – signifying, in geomorphology, any isolated resistant peak rising from a less resistant eroded plain.

Major rivers include the 110-mile (177 km) Merrimack River, which bisects the lower half of the state north–south and ends up in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Its tributaries include the Contoocook River, Pemigewasset River, and Winnipesaukee River. The 410-mile (660 km) Connecticut River, which starts at New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes and flows south to Connecticut, defines the western border with Vermont. The state border is not in the center of that river, as is usually the case, but at the low-water mark on the Vermont side; meaning that the entire river along the Vermont border (save for areas where the water level has been raised by a dam) lies within New Hampshire. Only one town – Pittsburg – shares a land border with the state of Vermont. The "northwesternmost headwaters" of the Connecticut also define the Canada–U.S. border.

The Piscataqua River and its several tributaries form the state's only significant ocean port where they flow into the Atlantic at Portsmouth. The Salmon Falls River and the Piscataqua define the southern portion of the border with Maine. The Piscataqua River boundary was the subject of a border dispute between New Hampshire and Maine in 2001, with New Hampshire claiming dominion over several islands (primarily Seavey's Island) that include the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case in 2002, leaving ownership of the island with Maine. New Hampshire still claims sovereignty of the base, however.

The largest of New Hampshire's lakes is Lake Winnipesaukee, which covers 71 square miles (184 km2) in the east-central part of New Hampshire. Umbagog Lake along the Maine border, approximately 12.3 square miles (31.9 km2), is a distant second. Squam Lake is the second largest lake entirely in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any state in the United States, approximately 18 miles (29 km) long. Hampton Beach is a popular local summer destination. About 7 miles (11 km) offshore are the Isles of Shoals, nine small islands (four of which are in New Hampshire) known as the site of a 19th-century art colony founded by poet Celia Thaxter, and the alleged location of one of the buried treasures of the pirate Blackbeard.

It is the state with the highest percentage of timberland area in the country. New Hampshire is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome. Much of the state, in particular the White Mountains, is covered by the conifers and northern hardwoods of the New England-Acadian forests. The southeast corner of the state and parts of the Connecticut River along the Vermont border are covered by the mixed oaks of the Northeastern coastal forests.

The northern third of the state is locally referred to as the "north country" or "north of the notches," in reference to White Mountain passes that channel traffic. It contains less than 5% of the state's population, suffers relatively high poverty, and is steadily losing population as the logging and paper industries decline. However, the tourist industry, in particular visitors who go to northern New Hampshire to ski, snowboard, hike and mountain bike, has helped offset economic losses from mill closures.

Climate

New hampshire in autumn
During autumn, the leaves on many hardwood trees in New Hampshire turn colors, attracting many tourists.
Winter in New Hampshire
A winter view of an apple orchard in Hollis, New Hampshire

New Hampshire experiences a humid continental climate, with warm, humid summers, cold, wet winters, and uniform precipitation all year.

The climate of the southeastern portion is moderated by the Atlantic Ocean and averages relatively milder and wetter weather, while the northern and interior portions experience cooler temperatures and lower humidity. Winters are cold and snowy throughout the state, and especially severe in the northern and mountainous areas. Average annual snowfall ranges from 60 inches (150 cm) to over 100 inches (250 cm) across the state.

Extreme snow is often associated with a nor'easter, such as the Blizzard of '78 and the Blizzard of 1993, when several feet accumulated across portions of the state over 24 to 48 hours. Lighter snowfalls of several inches occur frequently throughout winter, often associated with an Alberta Clipper.

New Hampshire, on occasion, is affected by hurricanes and tropical storms although by the time they reach the state they are often extratropical, with most storms striking the southern New England coastline and moving inland or passing by offshore in the Gulf of Maine. Most of New Hampshire averages fewer than 20 days of thunderstorms per year and an average of two tornadoes occur annually statewide.

Metropolitan areas

Metropolitan areas in the New England region are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs). The following is a list of NECTAs in New Hampshire:

History

State of New Hampshire
1922 map of New Hampshire published in the bulletin of the Brown Company in Berlin

Various Algonquian (Abenaki and Pennacook) tribes inhabited the area before European settlement. English and French explorers visited New Hampshire in 1600–1605, and English fishermen settled at Odiorne's Point in present-day Rye in 1623. The first permanent settlement was at Hilton's Point (present-day Dover). By 1631, the Upper Plantation comprised modern-day Dover, Durham and Stratham; in 1679, it became the "Royal Province". Father Rale's War was fought between the colonists and the Wabanaki Confederacy throughout New Hampshire.

New Hampshire was one of the thirteen colonies that rebelled against British rule during the American Revolution. By the time of the American Revolution, New Hampshire was a divided province. The economic and social life of the Seacoast region revolved around sawmills, shipyards, merchants' warehouses, and established village and town centers. Wealthy merchants built substantial homes, furnished them with the finest luxuries, and invested their capital in trade and land speculation. At the other end of the social scale, there developed a permanent class of day laborers, mariners, indentured servants and even slaves.

J S Copley - Paul Revere
Paul Revere in 1768

The only battle fought in New Hampshire was the raid on Fort William and Mary, December 14, 1774, in Portsmouth Harbor, which netted the rebellion sizable quantities of gunpowder, small arms and cannon. (General Sullivan, leader of the raid, described it as, "remainder of the powder, the small arms, bayonets, and cartouche-boxes, together with the cannon and ordnance stores") over the course of two nights. This raid was preceded by a warning to local patriots the previous day, by Paul Revere on December 13, 1774, that the fort was to be reinforced by troops sailing from Boston. According to unverified accounts, the gunpowder was later used at the Battle of Bunker Hill, transported there by Major Demerit, who was one of several New Hampshire patriots who stored the powder in their homes until it was transported elsewhere for use in revolutionary activities. During the raid, the British soldiers fired upon the rebels with cannon and muskets. Although there were apparently no casualties, these were among the first shots in the American Revolutionary period, occurring approximately five months before the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

The United States Constitution was ratified by New Hampshire on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth state to do so.

New Hampshire was a Jacksonian stronghold; the state sent Franklin Pierce to the White House in the election of 1852. Industrialization took the form of numerous textile mills, which in turn attracted large flows of immigrants from Quebec (the "French Canadians") and Ireland. The northern parts of the state produced lumber, and the mountains provided tourist attractions. After 1960, the textile industry collapsed, but the economy rebounded as a center of high technology and as a service provider.

Starting in 1952, New Hampshire gained national and international attention for its presidential primary held early in every presidential election year. It immediately became the most important testing grounds for candidates for the Republican and Democratic nominations. The media gave New Hampshire (and Iowa) about half of all the attention paid to all states in the primary process, magnifying the state's decision powers (and spurring repeated efforts by out-of-state politicians to change the rules.)

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1790 141,885
1800 183,858 29.6%
1810 214,460 16.6%
1820 244,155 13.8%
1830 269,328 10.3%
1840 284,574 5.7%
1850 317,976 11.7%
1860 326,073 2.5%
1870 318,300 −2.4%
1880 346,991 9.0%
1890 376,530 8.5%
1900 411,588 9.3%
1910 430,572 4.6%
1920 443,083 2.9%
1930 465,293 5.0%
1940 491,524 5.6%
1950 533,242 8.5%
1960 606,921 13.8%
1970 737,681 21.5%
1980 920,610 24.8%
1990 1,109,252 20.5%
2000 1,235,786 11.4%
2010 1,316,470 6.5%
2020 1,377,529 4.6%
Source: 1910–2020

Population

New Hampshire population map

As of the 2020 census, the resident population of New Hampshire was 1,377,529, a 4.6% increase since the 2010 United States Census. The center of population of New Hampshire is in Merrimack County, in the town of Pembroke. The center of population has moved south 12 miles (19 km) since 1950, a reflection of the fact that the state's fastest growth has been along its southern border, which is within commuting range of Boston and other Massachusetts cities.

The most densely populated areas generally lie within 50 miles (80 km) of the Massachusetts border, and are concentrated in two areas: along the Merrimack River Valley running from Concord to Nashua, and in the Seacoast Region along an axis stretching from Rochester to Portsmouth. Outside of those two regions, only one community, the city of Keene, has a population over 20,000. The four counties covering these two areas account for 72% of the state population, and one (Hillsborough) has nearly 30% of the state population, as well as the two most populous communities, Manchester and Nashua. The northern portion of the state is very sparsely populated: the largest county by area, Coos, covers the northern one-fourth of the state and has only around 31,000 people, about a third of whom live in a single community (Berlin). The trends over the past several decades have been for the population to shift southward, as many northern communities lack the economic base to maintain their populations, while southern communities have been absorbed by the Greater Boston metropolis.

NH ancestry
Largest reported ancestry groups in New Hampshire by town as of 2013. Dark purple indicates Irish, light purple English, pink French, turquoise French Canadian, dark blue Italian, and light blue German. Gray indicates townships with no reported data.

As of the 2010 census, the population of New Hampshire was 1,316,470. The gender makeup of the state at that time was 49.3% male and 50.7% female. 21.8% of the population were under the age of 18; 64.6% were between the ages of 18 and 64; and 13.5% were 65 years of age or older. Additionally, about 57.3% of the population was born out of state.

New Hampshire racial composition of population
Racial composition 1990 2000 2010 2019
White 98.0% 96.0% 93.9% 89.8%
Black or African American 0.6% 0.7% 1.1% 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3%
Asian 0.8% 1.3% 2.2% 3.0%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 0.0% < 0.1%
Other race 0.3% 0.6% 0.9%
Two or more races 1.1% 1.6% 1.8%
Hispanic or Latino 4.0%

Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population in 2010: 0.6% were of Mexican, 0.9% Puerto Rican, 0.1% Cuban, and 1.2% other Hispanic or Latino origin. As of 2019, the Hispanic or Latino population was estimated at 4.0%.

According to the 2012–2017 American Community Survey, the largest ancestry groups in the state were Irish (20.6%), English (16.5%), French (14.0%), Italian (10.4%), German (9.1%), French Canadian (8.9%), and American (4.8%).

New Hampshire has the highest percentage (22.9%) of residents with French/French-Canadian/Acadian ancestry of any U.S. state.

According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimates from 2017, 2.1% of the population aged 5 and older speak Spanish at home, while 1.8% speak French. In Coos County, 9.6% of the population speaks French at home, down from 16% in 2000.

Estimated demographics of the top five municipalities by population
Manchester Nashua Concord Derry Dover
Population, Census (2010) 109,565 86,494 42,695 33,109 29,987
Population estimates (July 1, 2019) 112,673 89,355 43,627 33,485 32,191
Population change (April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2019) 2.8% 3.3% 2.2% 1.1% 7.4%
Age and sex
Persons under 5 years 6.0% 5.3% 4.8% 4.9% 6.4%
Persons under 18 years 19.5% 19.5% 18.4% 21.2% 19.1%
Persons 65 years and over 13.2% 15.7% 16.4% 12.1% 16.0%
Female persons 49.6% 50.7% 49.7% 50.2% 52.5%
Race and ethnicity
White 84.8% 82.6% 88.1% 94.7% 91.4%
Non-Hispanic White 76.9% 73.2% 86.1% 92.5% 88.1%
Hispanic or Latino alone 10.4% 12.7% 3.0% 4.2% 3.7%
Black or African American 6.1% 4.1% 3.5% 0.8% 1.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.1% 0.1% 0.6% 0.1% 0.1%
Asian 5.1% 8.4% 4.7% 1.2% 4.1%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander - - - - -
Two or more races 3.0% 3.2% 2.3% 1.7% 3.0%
Population characteristics
Veterans (2015-2019) 6,352 5,575 2,945 2,290 2,061
Foreign-born persons (2015-2019) 14.5% 15.7% 9.5% 4.6% 7.2%

Religion

Religion in New Hampshire
Affiliation Percent
Unaffiliated
  
36%
Protestant
  
30%
Catholic
  
26%
Other Christian
  
2%
Jewish
  
2%
Mormon
  
1%

A Pew survey showed that the religious affiliations of the people of New Hampshire was as follows: Nonreligious 36%, Protestant 30%, Catholic 26%, Jehovah's Witness 2%, LDS (Mormon) 1%, and Jewish 1%.

A survey suggests people in New Hampshire and Vermont are less likely than other Americans to attend weekly services and only 54% say they are "absolutely certain there is a God" compared to 71% in the rest of the nation. New Hampshire and Vermont are also at the lowest levels among states in religious commitment. In 2012, 23% of New Hampshire residents in a Gallup poll considered themselves "very religious", while 52% considered themselves "non-religious". According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) the largest denominations are the Catholic Church with 311,028 members; The United Church of Christ with 26,321 members; and the United Methodist Church with 18,029 members.

In 2016, a Gallup Poll found that New Hampshire was the least religious state in the United States. Only 20% of respondents in New Hampshire categorized themselves as "very religious", while the nationwide average was 40%.

Economy

Mack's Apples in October 2021 7
Farmers' market of Mack's Apples
  • Total employment (2016): 594,243
  • Number of employer establishments: 37,868

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Hampshire's total state product in 2018 was $86 billion, ranking 40th in the United States. Median household income in 2017 was $74,801, the fourth highest in the country (including Washington, DC). Its agricultural outputs are dairy products, nursery stock, cattle, apples and eggs. Its industrial outputs are machinery, electric equipment, rubber and plastic products, and tourism is a major component of the economy.

New Hampshire experienced a major shift in its economic base during the 20th century. Historically, the base was composed of traditional New England textiles, shoe making, and small machine shops, drawing upon low-wage labor from nearby small farms and from parts of Quebec. Today, of the state's total manufacturing dollar value, these sectors contribute only two percent for textiles, two percent for leather goods, and nine percent for machining. They experienced a sharp decline due to obsolete plants and the lure of cheaper wages in the Southern United States.

New Hampshire today has a broad-based and growing economy, with a state GDP growth rate of 2.2% in 2018. The state's largest economic sectors in 2018, based on contribution to GDP, are: 15% real estate and rental and leasing; 13% professional business services; 12% manufacturing; 10% government and government services; and 9% health care and social services.

The state's budget in FY2018 was $5.97 billion, including $1.79 billion in federal funds. The issue of taxation is controversial in New Hampshire, which has a property tax (subject to municipal control) but no broad sales tax or income tax. The state does have narrower taxes on meals, lodging, vehicles, business and investment income, and tolls on state roads.

According to the Energy Information Administration, New Hampshire's energy consumption and per capita energy consumption are among the lowest in the country. The Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant, near Portsmouth, is the largest nuclear reactor in New England and provided 57% of New Hampshire's electricity generation and 27% of its electricity consumption in 2017. In 2016 and 2017, New Hampshire obtained more of its electricity generation from wind power than coal-fired power plants. Approximately 32% of New Hampshire's electricity consumption came from renewable resources (including nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and other renewable resources). New Hampshire was a net exporter of electricity, exporting 63 trillion British thermal units (18 TWh).

New Hampshire's residential electricity use is low compared with the national average, in part because demand for air conditioning is low during the generally mild summer months and because few households use electricity as their primary energy source for home heating. Nearly half of New Hampshire households use fuel oil for winter heating, which is one of the largest shares in the United States. New Hampshire has potential for renewable energies like wind power, hydroelectricity, and wood fuel.

The state has no general sales tax and no personal state income tax (the state currently does tax, at a five percent rate, income from dividends and interest, but this tax is set to expire in 2027.)

New Hampshire's lack of a broad-based tax system has resulted in the state's local jurisdictions having the 8th-highest property taxes as of a 2019 ranking by the Tax Foundation. However, the state's overall tax burden is relatively low; in 2010 New Hampshire ranked 8th-lowest among states in combined average state and local tax burden.

The (preliminary) seasonally unemployment rate in April 2019 was 2.4% based on a 767,500 person civilian workforce with 749,000 people in employment. New Hampshire's workforce is 90% in nonfarm employment, with 18% employed in trade, transportation, and utilities; 17% in education and health care; 12% in government; 11% in professional and business services; and 10% in leisure and hospitality.

Largest employers

In March 2018, 86% of New Hampshire's workforce were employed by the private sector, with 53% of those workers being employed by firms with less than 100 employees. About 14% of private-sector employees are employed by firms with more than 1,000 employees.

According to community surveys by the Economic & Labor Market Information Bureau of NH Employment Security, the following are the largest private employers in the state:

Employer Location (base) Employees
Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center Lebanon 7,000
Fidelity Investments Merrimack 6,000
BAE Systems North America Nashua 4,700
Liberty Mutual Dover 3,800
Elliot Hospital Manchester 3,800
Dartmouth College Hanover 3,500
Southern New Hampshire University Manchester 3,200
Capital Regional Health Care Concord 3,000
Catholic Medical Center Manchester 2,300
Southern New Hampshire Health System Nashua 2,200

New Hampshire's state government employs approximately 6,100 people. Additionally, the U.S. Department of State employs approximately 1,600 people at the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, which processes United States immigrant visa petitions.

Transportation

Highways

New Hampshire has a well-maintained, well-signed network of Interstate highways, U.S. highways, and state highways. State highway markers still depict the Old Man of the Mountain despite that rock formation's demise in 2003. Several route numbers align with the same route numbers in neighboring states. State highway numbering is arbitrary, with no overall system as with U.S. and Interstate systems. Major routes include:

  • I-89.svg Interstate 89 runs northwest from near Concord to Lebanon on the Vermont border.
  • I-93.svg Interstate 93 is the main Interstate highway in New Hampshire and runs north from Salem (on the Massachusetts border) to Littleton (on the Vermont border). I-93 connects the more densely populated southern part of the state to the Lakes Region and the White Mountains further to the north.
  • I-95.svg Interstate 95 runs north–south briefly along New Hampshire's seacoast to serve the city of Portsmouth, before entering Maine
  • US 1.svg U.S. Route 1 runs north–south briefly along New Hampshire's seacoast to the east of and paralleling I-95.
  • US 2.svg U.S. Route 2 runs east–west through Coos County from Maine, intersecting Route 16, skirting the White Mountain National Forest passing through Jefferson and into Vermont.
  • US 3.svg U.S. Route 3 is the longest numbered route in the state, and the only one to run completely through the state from the Massachusetts border to the Canada–U.S. border. It generally parallels Interstate 93. South of Manchester, it takes a more westerly route through Nashua. North of Franconia Notch, U.S. 3 takes a more easterly route, before terminating at the Canada–U.S. border.
  • US 4.svg U.S. Route 4 terminates at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle and runs east–west across the southern part of the state connecting Durham, Concord, Boscawen and Lebanon.
  • NH Route 16.svg New Hampshire Route 16 is a major north–south highway in the eastern part of the state that generally parallels the border with Maine, eventually entering Maine as Maine Route 16. The southernmost portion of NH 16 is a four-lane freeway, co-signed with U.S. Route 4.
  • NH Route 101.svg New Hampshire Route 101 is a major east–west highway in the southern part of the state that connects Keene with Manchester and the Seacoast region. East of Manchester, NH 101 is a four-lane, limited access highway that runs to Hampton Beach and I-95.

Air

New Hampshire has 25 public-use airports, three with some scheduled commercial passenger service. The busiest airport by number of passengers handled is Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester and Londonderry, which serves the Greater Boston metropolitan area.

Public transportation

Long-distance intercity passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak's Vermonter and Downeaster lines.

Greyhound, Concord Coach, Vermont Translines and Dartmouth Coach all provide intercity bus connections to and from points in New Hampshire and to long-distance points beyond and in between.

As of 2013, Boston-centered MBTA Commuter Rail services reach only as far as northern Massachusetts. The New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority is working to extend "Capital Corridor" service from Lowell, Massachusetts, to Nashua, Concord, and Manchester, including Manchester-Boston Regional Airport; and "Coastal Corridor" service from Haverhill, Massachusetts, to Plaistow, New Hampshire. Legislation in 2007 created the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority (NHRTA) with the goal of overseeing the development of commuter rail in the state of New Hampshire. In 2011, Governor John Lynch vetoed HB 218, a bill passed by Republican lawmakers, which would have drastically curtailed the powers and responsibilities of NHRTA. The I-93 Corridor transit study suggested a rail alternative along the Manchester and Lawrence branch line which could provide freight and passenger service. This rail corridor would also have access to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

Eleven public transit authorities operate local and regional bus services around the state, and eight private carriers operate express bus services which link with the national intercity bus network. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation operates a statewide ride-sharing match service, in addition to independent ride matching and guaranteed ride home programs.

Tourist railroads include the Conway Scenic Railroad, Hobo-Winnipesaukee Railroad, and the Mount Washington Cog Railway.

Freight railways

Freight railways in New Hampshire include Claremont & Concord Railroad (CCRR), Pan Am Railways via subsidiary Springfield Terminal Railway (ST), the New England Central Railroad (NHCR), the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad (SLR), and New Hampshire Northcoast Corporation (NHN).

Culture

In the spring, New Hampshire's many sap houses hold sugaring-off open houses. In summer and early autumn, New Hampshire is home to many county fairs, the largest being the Hopkinton State Fair, in Contoocook. New Hampshire's Lakes Region is home to many summer camps, especially around Lake Winnipesaukee, and is a popular tourist destination. The Peterborough Players have performed every summer in Peterborough, New Hampshire since 1933. The Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth, New Hampshire, founded in 1931, is one of the longest-running professional summer theaters in the United States. In the fall New Hampshire is host to the New Hampshire Highland Games. New Hampshire has also registered an official tartan with the proper authorities in Scotland, used to make kilts worn by the Lincoln Police Department while its officers serve during the games. The fall foliage peaks in mid-October. In the winter, New Hampshire's ski areas and snowmobile trails attract visitors from a wide area. After the lakes freeze over they become dotted with ice fishing ice houses, known locally as bobhouses. Funspot, the world's largest video arcade (now termed a museum), is located in Laconia.

In fiction

Comics

  • Bob Montana, the original artist for Archie Comics, attended Manchester Central High School for a year, and may have based Riverdale High School in part on Central.
  • Al Capp, creator of the comic strip Li'l Abner, used to joke that Dogpatch, the setting for the strip, was based on Seabrook, where he would vacation with his wife.

Film

Common Loon RWD2
Common Loon - Squam Lake, New Hampshire where On Golden Pond was filmed
  • A Separate Peace (1972) was filmed in Exeter at Phillips Exeter Academy, alma mater of author John Knowles.
  • Animal House (1978) is said to be inspired by Dartmouth College, alma mater of one of the scriptwriters, Chris Miller.
  • On Golden Pond (1981) was filmed and takes place at Squam Lake.
  • The World According to Garp (1982), although filmed elsewhere, is set in a thinly disguised Phillips Exeter, alma mater of author John Irving.
  • What About Bob? (1991) takes place primarily at Lake Winnipesaukee but was actually filmed in Virginia.
  • Jumanji (1995) was filmed in Keene.
  • In Dreams (1999) had location shots filmed in New Castle, showing a ghostly Wentworth-by-the-Sea Hotel before its restoration.
  • Live Free or Die (2006) was filmed in Claremont.
  • In Your Eyes (2014) was primarily shot in New Hampshire and partially takes place in Exeter and Hooksett.

Literature

Many novels, plays and screenplays have been set in New Hampshire. The state has played other roles in fiction, including:

New Hampshire firsts

Christa McAuliffe
Christa McAuliffe from New Hampshire became the first private citizen selected to venture into space
  • On January 5, 1776 at Exeter, the Provincial Congress of New Hampshire ratified the first independent constitution in the Americas, free of British rule.
  • On June 12, 1800, Fernald's Island in the Piscataqua River became the first government-sanctioned US Navy shipyard.
  • Started in 1822, Dublin's Juvenile Library was the first free public library.
  • In 1828, the first women's strike in the nation took place at Dover's Cocheco Mills.
  • Founded in 1833, the Peterborough Town Library was the first public library, supported with public funds, in the world.
  • On August 3, 1852, Center Harbor was the site of the first intercollegiate athletic event. Harvard defeated Yale in a 2-mile (3.2 km) rowing race on Lake Winnipesaukee, the first meeting in a rivalry that continues to this day.
  • Finished on June 27, 1874, the first trans-Atlantic telecommunications cable between Europe and America stretched from Balinskelligs Bay, Ireland, to Rye, New Hampshire.
  • On February 6, 1901, a group of nine conservationists founded the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the first forest-conservation advocacy group in the US.
  • In 1908, Monsignor Pierre Hevey organized the nation's first credit union, "La Caisse Populaire, Ste-Marie" (The People's Bank) in Manchester, to help mill workers save and borrow money, which is now St. Mary's Bank.
  • In 1933 the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen held the first crafts fair in the nation.
  • In July 1944, the Bretton Woods Agreement, the first fully negotiated system intended to govern monetary relations among independent nation-states, was signed at the Mount Washington Hotel.
  • On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard of Derry rode a Mercury spacecraft and became the first American in space.
  • In 1963, New Hampshire's legislature approved the nation's first modern state lottery, which began play in 1964.
  • In 1966, Ralph Baer of Sanders Associates, Inc., Nashua, recruited engineers to develop the first home video game.
  • Christa McAuliffe of Concord became the first private citizen selected to venture into space. She perished with her six space shuttle Challenger crewmates on January 28, 1986.
  • On May 17, 1996 New Hampshire became the first state in the country to install a green LED traffic light. New Hampshire was selected because it was the first state to install the red and yellow variety statewide.
  • On May 31, 2007, New Hampshire became "...the first state to recognize same-sex unions without a court order or the threat of one."

Sports

The following sports teams are based in New Hampshire:

Club Sport Venue League Level notes
Amoskeag Rugby Club Rugby union Northeast Athletic Club, Pembroke New England Rugby Football Union Amateur
Nashua Silver Knights Baseball Holman Stadium, Nashua Futures Collegiate Baseball League Collegiate summer baseball
New Hampshire Fisher Cats Baseball Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, Manchester Double-A Northeast Professional Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays
New Hampshire Wild Baseball Memorial Stadium, Concord Empire Professional Baseball League Professional Independent minor league
Northeast Ruckus American football N/A Womans Football Alliance Professional Based in Windham
Seacoast United Phantoms Soccer Amesbury Sports Park USL League Two Semi-professional Based in Portsmouth, plays home games in nearby Amesbury, Massachusetts

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon is an oval track and road course which has been visited by national motorsport championship series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, American Canadian Tour (ACT), the Champ Car and the IndyCar Series. Other motor racing venues include Star Speedway and New England Dragway in Epping, Lee USA Speedway in Lee, Twin State Speedway in Claremont, Monadnock Speedway in Winchester and Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan.

New Hampshire has two universities competing at the NCAA Division I in all collegiate sports: the Dartmouth Big Green (Ivy League) and the New Hampshire Wildcats (America East Conference), as well as three NCAA Division II teams: Franklin Pierce Ravens, Saint Anselm Hawks and Southern New Hampshire Penmen (Northeast-10 Conference). Most other schools compete in NCAA Division III or the NAIA.

Annually since 2002, high-school statewide all-stars compete against Vermont in 10 sports during "Twin State" playoffs.

Education

T-Hall2
Thompson Hall, at UNH, was built in 1892.

High schools

The first public high schools in the state were the Boys' High School and the Girls' High School of Portsmouth, established either in 1827 or 1830 depending on the source.

New Hampshire has more than 80 public high schools, many of which serve more than one town. The largest is Pinkerton Academy in Derry, which is owned by a private non-profit organization and serves as the public high school of a number of neighboring towns. There are at least 30 private high schools in the state.

New Hampshire is also the home of several prestigious university-preparatory schools, such as Phillips Exeter Academy, St. Paul's School, Proctor Academy, Brewster Academy, and Kimball Union Academy.

In 2008 the state tied with Massachusetts as having the highest scores on the SAT and ACT standardized tests given to high school students.

Colleges and universities

  • Antioch University New England
  • Colby-Sawyer College
  • Community College System of New Hampshire:
    • Great Bay Community College
    • Lakes Region Community College
    • Manchester Community College
    • Nashua Community College
    • NHTI, Concord's Community College
    • River Valley Community College
    • White Mountains Community College
  • Dartmouth College
    • Tuck School of Business
    • Geisel School of Medicine
    • Thayer School of Engineering
  • Franklin Pierce University
  • Hellenic American University
  • Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
  • MCPHS University
  • New England College
  • New Hampshire Institute of Art
  • Rivier University
  • Saint Anselm College
  • Southern New Hampshire University
  • Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
  • University System of New Hampshire:
    • University of New Hampshire
      • University of New Hampshire School of Law
      • University of New Hampshire at Manchester
    • Granite State College
    • Keene State College
    • Plymouth State University

Notable people

Prominent individuals from New Hampshire include 14th President of the United States Franklin Pierce, founding father Nicholas Gilman, Senator Daniel Webster, Revolutionary War hero John Stark, editor Horace Greeley, founder of the Christian Science religion Mary Baker Eddy, poet Robert Frost, astronaut Alan Shepard, rock musician Ronnie James Dio, author Dan Brown, actor Adam Sandler, inventor Dean Kamen, comedians Sarah Silverman and Seth Meyers, restaurateurs Richard and Maurice McDonald, and WWE wrestler Triple H, aka Paul Michael Levesque.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Nuevo Hampshire para niños

kids search engine
New Hampshire Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.