New Hampshire () is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. New Hampshire ranks 44th in land area, 46th in total area of the 50 states, and 41st in population. It became the first post-colonial sovereign nation in the Americas when it broke off from Great Britain in January 1776, and was one of the original thirteen states that founded the United States of America six months later. It was the ninth state to ratify the United States Constitution, bringing that document into effect. New Hampshire was the first U.S. state to have its own state constitution, and is the only state with neither a general sales tax nor a personal income tax at either the state or local level. Concord is the state capital, while Manchester is the largest city in the state.

It is known internationally for the New Hampshire primary, the first primary in the quadrennial U.S. presidential election cycle.

Its license plates carry the state motto: "Live Free or Die." The state nickname is "The Granite State", in reference to its geology and its tradition of self-sufficiency. To accentuate this, many state agencies and New Hampshire license plates carry the image of the Old Man of the Mountain, a former granite stone face in the White Mountains. Several other official nicknames exist but are rarely used.

Among prominent individuals from New Hampshire are founding father Nicholas Gilman, Senator Daniel Webster, editor Horace Greeley, founder of the Christian Science religion Mary Baker Eddy, poet Robert Frost, and author Dan Brown. New Hampshire has produced one president, Franklin Pierce.

New Hampshire's major recreational attractions include skiing, snowmobiling and other winter sports, hiking and mountaineering, 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 near Laconia in June. The White Mountain National Forest links the Vermont and Maine portions of the Appalachian Trail, and boasts the Mount Washington Auto Road, where visitors may drive to the top of 6,288 ft Mount Washington.

Geography

thumb|right|Mount Adams (5,774 feet) 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 .
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 fell apart 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., 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 upper reaches of Mount Washington claim the title of "worst weather on earth." A non-profit weather observatory is on the peak.

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 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 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 usually the case, but at the low-water mark on the Vermont side; so New Hampshire owns the entire river where it runs adjacent to Vermont. Only one town - Pittsburg - shares a land border with the state of Vermont. The "northwesternmost headwaters" of the Connecticut also define the Canadian border with New Hampshire.

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.

The largest of New Hampshire's lakes is Lake Winnipesaukee, which covers in the east-central part of New Hampshire. Lake Umbagog along the Maine border, approximately , is a distant second. Hampton Beach is a popular local summer destination. About 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, as well as the alleged location of one of the buried treasures of the pirate Blackbeard.

It is the second most forested state in the country, after Maine, in percentage of land covered by woods. This change was caused by the abandonment of farms during the 20th century as many farmers took wage jobs in urban areas or moved to more productive areas. The return of woodlands from open fields forms the subject of many poems by Robert Frost.

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 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 experiences a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa in southern areas and Dfb in the north), 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 to over across the state.
Average daytime highs are in the mid 70s°F to low 80s°F (around 24-28 °C) throughout the state in July, with overnight lows in the mid 50s°F to low 60s°F (13-15 °C). January temperatures range from an average high of on the coast to overnight lows below in the far north and at high elevations. Average annual precipitation statewide is roughly with some variation occurring in the White Mountains due to differences in elevation and annual snowfall.

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 snowfall 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 2 tornadoes occur annually statewide.
The National Arbor Day Foundation plant hardiness zone map depicts zones 3, 4, 5, and 6 occurring throughout the state and indicates the transition from a relatively cooler to warmer climate as one travels southward across New Hampshire.

Metropolitan areas

History

Various Algonquian (Pennacook) tribes inhabited the area prior to 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."

New Hampshire was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. By the time of the American Revolution, New Hampshire was a divided province. The economic and social life of the Seacoast revolved around sawmills, shipyards, merchant's 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. It was the first state to declare its independence, but the only battle fought there 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 cartouch-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.
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 a service provider.

Since 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

As of 2005, New Hampshire has an estimated population of 1,309,940, which is an increase of 10,771, or 0.8%, from the prior year and an increase of 74,154, or 6.0%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 23,872 people (that is 75,060 births minus 51,188 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 51,968 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 11,107 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 40,861 people.

The center of population of New Hampshire is located in Merrimack County, in the town of Pembroke. The center of population has moved south since 1950, a reflection of the fact that the fastest growth in the state has been along its southern border, which is within commuting range of Boston and other Massachusetts cities.
As of 2004, the population includes 64,000 residents born outside the United States (4.9%).

In 2006, New Hampshire had the lowest birth rate in the nation.

Ancestry groups

The largest ancestry groups in New Hampshire are:

• 26.6% French (French or French Canadian)

• 21.1% Irish

• 20.1% English

• 10.4% Italian

• 10.3% German

• 7.8% Scottish or Scots-Irish

The large Irish American and French-Canadian populations are descended largely from mill workers, and many still live in the former mill towns, like Manchester. New Hampshire has the highest percentage of residents of French/French-Canadian ancestry of any U.S. state.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 3.41% of the population aged 5 and older speak French at home, while 1.60% speak Spanish.

Religion

Percentage of New Hampshire residents by religion (from USA Today):

• Christian – 72%

• *Catholic – 35%

• *Protestant – 32%

• **Baptist – 6%

• **Congregationalist/United Church of Christ – 6%

• **Episcopalian/Anglican – 4%

• **Methodist – 3%

• **Lutheran – 1%

• **Pentecostal/Charismatic – 1%

• **Presbyterian – 1%

• **Protestant, no supplied denomination – 10%

• *Unspecified Christian – 5%

• Jewish – 1%

• Other – 2%

• No religion – 17%

• Less than 0.5% each –

A survey suggests that people in New Hampshire and Vermont are less likely than other Americans to attend weekly services and only 54% say that 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. About 23% percent of the respondents attend religious service at least once a week (39% nationally). Thirty-six percent said religion is very important to them (56% nationally). According to the ARDA the largest single Protestant denominations are the United Church of Christ with 34,299; and the United Methodist Church with 18,927 members. The Catholic Church had 431,259 members.

Economy

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Hampshire's total state product in 2008 was $60 billion, tenth lowest in the United States. Median household income in 2008 was $49,467, seventh highest in the country. 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.

New Hampshire experienced a significant shift in its economic base during the last century. Historically, the base was composed of the traditional New England manufactures of textiles, shoe-making, and small machining shops drawing upon low-wage labor from nearby small farms and from parts of Quebec. Today, these sectors contribute only 2% for textiles, 2% for leather goods, and 9% for machining of the state's total manufacturing dollar value (Source: U.S. Economic Census for 1997, Manufacturing, New Hampshire). They experienced a sharp decline due to obsolete plants and the lure of cheaper wages in the South.

The state's budget in FY2008 was $5.11 billion, including $1.48 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, located near Portsmouth, is the largest nuclear reactor in New England and provides about 30 percent of New Hampshire’s electricity. Two natural gas-fired plants and some fossil-fuel powered plant, including the coal-fired Merrimack Station plant in Bow, provide most of the rest.

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. Over half of New Hampshire households use fuel oil for winter heating. 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 does tax, at a 5 percent rate, income from dividends and interest) and the legislature has exercised fiscal restraint. Efforts to diversify the state's general economy have been ongoing.

Additionally, New Hampshire's lack of a broad-based tax system (aside from the controversial state-wide property tax) has resulted in the state's local communities having some of the nation's highest property taxes. Overall, New Hampshire remains ranked 49th among states in combined average state and local tax burden.

Law and government

The Governor of New Hampshire is John Lynch (Democrat). New Hampshire's two U.S. senators are Judd Gregg (Republican) and Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat). New Hampshire's two U.S. representatives are Carol Shea-Porter (Democrat) and Paul Hodes (Democrat).

New Hampshire is an alcoholic beverage control state, and through the State Liquor Commission it takes in $100 million from the sale and distribution of liquor.

The LGBT rights in New Hampshire are mostly the same as non-LGBT residents persons in New Hampshire. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in New Hampshire, and the state has offered civil unions since 1 January, 2008, and same-sex marriage in New Hampshire will become legal on January 1, 2010.

Governing documents

The New Hampshire State Constitution of 1783 is the supreme law of the state, followed by the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated and the New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules. These are roughly analogous to the Federal United States Constitution, United States Code and Code of Federal Regulations respectively.

The attributes of New Hampshire law, as they pertain to victimless crimes, kindergarten, and civil unions, are described in the article on Government of New Hampshire.

Branches of government

New Hampshire has a bifurcated executive branch, consisting of the governor and a five-member executive council which votes on state contracts worth more than $5,000 and "advises and consents" to the governor's nominations to major state positions such as department heads and all judgeships and pardon requests. New Hampshire does not have a lieutenant governor; the Senate president serves as "acting governor" whenever the governor is unable to perform the duties.

The legislature is called the General Court. It consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 400 representatives, making it one of the largest elected bodies in the English-speaking world, and 24 senators. Most are effectively volunteers, nearly half of which are retirees. (For details, see the article on Government of New Hampshire.)

The state's sole appellate court is the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The Superior Court is the court of general jurisdiction and the only court which provides for jury trials in civil or criminal cases. The other state courts are the Probate Court, District Court, and the Family Division.

New Hampshire is a "Dillon Rule" state, meaning that the state retains all powers not specifically granted to municipalities. Even so, the legislature strongly favors local control, particularly with regard to land use regulations. Except for slightly more than a dozen communities incorporated as cities, local government in New Hampshire centers on town meetings. Some municipalities make final budgetary decisions by secret ballot at the same election where they vote for municipal officials.

Politics

The Republican Party and the Democratic Party are the only official parties. A majority of voters are registered independent, and can choose either ballot in the primary, and then regain their independent status after voting. The Libertarian Party had official party status from 1990 to 1994.

New Hampshire primary

New Hampshire is internationally famous for the New Hampshire primary, the first primary in the quadrennial American presidential election cycle. State law requires that the Secretary of State schedule this election at least one week before any "similar event." However, the Iowa caucus has preceded the New Hampshire primary. This primary, as the nation's first contest that uses the same procedure as the general election, draws more attention than those in other states, and has often been decisive in shaping the national contest.

In Dixville Notch in Coos County and Hart's Location in Carroll, the polls open at midnight on Election Day. State law permits a town where all registered citizens have voted to close early and announce its results. These are traditionally the first towns in both New Hampshire and the U.S. to vote in presidential primaries and elections.

Nominations for all other partisan offices are decided in a separate primary election. In Presidential election cycles, this is the second primary election held in New Hampshire.

Election results

In the past, New Hampshire has often voted Republican. Some sources trace the founding of the Republican Party to the town of Exeter in 1853. Prior to 1992, New Hampshire had only strayed from the Republican Party for three presidential candidates—Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Beginning in 1992, New Hampshire became a swing state in both national and local elections. The state supported Democrats Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, John Kerry in 2004, and Barack Obama in 2008. It was the only U.S. state to support Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 election, but not in the 2004 election, in which Democrat John Kerry won the state.

The Democrats dominated elections in New Hampshire as they did nationally in 2006 and 2008. In 2006, Democrats won both Congressional seats (electing Carol Shea-Porter in the 1st district and Paul Hodes in the 2nd district), re-elected Governor John Lynch, and gained a majority on the Executive Council and in both houses of the legislature for the first time since 1911. Democrats had not held both the legislature and the governorship since 1874. Neither U.S. Senate seat was up for a vote in 2006. In 2008, Democrats retained their majorities, governorship, and Congressional seats; and former governor Jeanne Shaheen defeated incumbent Republican John E. Sununu for the U.S. Senate in a rematch of the 2002 contest.

The 2008 elections resulted in women holding a majority, 13 of the 24 seats, in the New Hampshire Senate, a first for any legislative body in the United States.

Free State Project

The Free State Project is a proposal to have 20,000 individuals move to New Hampshire, with the intent of reducing the size and scope of government at the local, state, and federal levels. The Free State Project holds the annual New Hampshire Liberty Forum and the annual Porcupine Freedom Festival, also known as PorcFest.

Transportation

Highways

New Hampshire has a well-maintained, well-signed network of Interstate highways, U.S. highways, and state highways. Major routes include:

• Interstate 89 runs northwest from near Concord to Lebanon on the Vermont border.

• 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.

• Interstate 95 runs north-south briefly along New Hampshire's seacoast to serve the city of Portsmouth, before entering Maine

• U.S. Route 1

• U.S. Route 2

• U.S. Route 3 parallels Interstate 93 except south of Manchester, where it heads toward Nashua.

• U.S. Route 4

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 does not indicate the highway's direction.

• 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.

• 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 freeway that runs to Hampton Beach and I-95.

Air

New Hampshire has 25 public-use airports, four of which have scheduled commercial passenger service. By far the busiest airport in the state is Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in the south, which serves the Greater Boston metropolitan area.

Public transportation

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

As of 2009, 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.

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 Pan Am Railways, the New England Central Railroad, the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad, and New Hampshire Northcoast Corporation.

Education

High schools

The first 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 150 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.

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

Thompson Hall, at UNH, was built in 1892

• Antioch University New England

• Chester College of New England

• Colby-Sawyer College

• Daniel Webster College

• Dartmouth College

• Franklin Pierce University

• Franklin Pierce Law Center

• Hesser College

• Lebanon College

• Magdalen College

• McIntosh College (Scheduled to close end of 2009)

• New England College

• Community College System of New Hampshire:

• *White Mountains Community College

• *River Valley Community College

• *Lakes Region Community College

• *New Hampshire Technical Institute

• *Nashua Community College

• *Great Bay Community College

• *Manchester Community College

• New Hampshire Institute of Art

• Rivier College

• Saint Anselm College

• Southern New Hampshire University

• The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

• University System of New Hampshire:

• *University of New Hampshire

• *Granite State College

• *Keene State College

• *Plymouth State University

• *University of New Hampshire at Manchester

Media

Daily newspapers

• Berlin Daily Sun

• Concord Monitor

• Conway Daily Sun

• The Dartmouth of Dartmouth College/Hanover

• Eagle Times of Claremont

• Eagle Tribune (Lawrence, Massachusetts, area, including southern NH)

• Foster's Daily Democrat of Dover

• Keene Sentinel

• Laconia Citizen

• Laconia Daily Sun

• New Hampshire Union Leader of Manchester

• The Portsmouth Herald

• Telegraph of Nashua

• Valley News of Lebanon

Other publications

• Area News Group

• Carriage Towne News (covering Kingston and surrounding towns)

• The Exeter News-Letter

• The Hampton Union

• Hippo Press (covering Manchester, Nashua and Concord)

• Manchester Express

• Milford Cabinet, part of The Cabinet Press, which prints free weeklies in Hollis/Brookline, Bedford and Merrimack)

• The New Hampshire (University of New Hampshire student newspaper)

• New Hampshire Business Review

• New Hampshire Free Press

• The New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth alternative biweekly)

Radio stations

See List of radio stations in New Hampshire.

Television stations

• ABC affiliate: WMUR, Channel 9, Manchester

• PBS affiliates in Durham, Keene and Littleton (New Hampshire Public Television)

• MyNetworkTV affiliate: WZMY, Channel 50, Derry

Sports

Annually since 2002, high school statewide all stars compete against Vermont in ten sports during "Twin State" playoffs. New Hampshire also has an amateur roller derby league called the New Hampshire Roller Derby.

Culture

In the spring, New Hampshire's many sap houses hold sugaring-off open houses. In summer, New Hampshire is home to many county fairs, the largest being the Hopkinton State Fair, in Contoocook. New Hampshire's lake 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. 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.

In fiction

Literature

• Peterborough is the inspiration for the town of Grover's Corners, in Thornton Wilder's play Our Town.

• The novel Peyton Place was inspired by Gilmanton, New Hampshire.

• John Knowles based the Devon School in A Separate Peace on the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter. The prep school in John Irving's The World According to Garp was also based on the Academy. Irving's stepfather was a faculty member at the school, and Irving is an alumnus; New Hampshire settings are common in his works.

• Many of the novels written by Jodi Picoult take place in New Hampshire.

• Much of the action in Julian May's science fiction saga the Galactic Milieu Series takes place in the state, with New Hampshire being the capital of the "Human Polity", in effect the center of government of the human race.

• Andrew Clements's award-winning book Frindle takes place in New Hampshire.

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 and television

• Dartmouth College is said to be the inspiration for the film Animal House, as one of the scriptwriters, Chris Miller, studied there.

• The character of Josiah Bartlet, President of the United States on the television series The West Wing, was depicted as a two-term New Hampshire governor.

Notable residents or natives

See article List of people from New Hampshire.

Granite State firsts

• 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.

• In 1845, the machine shop of Nashuan John H. Gage was considered the first shop devoted to the manufacture of machinists' tools.

• On August 29, 1866, Sylvester Marsh demonstrated the first mountain-climbing "cog" railway.

• Finished on June 27, 1874, the first trans-Atlantic telecommunications cable between Europe and America stretched from Balinskelligs Bay, Ireland, to Rye Beach, 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, in Manchester, to help mill workers save and borrow money.

• In 1933 the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen held the first crafts fair in the nation.

• In 1934, the current record for the highest recorded surface wind gust (231 mph) was set on Mount Washington.

• In 1937 the Belknap Recreation Area installed the first chairlift for skiing in the East.

• In 1938 Earl Tupper, of Berlin, invented Tupperware and founded Tupper Plastics Company.

• 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. NH was selected because they were the first to start installing the red and yellow ones statewide.

• On May 31, 2007 New Hampshire became "...the first state to embrace same-sex unions without a court order or the threat of one."

See also