New Hampshire, the United States of America’s ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, is found in the northeast corner of the country. With a population of about 1.3 million people, the state is the 41st most populated in the nation.
The first known residents of the area now known as New Hampshire were the Pennacook Indians. These Indians were not strangers to English speakers when the first settlers came in the 1620’s. Prior to that, a number of visitors had scaled the land and explored it superficially. Two of the more famous explorers included Samuel de Champlain and Virginia’s Jamestown founder, John Smith.
In 1623, Sir Fernando Georges travelled along the New England coastline and reviewed the land. The Council for New England granted a charter for Georges and Captain John Mason for the lands between the Kennebec and Merrimack Rivers. Georges took charge of the north (Maine) while Mason moved his people into the south. Mason, who was from Hampshire, England, named the land after his home county: New Hampshire.
The first settlement was founded at scenic Odiorne Point, in present-day Rye. Fisherman David Thompson led a number of his colleagues and their families to Rye and set up a small fishing community. At the time, the small settlement went by the name of Pannaway Plantation, which was its name for many years. As the town grew, more interest grew in its neighboring areas. John Mason continued inland on an expedition to claim more land, and set up Northam, which is now called Dover. Further up the coastline, people set up residences along the Piscataqua River mouth, where there was a very large growth of wild strawberries. They called the location Strawberry Banke.
As further settlements spread out in the state, ownership of the land was in dispute. The Massachusetts Bay Colony had claimed the territories that had been set up in New Hampshire around 1635. Nevertheless, rule was flexible as the towns were allowed to set up individual laws. By 1679, New Hampshire was deemed separate from Massachusetts and a governor, John Cutt, was assigned to the new Royal Province. For many years after that, the agreement to keep New Hampshire part of Massachusetts was under constant revision. In 1741, its independence as a separate settlement was finalized and governor Benning Wentworth took office. He served until 1766.
Historically, the signing of the Declaration of Independence was a major milestone reached just 10 years following Wentworth’s retirement. New Hampshire played a big part in the War leading up to America’s independence from England. New Hampshire provided 3 major militias in the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Battle of Bennington, the Battle of Rhode Island and many others. It also where much of the ammunition used in the battles was manufactured. Although there weren’t many battles fought in New Hampshire, Yankee armies had set up some impressive forts along the coast that still stand today.
New Hampshire became a state on January 5, 1776, when the state constitution was ratified in Exeter. In 1808, Concord became the official state capital. Concord has traditionally held all its legislative sessions in the original state capital building, making it the state to have the oldest working legislative courts in the United States. In addition, the state’s legislature contains the most members of any state.
During the 1800’s, industry in the state flourished. The existence of the large, powerful Merrimack River was one of the primary reasons for its growth. Textile mills appeared along the river, including the largest one in the United States, which existed in Manchester on the sizeable Amoskeag Falls. Portsmouth – the former Strawberry Banke settlement – set up one of the largest maritime manufacturing centers, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. With this explosion of development and migration of well-educated people to the region, modern attitudes became the norm. Parts of the population made and supported efforts to encourage abolitionism and integrated public facilities. Still, there were many who opposed integration and were very vocal about it. One such symbol of this struggle was Dartmouth College’s building of the interracial Noyes School in Canaan. It didn’t stand long: rural opponents to it burned it down just months after its creation.
When Civil War hit the new country, New Hampshire ultimately stood on the Union’s side. Over 30,000 men, including sharpshooters, staff of heavy artillery and fighters that joined the Battalion for the 1st New England Volunteer Cavalry would travel from New Hampshire to the battles fought in the more southern parts of the country. When the war was won by the Union States, New Hampshire would join New England in being the most integrated region in America.
From the turn of the 20th century onward, New Hampshire’s growth subsided. The Depression hit the many industries of New Hampshire hard and closed many mills, including the textile mill at Amoskeag Falls. Population of the state did not increase by much until industries diversified and the automobile became ubiquitous. With the advent of Eisenhower’s Interstate System, transportation between the booming metropolis of Boston was very accessible and population growth streamed out of the city and into southern New Hampshire. Many of the business interests of Boston followed, and in the past fifty years, companies that focus on finance, electronics, technology, pharmaceuticals and other modern industries have set up sites in New Hampshire. Today, New Hampshire is the home of positive change and satisfied residents. Many who visit – to ski, lay on the beach, or watch the changing of the foliage in October – choose to stay for good.
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