New Hampshire gets a bad rap as the place you drive through on the way to somewhere with better pizza. Nope. Dig into the fun facts about New Hampshire and you'll find a little state with the fastest wind ever clocked by a person, the biggest legislature in America, a coastline you can walk end to end before lunch, and a town that votes at midnight. Not bad for the Granite State.
We've already covered the weird laws, the inventions, the famous people and the movies, so none of that here. Grab a maple creemee, find a seat, and settle in. Here are 15 things you probably didn't know about the Granite State.
1. It's Named After a Place in England
In 1629, Captain John Mason got a land grant in what's now New England and named it after Hampshire, the English county where he'd lived. That's the whole story. The "New" part came along for the ride, and New Hampshire has been the Granite State's name ever since.
2. The Old Man of the Mountain Fell in 2003
For generations, a 40-foot granite profile stared out over Franconia Notch from Cannon Mountain. It showed up on the 2000 state quarter and on road signs everywhere. Then on May 3, 2003, it crumbled overnight. Folks still love it. It's still the state's official emblem, and there's a memorial with profilers set up near the Notch where you can line up the old face against the sky.
3. "Live Free or Die" Came From a Toast
General John Stark, the Revolutionary War hero of the Battle of Bennington, was too old to attend an 1809 reunion of his old comrades. So he mailed in a letter that ended with the line "Live free or die: Death is not the greatest of evils." The state made it the official motto in 1945. Yes, it's on the license plates, and no, New Hampshire is not going to change it.
4. It Wrote the First State Constitution
On January 5, 1776, New Hampshire adopted the first state constitution in the country. That's six months before the Declaration of Independence. The document was meant to be temporary until things settled down with Britain. Things did not settle down.
5. Mount Washington Clocked a 231 MPH Wind
On April 12, 1934, observers at the summit weather station measured a gust of 231 mph. That stood as the fastest wind speed ever recorded on Earth for about 62 years, until a gust of 253 mph hit Barrow Island, Australia, in 1996. Mount Washington can still claim the fastest wind ever observed by a human at a staffed station. Bring a jacket, even in July.
6. It Has the Biggest Legislature in America
The New Hampshire House has 400 members, which is by far the largest state lower house in the country. Pennsylvania is second at 203. It's also one of the biggest legislative bodies in the English-speaking world. Each rep represents around 3,300 people, and they get paid $200 for a two-year term. That's right, 200 bucks total. Your neighbor who yells at the town meeting might be one of them.
7. Tiny Towns Vote at Midnight
When election day starts, a few small towns up north don't wait for sunrise. Dixville Notch has opened its polls at midnight since the 1960 presidential election and often has the whole electorate voted within minutes, since there are only a handful of voters. Hart's Location started a midnight tradition even earlier, back in 1948, for railroad workers, although it's been on and off over the years. Either way, the first votes of the day come from the North Country.
8. The Whole Coastline Is About 18 Miles
New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any coastal state. The state's official number is 18.57 miles, though NOAA measures it closer to 13, depending on how you do the math. Either way, you can see most of it on a Saturday at Hampton Beach. Short, but plenty of seafood shacks.
9. The Treaty of Portsmouth Was Signed Across the River
In 1905, Russia and Japan signed a peace treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War. President Theodore Roosevelt mediated it and won the Nobel Peace Prize the next year. The talks are named for Portsmouth, New Hampshire, because the delegates stayed at the Hotel Wentworth in New Castle and the area rolled out the welcome mat. But the signing happened across the river at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which is in Kittery, Maine. Sorry, New Hampshire. You're still on the name.
10. The Modern Money System Was Planned in the White Mountains
In July 1944, delegates from 44 nations gathered at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods for about three weeks, even as World War II still raged. They came out of it with plans for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. So the next time somebody says nothing big ever happens in Carroll County, tell them to look it up.
11. It Shares the Longest Wooden Covered Bridge in the U.S.
The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge crosses the Connecticut River between Cornish, New Hampshire, and Windsor, Vermont. Built in 1866, it's about 449 feet long, which makes it the longest wooden covered bridge in the country. It's still open to cars (10 tons or less, please). Fun twist: the state line runs along the Vermont bank, so the river itself, and pretty much the whole bridge, counts as New Hampshire territory.
12. Santa Lives in Jefferson, and He's Been There Since 1953
Santa's Village opened in Jefferson on June 21, 1953, and it's among the oldest Christmas-themed amusement parks in America. It was the idea of Normand and Cecile Dubois, who got the notion after seeing deer crossing the road in the North Country. The park now runs from spring until the holidays. Yes, there are reindeer. No, you can't bring one home.
13. Keene Once Lit 30,581 Pumpkins
On October 19, 2013, Keene set a Guinness World Record for the most lit jack-o'-lanterns displayed in one place: 30,581. The Keene Pumpkin Festival ran for more than two decades, but after rowdy off-site parties in 2014 the city declined the next year's permit. The festival moved to Laconia, and a smaller Keene event started up again a few years later. The pumpkins always went to local pig farmers afterward, so nothing was wasted.
14. There Were Fewer Than 15 Moose in the 1800s
Moose are everywhere on New Hampshire souvenirs and signs, but in the mid-1800s, farming had cleared so much forest that fewer than 15 were left in the whole state. Once old farms grew back into woods, the herd rebounded to a peak of 7,000 to 8,000 in the late 1990s. Today it's about 2,500 to 3,000, with winter ticks doing the damage. Want to rep the big guy? A Mini Moose Dad Hat is a good start. Just stay in your car if you actually see one.
15. It Ran America's First Modern State Lottery
New Hampshire was the first state to run a legal, government-operated lottery in the modern era, with tickets going on sale in March 1964. The state also has no general sales tax and no tax on wages. That's how the "Live Free" part got a little more literal at the cash register.
Small State, Wicked Big Bragging Rights
New Hampshire is one of the smaller states, but it's got outsized stories: a mountain with a world-class wind, a legislature the size of a small town, and a motto people really mean. Show some Granite State pride with a 603 New Hampshire Seal T-Shirt, and keep the trivia going with the posts linked up top.
Got a New Hampshire fact we missed? Drop it on our socials. And whether you're from Nashua, North Conway or somewhere up past the Notch, the Granite State never really lets go.
Stay wicked smaht, New Hampshire,
Ryan & the Chowdaheadz Crew