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Early historians record that in 1623, under the authority of an English land-grant, Captain John Mason, in conjunction with several others, sent David Thomson, a Scotsman, and Edward and Thomas Hilton, fish-merchants of London, with a number of other people in two divisions to establish a fishing colony in what is now New Hampshire, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River.
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One of these divisions, under Thomson, settled near the river’s mouth at a place they called Little Harbor or "Pannaway," now the town of Rye, where they erected salt-drying fish racks and a "factory" or stone house. The other division under the Hilton brothers set up their fishing stages on a neck of land eight miles above, which they called Northam, afterwards named Dover.
Nine years before that Captain John Smith of England and later of Virginia, sailing along the New England coast and inspired by the charm of our summer shores and the solitude of our countrysides, wrote back to his countrymen that:
"Here should be no landlords to rack us with high rents, or extorted fines to consume us. Here every man may be a master of his own labor and land in a short time. The sea there is the strangest pond I ever saw. What sport doth yield a more pleasant content and less hurt or charge than angling with a hook, and crossing the sweet air from isle to isle over the silent streams of a calm sea?"
Thus the settlement of New Hampshire did not happen because those who came here were persecuted out of England. The occasion, which is one of the great events in the annals of the English people, was one planned with much care and earnestness by the English crown and the English parliament. Here James the first began a colonization project which not only provided ships and provisions, but free land bestowed with but one important condition, that it remain always subject to English sovereignty.
So it remained until the "War of the Revolution." Smith first named it "North Virginia" but King James later revised this into "New England." To the map was added the name Portsmouth, taken from the English town where Captain John Mason was commander of the fort, and the name New Hampshire is that of his own English county of Hampshire.
Captain Mason died in 1635, just before his proposed trip to the new country which he never saw. He had invested more than twenty-two thousand pounds in clearing the land, building houses, and preparing for its defense, - a considerable fortune for those days. By then Dover and Portsmouth had expanded into Hampton and Exeter, and its income from fishing was increased by that from trade in furs and timber.
Taking the idea from the English government, a community of "towns" was erected, and this became a "royal province" in 1679 with John Cutt as president, with a population intended to be as nearly like England as it could be. The "royal province" continued until 1698 when it came under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts with Joseph Dudley as Governor. Thus it continued until 1741.
During that time England’s throne had been ruled by William and Mary, Queen Anne, and George I, and New Hampshire was administered by no less than eight lieutenant governors. There had been much unrest in England and as a result, to New Hampshire’s advantage, the Scotch settlers of Londonderry in Ireland had in 1719 sent many of their people here to form a "Scotch" colony in the new place they would call our own Londonderry.
Under King George II New Hampshire returned to its provincial status with a governor of its own, Benning Wentworth, who was its chief magistrate from 1741 to 1766.
During the first two decades of Governor Wentworth’s term New Hampshire had been beset with Indian troubles. With little aid from England, then at war with its old-time enemy, France, the colonists undertook the sieges of Louisbourg, and helped to reduce Crown Point, and in the conquest of Canada. By the time of the signing of the Peace of Paris in 1762, and the end of the Indian fighting under the Rogers Rangers, the entire north country of New Hampshire was ready to be explored, surveyed, and populated.
Governor Wentworth who, as if in anticipation of this opportunity, seems to have been well prepared for it, had arranged the purchase for the sum of fifteen hundred pounds of the unauthenticated claims of Robert Mason, heir of Captain John Mason. This was done through a group of twelve influential citizens who called themselves the "Masonian Proprietors." Having done this, the governor kept the land "within the province."
Governor Wentworth, with all or most of the Masonian Proprietors as his councilors, then proceeded to grant towns to prospective settlers as equally as possible. In addition to the thirty-eight towns already granted, more than a hundred others followed after the year 1761. These towns contained lots available to more than thirty thousand families, many from the older towns in southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts, but many from other neighboring states. Some of these towns were located in Vermont, to be released later by a court order, which made the western shore of the Connecticut River the state boundary line.
While the new towns were occasionally given the names of the leading grantees, not a few of them bore the historic names of English royalty, frequently those of friends and relatives of Governor Wentworth and his own royal family, the Rockinghams, in England. Many of the beneficiaries were soldiers who had fought in the Indian wars, while a few were of Dutch origin, such as might settle from New York in New Hampshire.
The terms of the grants were simple. The Proprietors could convey only the soil, while the political rights and powers of government came from the province. Provision was made that no land should be subject to taxation or assessment until improved by those holding the titles. Rights were reserved for land for roads, churches and schools, to be built within a definite period of time, for the use of ministers and in many cases for mill-rights. Fees were nominal, often only a shilling or an ear of corn a year. All tall pines should be saved for the King’s navy.
Benning Wentworth died in 1770. He was succeeded by his nephew who later became Sir John Wentworth, the last of the royal governors. He is perhaps best known because of his purchase of a thirty six mile tract of land on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee where he established an estate known as Kingswood. It afterward become Wolfeborough.
Governor Sir John Wentworth’s beneficial acts to the state included the building of roads, including one from Portsmouth to Kingswood; publishing the first accurate state map; organizing the State militia, a member of which was Major Benjamin Thompson of Concord who afterward became known as Count Rumford; his help in founding Dartmouth College; and the building of Wentworth House, now owned by the State. Loyal to the English crown, he embarked for Nova Scotia at the beginning of the Revolution, there to become its lieutenant governor until his death in 1820.
A pre-Revolution event occurring in New Hampshire was the removal in 1774, by a small party of patriots at New Castle, of the powder and guns at Fort William and Mary. Other Revolutionary events included New Hampshire’s participation in the Battle of Bunker Hill at which nearly all the troops doing the actual fighting were said to have been from this State; the signing of the Declaration of Independence by New Hampshire’s Josiah Bartlett, Matthew Thornton, and William Whipple; General John Stark’s victory at the Battle of Bennington; and the success of Captain John Paul Jones at sea.
Just as it was the first to declare its independence and adopt its own constitution, New Hampshire was the ninth and deciding state in accepting the National Constitution as that of a republic, never to be known under any other form of government. New Hampshire’s John Langdon was the first acting vice-president of the United States, and was President of the Senate when Washington was elected first president.
Many events have helped to individualize New Hampshire’s unique history as the decades have followed each other down to the present time. Both Washington and Lafayette passed within our borders. Meshech Weare was elected the first state "president". Morey’s Connecticut River steam-boat preceded Fulton’s by seventeen years. An American President, Franklin Pierce, and a Vice-president, Henry Wilson, were elected, both from New Hampshire. Daniel Webster won his famous Dartmouth College case before the Supreme Court. The first American public library was established at Peterborough. The world-recognized "Concord Coach" was made here, as was America’s first cog-railroad to Mount Washington dating 1869.
Statesmen, educators, inventors, preachers, scientists, explorers, authors, industrialists, engineers, lawyers, diplomats, are all arrayed in the long line of notables New Hampshire claims as coming from her soil.
Fast facts about the Granite State
Origin of the State Name
New Hampshire was named for Hampshire, England by Captain John Mason
Nicknames
New Hampshire has 4 nicknames. The first is the one by which the state is commonly known.
Granite State: for our extensive granite formations and quarries
Mother of Rivers: for the rivers of New England that originate in our Mountains
White Mountain State: for the White Mountain Range
Switzerland of America: for our beautiful mountain scenery
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Capital
Concord is the seat of New Hampshire government. It is centrally located in the state on the Merrimack River.
Statehood
New Hampshire became the 9th state on June 21, 1788. It was one of the original 13 colonies.
Population
1,310,000 (2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimate)
Local Government
New Hampshire has 10 counties, 13 municipalities, 221 towns and 22 unincorporated places.
State Seal, Flag and Symbols
New Hampshire has adopted many symbols over the past 200 years, beginning with the first state seal in 1775 and continuing to the most recent symbol, the State Tartan in 1995.
The flag, seal and various symbols are all ways the state identifies itself. They had been adopted by the legislature as symbolic of the state in one way or another.
Motto
Live Free or Die. The motto comes from a statement written by the Revolutionary General John Stark, hero of the Battle of Bennington.
State Seal
In the center is a broadside view of the frigate "Raleigh", in the left foreground is a granite boulder, and in the background a rising sun. A laurel wreath and the words Seal of the State of New Hampshire surround the whole.
Flag
The state flag has the state seal centered on a blue field surrounded by laurel leaves with nine stars
State Emblem
A replica of the Old Man of the Mountain surrounded with the name of the state above and the motto below.
State Symbols
State Bird. The purple finch. Adopted in 1957.
State Tree. The white birch. Adopted in 1947.
State Insect. The ladybug. Adopted in 1977.
State Flower. The purple lilac. Adopted in 1919.
State Amphibian. The red-spotted newt. Adopted in 1985.
State Animal. The white tailed deer. Adopted in 1983.
State Gem. Smokey Quartz. Adopted in 1985.
State Mineral. Beryl. Adopted in 1985.
State Rock Granite. Adopted in 1985.
State Wildflower. Pink Ladyslipper. Adopted in 1990.
State Butterfly. Karner Blue. Adopted in 1992.
State Freshwater Game Fish. Brook Trout. Adopted in 1994.
State Saltwater Game Fish. Striped Bass. Adopted in 1994.
State Tartan Adopted in 1995.
State Sport Adopted in 1998.
Land
New Hampshire is located in northeastern United States. The total area of the state is 9,304 sq miles (24,097 sq km), comprising 9,027 sq miles (23,380 sq km) of land and 277 sq miles (717 sq km) of inland water. New Hampshire is bordered on the north by the Canadian province of Quebec; on the east by Maine and the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by Massachusetts; and the on the west by Vermont. Its geographic center lies in Belknap county, 3 miles (5 km) east of the town of Ashland. It is one of the six New England states, the others being Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Geographies sometimes speak of the state as the "Mother of Rivers." Five of the great streams of New England originate in its granite hills. The Connecticut River rises in the north; the Pemigewasset River starts in the Profile Lake in the Franconia mountains and joins the Winnipesaukee at Franklin to form the Merrimack River; the Cocheco and Salmon Falls rivers join at Dover to form the Piscataqua River; and two of the principal rivers of Maine, the Androscoggin and the Saco, have their beginnings in northern New Hampshire. New Hampshire has 1300 lakes or ponds and about 40 rivers with a total milage of about 41,800 miles.
Elevation
The highest point is Mount Washington at 6,288 feet (1,918 m); lowest point is sea level; approximate mean elevation is 1,000 feet (305 m).
Climate
New Hampshire has a changeable climate, with wide variations in daily and seasonal temperatures. The variations are affected by proximity to the ocean, mountains, lakes or rivers. The state enjoys all four seasons. Our summers are short and cool; winters are long and cold; fall is glorious with foliage. The weather station on Mount Washington has recorded some of the coldest temperatures and strongest winds in the continental United States.
Flora and Fauna
New Hampshire is heavily forested with an abundance of elm, maple, beech, oak, pine, hemlock and fir trees. Mount Washington features rare alpine plants such as Greenland sandwort, Labrador tea, alpine bearberry, dwarf cinquefoil and dwarf birch, willow and balsam fir. Among native New Hampshire mammals are the white-tailed deer, muskrat, beaver, porcupine and snowshoe hare. Threatened animals include the pine marten, arctic tern, purple martin, peregrine falcon, whip-por-will and osprey. The karner blue butterfly, lynx, bald eagle, shortnose sturgeon, Sunapee trout, Atlantic salmon and dwarf wedge mussel are on the State's endangered species list.
The state of New Hampshire is divided into seven regions and ten counties.
Each of the different regions offers something special to the Granite State.
The seven regions in NH are:
Dartmouth Sunapee Region
Dartmouth, on the NH and Vermont border, offers both a ivy league college and a busy city filled with things to do and places to go. And when you're venturing out from Hanover and looking for a getaway, head toward Lake Sunapee for a weekend of boating, swimming and relaxation.
Great North Woods Region
The Great North Woods is the northern-most, rural section of NH that is any outdoor lover's paradise. Great for fly fishing, moose gazing, and skiing, the Great North Woods is a landscape lover's dream.
Lakes Region
We may not have one of the Great Lakes, but our lakes are great. There's something simplistic and relaxing about sitting on a dock watching the boats come in and out and there's nothing better than eating outside with a cool, lake breeze.
Merrimack Valley Region
The Merrimack Valley is filled with large towns and cities offering malls and shopping as well as beautiful rivers and landscape. Many towns and cities are less than an hour away from Boston, the mountains and the seacoast.
Monadnock Region
The Monadnock Region is perfect for those who love the great outdoors but don't want to travel toward the Canadian border to find it. The Monadnock Region offers beautiful parks, hiking trails, and Main Street life.
Seacoast Region
The Seacoast region has the best of all worlds: ocean views and walks, city life and shopping, and a close proximity to the mountains, beach and Boston. The state may only have a small number of miles along the coast but it takes advantage of what it has.
White Mountains Region
Head up north in NH and you're sure to find picturesque mountains, views and the best skiing in the state. You'll also find amusement parks, resorts, and the scenic Kancamagus Highway.
The ten counties in NH are:
Belknap County
Carroll County
Cheshire County
Coos County
Grafton County
Hillsborough County
Merrimack County
Rockingham County
Strafford County
Sullivan County
No matter what time of year it is, there are always plenty of events and attractions happening through the Granite State. During the summertime you can stop by an amusement park or visit a farm and during the winter make time to go skiing or stop by a museum.
 Merrimack Valley Region - Click to expand/Collapse:
Canobie Lake Park
8 North Policy St.
Salem, NH 03079
Ph: 603-893-3506
Canobie Lake Park is New Hampshire's favorite amusement park. Traditional themes and high-tech thrills are combined for an unsurpassed entertainment experience for all ages. Rides include the corkscrew roller coaster, the Turkish Twist, the Boston Tea Party water ride, an authentic 24-gauge steam train, an antique carousel, and more! The park also features a variety of entertainment, including fireworks displays, live shows, costumed characters and specialty acts.
America's Stonehenge
105 Haverhill Road
Salem, NH 03079
Ph: 603-893-8300
It has been determined that America's Stonehenge is an accurate astronomically aligned calendar. It was and still can be, used to determine specific solar and lunar events of the year.
Charmingfare Farm
774 High Street
Candia, NH 03034
Ph: 603-483-5623
Visit the largest collection of agricultural animals and North American wildlife in New Hampshire. A visit to this 180-acre farm is affordable, educational, and exciting for children and adults. The farm is home to more than 200 animals consisting of 30 different species. Encounter wolves, lynx, fishers, reindeer, river otters and more. The barnyard offers traditional farm animals, hands-on petting, pony rides, and horse-drawn hayrides.
Christa McAuliffe Planetarium
2 Institute Drive
Concord, NH 03301
Ph: 603-271-7827
The planetarium serves as a living memorial to Christa McAuliffe. The shows blend computer generated effects, video, slides and music into an awe-inspiring experience. Take a trip to the stars and beyond at the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium.
Science Enrichment Encounters (SEE Science Center)
200 Bedford Street
Manchester, NH
603-669-0400
http://www.see-sciencecenter.org/
Feel the forces created by a gyroscope! Experiment with robots! Look through a periscope! Send a whisper across the room! Touch and try exhibits on light, electricity, forces, momentum, sound & much more! SEE has been getting kids from toddlers to teens excited about science since 1986.
Stonyfield Farm Yogurt
10 Burton Dr.
Londonderry
(603) 437-4040
http://www.stonyfield.com/
From cow to incubator to cooler, learn how yogurt is made. Try a sample and take home some moochandise (attention, cow fans).
Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tours, Clydesdale Hamlet
Rt. 3, Exit 10 off Everett Tpke.
Merrimack
(603) 595-1202
http://www.budweisertours.com
One-hour tours of the brewery end with the opportunity to sample the best-selling beer in America (soft drinks are also available). The Bavarian-style hamlet is home to the famous eight-horse hitch, and the Clydesdales welcome visitors. These truly impressive animals are worth the visit.
Canterbury Shaker Village
Exit 18 off I-93
Canterbury
(603) 783-9511
http://www.shakers.org
The Shakers were a religious community that thrived throughout the eastern United States during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Although their numbers have dwindled (there are a few Shakers still living in Maine), they left a legacy of simple living, simple pleasures and simple joy, which are reflected in the architecture, furniture, recipes and music we still value today. The Canterbury Village, once home to as many as 300 people, is now open to visitors. The last Shaker to live here, Sister Ethel Hudson, died in 1992. Experts on Shaker traditions explain the community lifestyle and demonstrate traditional crafts. Light lunches are available from the Summer Kitchen.
White Mountains Region - Click to expand/Collapse:
Whale's Tale Water Park
481 Route 3 North
Lincoln, NH 03251
Ph: 603-745-8810
For the water lovers in your group, Whale’s Tale Water Park has a 17,500 square foot pool with eight different waves. Slides, pools, rivers and a special pool for the very young provide fun for everyone. Lifeguards are always on duty. Free tubes are part of the package, and you can rent life vests for a reasonable fee.
Don't miss Castaway Cove, the Banzai Pipeline and the Eye of the Storm, where you'll hit speeds of 35mph!
Story Land
Route 16, P.O. Box 1776
Glen, NH 03838
Ph: 603-383-4186
Story Land is the children's theme park where fantasy lives! With wonderfully themed rides, lively shows, friendly storybook characters, unique play areas, and so much more, there's a smile and adventure around every corner. Whether it's a family tradition or a family first, a visit to Story Land creates memories to last a lifetime.
Clark's Trading Post
Route 3
North Woodstock, NH 03251
Ph: 603-745-8913
Clark’s Trading Post is another New Hampshire attraction with a long history. When it opened in the 1920s, it featured trained dogs as part of the entertainment. Today the performing animals are North American Black Bears. You might see the bears play Bears-ketball by dunking a ball through a hoop or weigh themselves after a milk and honey treat. Bear demonstrations begin when the park opens in spring, but the full shows don’t usually begin until July 1. Once begun, the bear shows continue throughout the season. Take time to enjoy the relaxing ride along the Pemigewasset River on the White Mountain Central Railway. The more active members of your group might want to try the bumper boats. And if you like to step back in time, be sure to see the mysterious Tuttle House, where pool balls run uphill, Avery’s Garage and the 1884 Fire Station. Get your picture taken at Kilburn’s Photo Parlor and sample ice cream at the nearby old-fashioned ice cream store.
Santa’s Village
U.S. Rt. 2
Jefferson
(603) 586-4445
http://www.santasvillage.com
Experience Christmas from Memorial Day to Columbus Day at Santa’s Village.
Rides for kids of all ages include the Yule Log Flume and the Skyway Sleigh. The admission price includes all the rides you want as well as entry to shows such as Elfis and Jingle Jamboree, where everyone sings Christmas carols. And, of course, the village has several gift shops and dining choices to keep everyone happy.
Six Gun City & Fort Splash Water Park
U.S. Rt. 2
Jefferson
(603) 586-4592
http://www.sixguncity.com
You might not think Wild West when you think New Hampshire, but you will after a visit to Six Gun City. Have a look at the different wagons the pioneers used to travel West, including an authentic Concord Coach from 1846. Then mosey on over to the ranch and take a look at the miniature burros. Watch out for bank robbers and don’t be surprised if the kids are deputized. Thoroughly modern kids will enjoy the water slides and minigolf. The price of admission includes unlimited rides.
Flume Gorge
Rt. 3
Franconia Notch
(603) 745-8391
http://www.nhparks.state.nh.us/parkspages/franconianotch/hours.html
View the free 15-minute introductory film at the visitors center and then follow the 2-mile walking trail through this natural gorge. The walk is moderately easy. The trail is mostly packed gravel with sections of boardwalk across the gorge. Sixty well-graded steps are interspersed along the path. You can take a shuttle bus for the first .5 miles of the walk to avoid the steepest downhill section. You’ll find plenty of spots to rest along the way. The gorge extends 800 feet at the base of Mount Liberty. The granite walls are 12 to 20 feet apart and rise up from 70 to 90 feet. You’ll see rare mountain flowers, waterfalls and mountain vistas as you travel through this Ice Age wonder on the moderate walk.
Lost River
N.H. Rt. 112, Kinsman Notch
North Woodstock
(603) 745-8031
http://www.findlostriver.com
Lost River Gorge is another New Hampshire glacial gift. The area’s glacier activity formed this natural wonder thousands of years ago. A self-guided tour and walkway help you through the granite crevasses, caverns and waterfalls. The tour lasts about an hour, and the Lost River comes in and out of view along the way. A great place for botanists, the Lost River Gorge has more than 300 varieties of flowers, ferns and shrubs. It’s a good idea to wear appropriate shoes and have a jacket handy for shady spots and cloudy days. There is a gift shop and snack bar and free parking.
Moose Tours
Gorham Information Center, Main St.
Gorham
(603) 466-3103
Take a two-hour tour through prime moose-sighting country in northern New Hampshire. The success rate for spotting a moose is 97 percent. They aren’t hard to see since a typical adult moose weighs about 1,000 pounds and is about 6 feet tall at the shoulder. Moose like salt and are therefore attracted to moist, roadside areas in spring and summer. The salt in these areas was used to melt ice and snow on roads during the winter. The 24-passenger air-conditioned bus departs once a day from the information booth in Gorham, across from the Berlin City Bank. The bus leaves every evening (exact time depends on sunset) from late May until mid-October. The ride begins with a 30-minute video on the logging and papermaking history of the Berlin area. Reservations are a good idea. The cost of the tour is $10 for adults and $6 for children younger than 13.
The Lakes Region - Click to expand/Collapse:
Funspot
N.H. Rt. 3
Weirs Beach
(603) 366-4377
http://www.funspotnh.com
Looking for something to do on a cold, rainy day? Or maybe everyone’s had too much sun already? Funspot offers more than 500 games inside a three-level entertainment building. Bowling (your choice of tenpins or traditional New England-style candlepins), bumper cars and arcade games, pinball and Bingo are just a few of the possibilities. Outside in summer there’s miniature golf and a driving range. Funspot holds charity fund-raisers, arts and crafts shows, holiday parties and occasional fireworks displays too.
Polar Caves
I 93 Exit 26, Route 25
Plymouth
(800) 273-1886
http://www.polarcaves.com
Nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Polar Caves are a spectacular place to experience Mother Nature's handiwork. The caves offer spectacular views and a glacially formed network of caves. These caves, unlike the typical caves most people think of, were not formed by water but by glaciers over 50,000 years ago.
Castle Springs
N.H. Rt. 171
Moultonborough
(603) 476-2352
http://www.castlesprings.com
The Castle in the Clouds, as it’s known, was built by an eccentric millionaire named Thomas Plant. The grounds are beautiful, the views are spectacular, and the castle looks like it was dropped here by accident on its way to Europe. Waters from the springs that give the site its name are bottled and sold in stores throughout the area. Recently a microbrewery has been added, taking advantage of the purity of the water.
Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region - Click to expand/Collapse:
Ruggles Mine
Off Route 4 at the Village Green
Grafton, NH 03240
Ph: 603-523-4275
In 1803 Sam Ruggles discovered Mica in Grafton. Rediscover this 200-year-old, spectacular open-pit mine: shining white walls, huge rooms, and tunnels. Over 150 minerals: mica, feldspar, beryl, amethyst, rose/smokey quartz, garnet, and Uranium minerals (gummite, autunite) prized by collectors/museums. Mineral collecting permitted with admission tickets.
Seacoast Region - Click to expand/Collapse:
Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne Point State
Route 1A
Rye, NH 03870
Ph: 603-436-8043
On the last undeveloped stretch of New Hampshire coastline. Cultural and natural history exhibits for the entire family. Visitors can touch and learn about tide pool animals in the indoor tide pool touch tank and learn about the seven habitats found on the 350-acre park.
Children's Museum of Portsmouth
280 Marcy Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Ph: 603-436-3853
This hands-on arts and sciences museum offers engaging exhibits, including a dinosaur dig, space shuttle cockpit, and lobster boat. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. When school is not in session, the museum is also open Monday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission charged.
Strawbery banke Museum
Marcy & Hancock Streets
Portsmouth, NH
603-433-1100
http://www.strawberybanke.org/
Strawbery Banke is about connecting with the past. Visitors to Strawbery Banke have the opportunity to experience and imagine how people lived and worked in this typical American neighborhood throughout four centuries of history. Through its restored houses, its featured exhibits, its historic landscapes and gardens, and its interpretive programs, Strawbery Banke tells the stories of the many generations who settled in the Portsmouth, NH, community from the late l7th to the mid-20th century.
Water Country
http://www.watercountry.com/
2300 Lafayette Road
Portsmouth, NH, 03801
603-427-1111
New England’s largest water park features tubing, giant water slides, a huge wave pool and a kiddie lagoon. There are totally crazed, thrill-a-minute rides (one is aptly named the Screamer) for the teens and fountains and waterfalls for the little ones. Life vests are free and required for children between 42 and 48 inches tall who venture onto the wilder rides. Tube rental is not included in the admission, and although they are not absolutely necessary your kids will definitely want them. Although there is plenty for younger children to do, parents of little ones often mention the crowds at the park as a drawback. Teens, on the other hand, adore the place. The park also hosts concerts and shows in the evenings.
Monadnock Region - Click to expand/Collapse:
Friendly Farm
Route 101
Dublin, NH 03444
Ph: 603-563-8444
The Friendly Farm has more than 7 acres filled with barnyard animals. You can feed and pat the animals as well as learn a lot about pigs, cows, horses even bees!
Stonewall Farm
242 Chesterfield Road
Keene, NH
603-357-7278
http://stonewallfarm.org/
Step into the past, present and future of agriculture and your environment with a visit to Stonewall Farm. We are a non-profit, member-supported educational facility and working dairy located in Keene, New Hampshire. A wide variety of programs, workshops and special events are made available to the public throughout the year.
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