Known for holding the first party primary elections every four years, New Hampshire is also popular for its summer resorts along the beach and winter sports on its fine ski terrain. Adventure is also part of New Hampshire history.
Here are eight events that helped shape the sate of New Hampshire:
1. New Hampshire's early development was a result of an English colonization project starting in 1623. Fishing communities were set up near the Piscataqua River in what are now Rye and Dover, New Hampshire. Captain John Smith had originally named the area "North Virginia," but King James later changed it to "New England."
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2. The New Hampshire area became part of the Massachusetts settlement for 38 years until it was made a separate colony by England in 1679.
3. About 400 New Hampshire patriots played significant roles in the American Revolution, removing powder and guns at Fort William and Mary in 1774 to prevent a British takeover of Portsmouth upon their return. Paul Revere rode from Boston to Portsmouth to warn the townspeople before his "midnight ride" a year later from Boston to Lexington, Massachusetts.
4. It is believed that most of the patriots fighting at the Battle of Bunker Hill were from New Hampshire. The British won the battle on June 17, 1775, but the strong colonial opposition inspired other patriots in the fight for independence.
5. New Hampshire history stood out in 1776. It became the first of the original 13 colonies to set up an independent government in January 1776. The New Hampshire delegation became the first to vote for the Declaration of Independence in July 1776.
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6. New Hampshire became a state in 1788. The state constitution, adopted in 1784 and revised in 1792, is the second-oldest document governing a state that remains in effect.
7. The Merrimack Valley along the Merrimack River became the economic center of the state with its thriving textile mills in the 1800s. The mills attracted immigrant workers, especially French Canadians who came from Quebec.
8. Although the state's economy declined following World War I with competition from other mill industries throughout the country, it revived dramatically beginning in the 1960s. Low state taxes and the rise of high-tech businesses helped the state to nearly double its population between 1960 and 1988, from 606,921 to 1.1 million.
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