New Hampshire, The Granite State

by Sandra Merville Hart

New Hampshire is known as The Granite State. The official state rock is also granite.

New Hampshire’s early history

In 1623, Captain John Mason sent David Thomson, who was a Scotsman, and Edward and Thomas Hilton of London along with others to begin a fishing colony in what is now known as New Hampshire. It became our third colony.

First known as North Virginia

The area was first named North Virginia. England’s King James changed the name to New England. At first, the area was controlled by the colony of Massachusetts, but later became a separate colony.

Writer of Mary Had a Little Lamb

Sarah Josepha Hale was a writer born in New Hampshire in 1788. In her late teens, she taught boys and girls at a private school. Mary, one of her students, entered the school one day followed by her lamb. Sarah sent the animal outside, but it waited in the yard for Mary until the end of the day. Sarah wrote the poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb” about her student.

 

New Hampshire becomes a state

After the Revolutionary War ended, New Hampshire became a state on June 21, 1788. The capital is Concord.

Other fun facts about New Hampshire

The State Motto of New Hampshire is “Live free or die.” This is a quote from General John Stark, a Revolutionary War hero from New Hampshire.

Folks living in New Hampshire don’t have to pay income tax.

The state bird is the purple finch.

The state flower is the purple lilac.

 

Sources

“13 Originals: Founding the American Colonies,” The Time Page, 2013/01/04 http://www.timepage.org/spl/13colony.html.

“A Brief History of New Hampshire,” New Hampshire Almanac, 2013/01/26 http://www.nh.gov/nhinfo/history.html.

Cheney, Lynne. Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006.

“Mary Had A Little Lamb,” Writer’s Almanac, 2013/01/26 http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2002/10/24.

“Settlement of New Hampshire,” United States History, 2013/01/26 http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h538.html.

“The Granite State,” State Symbols USA, 2016/06/05 http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/new-hampshire/state-nickname/granite-state.