Facts and sometimes be unexciting, but local legends are often much more colorful. What if there were interesting items in history that were a bit of both? Here are some unusual things about New Hampshire that you may not know about.
- The Abduction Of Betty And Barney Hill
Kenneth C. Zirkel/Wikimedia Commons From September 19 to 20, 1961, this couple claimed to have been abducted by aliens in the Town of Lincoln. The incident has been the subject of much study and has been adapted for books and television.
- Franklin Pierce, Sex Symbol
mikroman6/moment via Getty Images The 14th president of the U.S. is considered to be one of the handsomest to ever hold office. In 2021, Ranker named him one of the hottest presidents.
- Killington, Vermont Wants To Be Killington, New Hampshire
DenisTangneyJr/E+ via Getty Images As recently as 2005, the citizens of Killington, Vermont proposed secession from the state and admission into New Hampshire. The main reason given was millions in tax savings.
- New Hampshire Has Nine State Songs
Unknown/Wikimedia Commons The Granite State is somewhat unusual in that it has one official state song and eight other honorary ones. Extra credit goes to anyone who can memorize all nine tunes.
- The First American In Space Played Golf On The Moon
Edgar D. Mitchell/NASA/Wikimedia Commons Alan Shepard was the first American to travel into space and the fifth person to set foot on the moon. If they weren’t momentous enough, he also became famous for whacking a golf ball on the “one big sand trap” of the moon.
- The Largest Town In New England Is Here
Ken MacGray/Flickr New Hampshire’s Great North Woods Region is dominated by the expanse of the Town of Pittsburg, which shares a border with Canada. This largely uninhabited area is home to much of the state’s timber harvesting.
- New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ Original Name
New Hampshire Fisher Cats/Facebook This minor league baseball team, based in Manchester, started out as the New Hampshire Primaries. This reflected the New Hampshire primary elections that are held every four years.
- The Center Of The State Is Almost Underwater
ACME Mapper Just shy of Winona Lake lies the geographic center of New Hampshire, about three miles of the Town of Ashland.
- Football Without Helmets, You Know, For Science
unh.edu/Wikimedia Commons It sounds dangerous but this study was conducted to determine the effects of head impacts in football and their relationship to spinal injuries and concussions.
- New Hampshire Has Four Nicknames
Sreejithk2000/Wikimedia Commons Out of the four nicknames, Mother of Rivers, White Mountain State, Switzerland of America, and the Granite State, the latter is best known and most used. It reflects the extensive granite formations that can be seen in the region’s cliffs and mountains.
- An Infamous Serial Killer Was Born Here
Unknown/Wikimedia Commons Herman Webster Mudgett was a prolific serial killer who confessed to 27 murders. He spent much of his time outside the state but was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire.
- The State’s Original Name Was North Virginia
John Baggaley/Moment via Getty Images Captain John Smith of England (and later a resident of Virginia) gave the early settlement of New Hampshire the name of North Virginia. The name was later revised after the English county of Hampshire.
- The State Insect Is The Ladybug
Annette Perrio/EyeEm/EyeEm via Getty Images The state legislature crowned the ladybug as the state’s official insect in 1977. The idea was sponsored by students at Broken Ground School in Concord.
- Birthplace Of The American Potato
Anastasiia Kulikovska/Moment via Getty Images In another student effort, the Derry Village Elementary School was instrumental for the white potato being named as the official state vegetable. The white potato was first cultivated in the Derry area in 1719.
If all of that wasn’t unusual enough, there’s plenty of weirdness in New Hampshire like these 11 strange laws, 12 locations around the state with oddball names, and 11 weird things that New Hampshire residents do.
Kenneth C. Zirkel/Wikimedia Commons
From September 19 to 20, 1961, this couple claimed to have been abducted by aliens in the Town of Lincoln. The incident has been the subject of much study and has been adapted for books and television.
mikroman6/moment via Getty Images
The 14th president of the U.S. is considered to be one of the handsomest to ever hold office. In 2021, Ranker named him one of the hottest presidents.
DenisTangneyJr/E+ via Getty Images
As recently as 2005, the citizens of Killington, Vermont proposed secession from the state and admission into New Hampshire. The main reason given was millions in tax savings.
Unknown/Wikimedia Commons
The Granite State is somewhat unusual in that it has one official state song and eight other honorary ones. Extra credit goes to anyone who can memorize all nine tunes.
Edgar D. Mitchell/NASA/Wikimedia Commons
Alan Shepard was the first American to travel into space and the fifth person to set foot on the moon. If they weren’t momentous enough, he also became famous for whacking a golf ball on the “one big sand trap” of the moon.
Ken MacGray/Flickr
New Hampshire’s Great North Woods Region is dominated by the expanse of the Town of Pittsburg, which shares a border with Canada. This largely uninhabited area is home to much of the state’s timber harvesting.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats/Facebook
This minor league baseball team, based in Manchester, started out as the New Hampshire Primaries. This reflected the New Hampshire primary elections that are held every four years.
ACME Mapper
Just shy of Winona Lake lies the geographic center of New Hampshire, about three miles of the Town of Ashland.
unh.edu/Wikimedia Commons
It sounds dangerous but this study was conducted to determine the effects of head impacts in football and their relationship to spinal injuries and concussions.
Sreejithk2000/Wikimedia Commons
Out of the four nicknames, Mother of Rivers, White Mountain State, Switzerland of America, and the Granite State, the latter is best known and most used. It reflects the extensive granite formations that can be seen in the region’s cliffs and mountains.
Herman Webster Mudgett was a prolific serial killer who confessed to 27 murders. He spent much of his time outside the state but was born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire.
John Baggaley/Moment via Getty Images
Captain John Smith of England (and later a resident of Virginia) gave the early settlement of New Hampshire the name of North Virginia. The name was later revised after the English county of Hampshire.
Annette Perrio/EyeEm/EyeEm via Getty Images
The state legislature crowned the ladybug as the state’s official insect in 1977. The idea was sponsored by students at Broken Ground School in Concord.
Anastasiia Kulikovska/Moment via Getty Images
In another student effort, the Derry Village Elementary School was instrumental for the white potato being named as the official state vegetable. The white potato was first cultivated in the Derry area in 1719.
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Address: New Hampshire, USA
