|
New Hampshire:
Long after sailors, fishermen and
agricultural colonists had domesticated
the entire coastline of New England, the
harsh, glacier-scarred interior of NEW
HAMPSHIRE, with its dense forests and
forbidding mountains, remained the
exclusive preserve of the Algonquin
Indians. Only the few miles of seashore
held sizeable seventeenth-century
communities of European settlers, such as
Strawberry Banke at Portsmouth.
Even
when the Indians were finally driven back,
following the defeat of their French
allies in Canada, the settlers could make
little agricultural impact on the rocky
terrain of this “granite state.” Towns
such as Nashua, Manchester and Concord
grew up in the fertile Merrimack Valley,
but not until the Industrial Revolution
made possible the development of
water-powered textile mills did the
economy take off. For a while, ruthless
timber companies looked set to strip
all northern New Hampshire bare – very few
of the trees you see now are original
growth – but they were brought under
control when it was appreciated that the
pristine landscape of the White
Mountains might turn out to be the
state’s greatest asset. Large-scale
tourism began towards the end of last
century; at one stage fifty trains daily
brought travelers up to Mount Washington.
Ever
since becoming the first American state to
declare independence, in January 1776, New
Hampshire has been proud to go its own
idiosyncratic way. The absence of a sales
tax, or even a personal income tax, is
seen as a fulfillment of the state motto,
“Live Free or Die.” Alternative sources of
revenue include state-owned liquor
stores in which, unlike in neighboring
states, you are able to purchase alcohol
on Sundays – set up after the failure of
Prohibition, and enthusiastically
promoted: they even have them in freeway
rest areas. The state has long gained
inordinate political clout as the venue of
the first primary election of each
presidential campaign, with its villages
well used to playing host to would-be
world leaders.
One less
ideological aspect of New Hampshire’s
individualism is the emphasis on a healthy
outdoor lifestyle. Hiking, climbing,
cycling and skiing are enjoyed both
by energetic locals and by the many
visitors who drive up from Boston and New
York. The major destinations are Lake
Winnipesauke, and Conway,
Lincoln and Franconia in the
mountains further north. Some have grown
rather too large and commercial for their
own good, but if you steer clear of the
paying “attractions,” the lakes, islands
and snowcapped peaks themselves remain
spectacular. To see the bucolic rural
scenery more usually associated with New
England, take a detour off the main roads
up the Merrimack Valley – to Canterbury
Shaker Village near Concord, for
example.
Click here to go to New
Hampshire
State web site. |
