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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 Strawbery 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
the state recognized that the pristine landscape
of the White Mountains might turn out to be its
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. The stores were
set up after the failure of Prohibition, and have
been enthusiastically promoted ever since: they
even have them in freeway rest areas. The state
has long gained inordinate politi cal 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 Winnipesaukee,
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.
New Hampshire coast
Of all the US states with ocean access, New Hampshire
has the shortest coastline – just eighteen miles.
Driving north from Boston along either I-95 or
the quieter US-1, you enter New Hampshire after
roughly forty miles, to be confronted almost immediately
by the nuclear power plant at Seabrook Station,
which opened in 1990 after years of determined
opposition, not least from the irate state of
Massachusetts over the border. HAMPTON BEACH,
a little further on, is a traditional family-oriented,
if somewhat tacky, seaside resort (its free information
line has the optimistic number tel 1-800/GET-A-TAN).
The usual assortment of motels and fast-food places
lines the approaches to the boardwalk and crowded
beaches, but in a place this close to Boston summer
accommodation rates are high.
To
view Vacation Rental Homes in NEW HAMPSHIRE click
here.
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