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.
