14 Quirky Facts About New Hampshire That Sound Made Up, But Are 100% Accurate

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.

1. The Abduction Of Betty And Barney Hill

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.

2. Franklin Pierce, Sex Symbol

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.

3. Killington, Vermont Wants To Be Killington, New Hampshire

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.

4. New Hampshire Has Nine State Songs

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.

5. The First American In Space Played Golf On The Moon

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.

6. The Largest Town In New England Is Here

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.

7. New Hampshire Fisher Cats' Original Name

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.

8. The Center Of The State Is Almost Underwater

Just shy of Winona Lake lies the geographic center of New Hampshire, about three miles of the Town of Ashland.

9. Football Without Helmets, You Know, For Science

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.

10. New Hampshire Has Four Nicknames

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.

11. An Infamous Serial Killer Was Born Here

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.

12. The State's Original Name Was North Virginia

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.

13. The State Insect Is The Ladybug

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.

14. Birthplace Of The American Potato

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.