New Hampshire Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for New Hampshire trivia? Try our list New Hampshire little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Female teachers weren’t recognized by state law until 1808, and still the law noted their “mental inferiority.” It wasn’t until 1858 that female educators were deemed equal to their male counterparts-except in matters of pay.

first appeared: 3/7/2010

One of the 19th-century factories that powered the local economy in Newport (pop. 6,269) was a scythe company, established in 1842 by Sylvanus Larned. About 1845, Ezra Sibley went into business with Larned, and the factory later was named the Sibley Scythe Co.

first appeared: 2/21/2010

Tuftonboro (pop. 2,148), which lies on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, was incorporated in 1795 and was the first incorporated town in the state to be owned by one individual, John Tufton Mason. Mason was heir to the Masonian Claim, the undivided lands of northern New Hampshire.

first appeared: 2/7/2010

Cutlery was the dominant industry in Antrim (pop. 2,449) and began with the manufacture of apple-paring machines in 1864. The cutlery business continued to thrive in the town through 1989.

first appeared: 1/24/2010

In 1849, C. Austin, of Concord (pop. 40,687), was granted a patent for a melodeon, a small reed organ that produces music through a bellows operated by a treadle that draws air through reeds.

first appeared: 1/10/2010

In 1910, the towns of Alstead (pop. 1,944) and Langdon (pop. 586) were the recipients of a new library-the Shedd-Porter Memorial Library-built as a gift from Marshall Fields executive John Shedd and his wife, Mary Porter, both natives of the area. Built in the grand neoclassical revival style, the library will celebrate its centennial next year.

first appeared: 12/27/2009

In the final years of World War II, hundreds of German prisoners of war were held captive in a camp in the village of Stark (pop. 516). And though the war continued thousands of miles away, some of the Germans, their American guards, and residents of Stark reportedly developed friendships.

first appeared: 12/13/2009

In May 1939, the U.S.S. Squalus submarine, built at the Portsmouth (pop. 20,784) Naval Yard, sank in nearly 250 feet of water during a test dive. Thirty-three of the 59-member crew who survived were rescued from the sub with the McCann Rescue Chamber, a revised version of a diving bell, despite nail-biting setbacks that included a tangled guide cable.

first appeared: 11/29/2009

In 1846, Benjamin Palmer, of Meredith (pop. 5,943), received a patent for an "artificial leg." The leg's pliable joint worked quietly and preserved its contours in all positions.

first appeared: 11/15/2009

In 1908, the first credit union in the United States was founded in Manchester as the La Caisse Populaire, Ste-Marie. The financial institution was incorporated in 1909 as St. Mary's Cooperative Credit Association and today is St. Mary's Bank.

first appeared: 11/1/2009

Jaffrey (pop. 5,476) is home to one of New England's most famous unsolved murders-the death of Dr. William Dean in 1918. Well known in the community, Dean was killed in his barn around midnight and found in the cistern the next day. Some speculated the crime was connected to German spies, although that theory never was proved.

first appeared: 10/18/2009

Howard Crossett, a resident of Bradford (pop. 1,454), was a member of the U.S. four-man bobsled team that won a silver medal at the 1952 Olympics in Oslo, Norway.

first appeared: 10/4/2009

Don Macek, born in Manchester in 1954, debuted in the National Football League in 1976 as a starting center for the San Diego Chargers. A graduate of Boston College, Macek spent his entire 14-year career with the California team and was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 2004.

first appeared: 9/20/2009

The Bement Bridge, spanning the west branch of the Warner River in Bradford (pop. 1,454), was built of hemlock in 1854 at a cost of $500.

first appeared: 9/6/2009

Established in 1727, Barnstead (pop. 3,886) attracted residents from Barnstable in Massachusetts and Hampstead in New York and was named for the two towns.

first appeared: 8/23/2009

Noted food scientist Robert Decareau (1926-2009) helped to invent the processes necessary to develop the microwave oven. A longtime resident of Amherst (pop. 10,769), Decareau began his career in 1953 as a research and development scientist for Raytheon Corp. in neighboring Massachusetts, where he developed methods to cook food with microwave energy.

first appeared: 8/9/2009

Born in Manchester in 1933, William "Billy" Pappas was a three-sport standout-lettering in football, basketball and baseball-in high school and at the University of New Hampshire. His achievements continued beyond school when he was named to the All-U.S. Air Force football team. He's a member of the Wildcat Athletics Council Hall of Fame.

first appeared: 7/26/2009

—Dinosaur Discovery in Unity (pop. 1,530) makes and sells life-size dinosaur "fossil" skeletons, jigsaw puzzles and fact sheets that help teachers instruct children about the extinct creatures. The skeletons and guides show children how a paleontologist would extract and reassemble real fossils to study a particular dinosaur.

first appeared: 7/12/2009

—Alstead (pop. 1,944) was one of the towns that wavered in its allegiance after the Revolutionary War. Town leaders decided to join Vermont in 1781, but returned to New Hampshire authority early the next year.

first appeared: 6/28/2009

—Aerosmith, considered one of America's top rock groups, has ties to New Hampshire. Band members Steven Tyler and Joe Perry spent their childhood summers in Sunapee, where another band member, Tom Hamilton, lived year-round and attended nearby New London (pop. 4,116) High School.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

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