Living in New Hampshire is pretty great. From beautiful, green summers to wintery, white snow this time of year it’s easy to just look around and feel fortunate. But, we especially appreciate that there are some things that only New Hampshirites can brag about. In no particular order, here are some of our favorites. What are yours?

1. Wolfeboro was the first resort town in America.
sirod47 / Flickr
This incredible town sits on Lake Winnipesaukee and it's been luring tourists since its founding in 1770. Well, it might have been the famous nephew of governor Benning Wentworth building a summer home here that really catapulted the town, But, we like to think it's been famous since day one.
2. The state's motto comes from, John Stark, a Revolutionary War hero here.
jcbwalsh / Flickr
The motto, "Live free or die" comes from a proposed toast by Starks. The New Hampshire state legislature made it the official state motto in 1945.
3. The first potatoes in America were planted in New Hampshire.
fluffymuppet / Flickr
It's no wonder they're the state vegetable! First planted by Scottish settlers in 1719, we've never grown tired of them.
4. The legal lottery system began in New Hampshire.
marktee / Flickr
The state was the first to allow a lottery in 1964 and it's raised over $1.9 billion!

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5. When Europeans first came to the state, they called it "the Switzerland of America" which means we're not crazy when we'd prefer to be outside in the wintertime.
njshippee / Flickr
Specifically, it was the White Mountains that brought about this comparison and one visit will show you why.
6. The very first American to make it into space was from New Hampshire.
spamily / Flickr
Alan Shepard is from East Derry and on May 5th, 1961 he was the first American in space. The trip lasted just 15 minutes, but it was an incredibly important milestone in American space exploration. In 1971, he was the fifth man on the moon.
7. The end of the Russo-Japanese War came as a result of the armistice signed in New Hampshire.
Leonardo / TripAdvisor
While the actual negotiations took place in Kittery, the Nobel Prize winning work done by Theodore Roosevelt was done at the Portsmouth Peace Conference. The armistice was later signed at the Wentworth Hotel in New Castle.
8. New Hampshire was the first state to declare itself independent from Great Britain.
louisvillemetro / Flickr
To recognize this, the delegates from New Hampshire were given the honor being the first to vote for the acceptance of the Declaration of Independence. They weren't the first to sign it, but hey - you can't always be first.

Did you know that the oldest public library in the world can be found in New Hampshire? Learn more about it here!

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