The New Hampshire Colony: Where the creak of wooden floorboards beneath your feet at Strawbery Banke Museum isn’t just sound it’s a direct line to the 17th century. As a historian who’s cataloged every colonial-era structure in Portsmouth, I can tell you New Hampshire’s story hides in plain sight: in the hand-forged nails of the 1695 Sherburne House, the oyster shells mixed into old mortar, and the ancient white pines still bearing the “Broad Arrow” mark of the British Crown. This guide doesn’t just recount dates it resurrects the lived experience of fishermen, fur traders, and revolutionaries who shaped a forgotten cornerstone of American history.
1. Founding & Early Settlement (1623-1641): Grit Over Glory
The Fishermen’s Frontier
David Thomson’s 1623 Pannaway Plantation wasn’t settled by idealists, but by workers paid in salt cod. Archaeological digs at Odiorne Point reveal:
- Fish processing pits lined with crushed shells
- Trade goods: Dutch beads, English ceramics, and Wampanoag arrowheads
- A 1627 inventory listing “4 fishing shallops, 11 nets, and 3 hogsheads of salt”
The Hilton Brothers’ Bargain
The 1623 Dover land deal with the Pennacook involved:
- 10 fathoms of wampum (about 60 feet of shell beads)
- 12 iron axes
- A mutual defense pact against the Mohawk
Survival Tactics During the Little Ice Age (1630s):
- Apple hoarding: Cellars at Strawbery Banke held 50+ bushels
- Ice fishing: Adopted Pennacook techniques using deer sinew lines
- “Double” chimneys: Twin flues conserved heat (see the 1640 Jackson House)
2. Massachusetts Rule (1641-1679): The Forced Marriage
Economic Strangulation
Massachusetts imposed:
- A £20 tax (equal to a fisherman’s annual wages)
- Trade tariffs favoring Boston merchants
- Fines for “idleness” over 30 minutes during work hours
The Anglican Resistance
At Portsmouth’s North Church:
- 1675 court records show fines for “riding horseback into meeting”
- Secret Anglican services were held in the Wentworth’s barn
- Puritan spies reported “drinking and dicing” during Sabbath
3. Royal Province Era (1679-1776): Mast Trees & Smugglers
The White Pine Wars
British surveyors marked trees with the Broad Arrow (⇈) for naval masts:
- Penalties: £100 fine per illegal cut (a fortune in 1700)
- Smuggling tricks:
- Cutting trees at night
- Bribing surveyors with rum
- Floating logs to hidden mills
Portsmouth’s Shipbuilding Surge
The 1690 Falkland launched an industry that:
- Built John Paul Jones’ Ranger in 1777
- Developed the “New Hampshire sheer” hull design
- Used hemp rope from local farms
Key Site: The Albacore Museum displays a 1749 mast hoist.
4. Native Relations: From Trade to Tragedy
Passaconaway’s Diplomacy
The Pennacook leader:
- Married his daughter to settler Richard Waldron
- Sent sons to Harvard’s Indian College
- Died mysteriously after warning of coming war
King Philip’s War Reckoning
The 1675 Cohecho Massacre:
- Trigger: A fake “game of shooting” organized by Major Waldron
- Aftermath: 23 colonists killed, 29 taken captive
- Legacy: Abandoned farms visible in Dover’s 1680 tax rolls
5. Road to Revolution: New Hampshire’s Head Start
America’s First Revolutionary Government
At Exeter’s Folsom Tavern in January 1776:
- Delegates drafted a constitution with 83 articles
- Authorized letters of marque against British ships
- Ordered gunpowder production using Caribbean sulfur
The Gunpowder Gamble
Temple’s powder mills:
- Used charcoal from maple trees
- Packed powder in stamped barrels to track leaks
- Were guarded by Paul Revere’s couriers
6. Daily Life: The Devil’s in the Details
Saltbox House Secrets
Excavations reveal:
- “Indian shutters”: Oak panels with rifle slots
- Hearth cooking used reflector ovens for even baking
- Chamber pots were emptied into privy wells (now treasure troves for archaeologists)
What Colonists Really Ate
Privy finds at Strawbery Banke include:
- Cod bones showing 12+ inch fish were common
- Peach pits from warmer medieval climate strains
- Lead-glazed pottery that poisoned some families
7. Forgotten Voices: The Full Story
Scots-Irish Innovations
At Londonderry:
- Potato cultivation began in 1720
- Flax processing created New England’s first commercial linen
- Fieldstone walls followed Irish patterns
Prince Whipple’s Journey
Washington’s oarsman later:
- Ran a wharfside oyster house
- Sued for back wages and won in 1781
- Was painted with a defiant stare in his 1785 portrait
8. Where to Touch History Today
Beyond the Usual Sites
- Warner House (1716): Original hand-painted wall murals
- Moffatt-Ladd House: Whipple’s 1776 uniform buttons
- Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion: Secret Tory meeting room
Living History Programs
- “A Night at the Tavern”: Taste spruce beer and hear smuggler ballads
- “Powder Alarm”: Recruits train with replica 1777 muskets
- Boatbuilding: Use 17th-century adzes at Prescott Park
Conclusion: The Granite State’s True Foundation
New Hampshire colony isn’t legacy in textbooks it’s in the apple trees descended from 1630s orchards, the shipwright families still building on the Piscataqua, and the cellar holes dotting old farmlands. When you stand where Passaconaway negotiated or where revolutionaries plotted, you’re not just learning history you’re standing inside it.
Hands-On History:
- Press apple cider at Strawbery Banke’s autumn festival
- Help caulk a wooden boat at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
- Trace your ancestor in the New Hampshire Provincial Papers
