New Hampshire State Library // Concord, New Hampshire

February 2, 2022

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Happy Wednesday friends! I hope your week is starting off well! 

As I mentioned in my post about a new direction that Caravan Sonnet is heading in (you can read more HERE!) I am excited to spend more time sharing about upstate New York, New York, and New England in my travel posts! Last week I shared that I am excited to share with y'all some recap posts from the New England Winter Road Trip that I took with my mom 2 years ago about a month before the world stopped due to the pandemic! 

At the time I shared a couple of posts about our trip, but with the way the world changed I stopped sharing and didn't get to share even half of what we saw or what we did and so I am excited to revisit this trip and share more! I hope that it encourages you to consider taking a road trip (in part or in whole depending on your circumstances) this winter to this beautiful place in the world! Today I am excited to re-share our visit to the New Hampshire State Library in Concord, New Hampshire!
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Happy Tuesday friends! I hope you are having a lovely start to your week! Today I am excited to share more about our New England Winter Road Trip that we took in February (prior to the outbreak of the COVID 19 virus and stay at home/shelter in place orders)! To read about the exact route that we took check out this post HERE! Here is a general overview...
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We arrived in Concord around lunch time and after eating at Margaritas (you can read my review HERE) we drove less than a half a mile to explore the historic area of Concord. If you go to Concord in the warmer months you could easily walk this, but it was freezing and we chose to drive! *smiles* For those who may need it there is ample disability parking which is wonderful!

The first thing we did was explore the beautiful and historical St. Paul's Episcopal Church. You can read all about that HERE and then we spent time exploring the historical and awe-inspiring New Hampshire State House (click HERE to read more)! After exploring the State House we moved our car (mostly to warm up *smiles*) less than a half a block up to the New Hampshire State Library. 
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If you interested in American History (or ever watched West Wing), then the New Hampshire State Library is something that you are aware of that holds an incredible amount of History for our country in numerous ways at the state and federal level. 
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The New Hampshire State Library is the first state library that was founded in America. 
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Founded in January 1717, the New Hampshire State Library is considered one of the oldest institutions in the United States. While the State Library was originally situated in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, this state library has been located in Concord since 1808. The current building, seen in the pictures above was opened right before the turn of the 20th century, opening in 1895. 
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Interestingly, the state library also housed the New Hampshire Supreme Court until 1970. 
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The New Hampshire State Library is famously known to host the first of many important steps in the presidential elections. There is a massive media coverage surrounding this time period and the publicity can often be a huge notice of who will end up being a front runner. This primary is often seen as a major testing grounds for both political parties as those who do well in this primary often become serious contenders for the presidency. Often times (in a matter of hours) the front runner changes the layout of national politics in unexpected ways. Most Famously this happened in 1952, 1968, 1980, and 2008. 
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How incredible is that? This piece of history is truly something amazing to see and visit. 
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Outside the Library there are a number of benches that hold additional historical value that you can read about in the pictures above. 

It's always amazing to learn and read of all of the History of these buildings, where they started and where they are now. The stories and historical precedents that were made is a gentle reminder to continue to make wise and important decisions everyday for our country! Our actions truly can affect generations to come!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read today! Please let me know if you have any questions about the New Hampshire State House or our New England Winter Road Trip! Happy Tuesday friends! I hope you have a wonderful day!
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Thank you again for reading today! Are you a teacher? Did you know that I have pictures from New Hampshire State Library in the historical travel section (HERE) of the Caravan Sonnet Teachers Pay Teachers Shoppe? You can find the exact listing HERE! If you are a teacher or a homeschool mama you could use these pictures in a variety of ways in your classroom, in presentations, on printables on social media, and MUCH more! Check out the shoppe HERE!

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