New Hampshire's granite capital — first-in-the-nation primary and the Concord Coach
Concord is the capital of New Hampshire and the smallest US state capital by population, a trim New England city of white-steepled churches, the Merrimack River, and the gold-domed State House — the oldest functioning state legislature in the US, with legislators still serving for a mere $100 per year. New Hampshire holds the first-in-the-nation presidential primary every four years, making Concord a ritual pilgrimage site for presidential hopefuls. The Christa McAuliffe Planetarium honors the Concord schoolteacher who died in the 1986 Challenger disaster, and the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery…
Concord was settled in 1727 on Pennacook territory and incorporated as a city in 1853. Its most significant industrial contribution was the Concord Coach — a horse-drawn stagecoach built locally from 1827, renowned for its comfort and durability, that became the standard vehicle for Western expansion and the Wells Fargo stagecoach runs. Franklin Pierce, the 14th US President, is the only person from New Hampshire to become president, and his home in Concord is a historic site. New Hampshire's political culture of libertarian independence — 'Live Free or Die' — is viscerally felt in the town-m…