Caption:

Millions of years ago, most of North America, and all of New Hampshire, was covered in ice. These large sheets of ice and snow covered the land for a very long time. This period was known as the Ice Age. There was very little plant or animal life that survived it. 

Caption:

As the ice melted, it left its mark upon the land. Deep holes became lakes. Valleys where the ice had been became rivers. As the ice receded and the temperature warmed up, plant and animal life began to flourish. 

Caption:

The earliest known settlers in New Hampshire were Native Americans known as the Abenaki. The Abenaki, like most Native Americans in North America, originally came from Asia. Thousands of years ago, they crossed a land bridge linking what is now Russia to the Asian continent. Gradually, the Abenaki moved east across the North American continent until settling in what is now northern New England and parts of Canada. 

Caption:

The Abenaki were originally hunters and gatherers. They got their food by hunting and fishing and by gathering nuts and berries that grew in the forests. Then around 3,000 years ago, they began to grow crops to provide more food. Native tribes grew three kinds of crops—squash, corn, and beans. This trio became known as the “three sisters” because they were all grown together. The corn grew straight and tall, and the beans grew up around the corn stalks. The squash was planted at the base of the corn stalks, and its big leaves protected the base of the corn and beans, preventing weeds from growing or animals from eating them. 

Caption:

In the early 1600s, a few European explorers came to New England. Among them was Captain John Smith, who was famous for helping to found the Jamestown colony in Virginia. Smith landed on a small group of islands off the coast of New Hampshire in 1614. He originally named the largest island after himself—Smith Island—but today we know all of these islands as the Isles of Shoals. When Smith returned to England he wrote a book about what he had seen in New England and told his readers that there were more fish in New England waters than anyone could imagine. He also wrote about how beautiful the land was, how plentiful the trees and animals were, and how perfect it would be to settle there. His book encouraged many people to think about coming to New England.

Caption:

The Europeans who visited New England accidently brought with them diseases like small pox and chicken pox. Unfortunately, thousands of the Abenaki caught these diseases and became sick. Since the Abenaki were not used to European diseases, their bodies had no resistance to the infections. More than three-quarters of the Abenaki became sick and died from these diseases, and sometimes diseases wiped out entire villages of Native Americans. 

Caption:

The first permanent European settlement in New Hampshire was at Odiorne Point in Rye. A group of English settlers led by a man named David Thomson came to the area mainly to fish. They built stone houses because they planned to stay year-round, even through the winter. Other Englishmen soon joined them and made their own settlements along the coast of New Hampshire and eventually inland. 

Caption:

Although other Englishmen came to New Hampshire in the early 1600s, the founder of New Hampshire was a man named Captain John Mason. He named this land after his home county in England, Hampshire. Mason planned to bring his wife and newborn baby with him when he and a group of settlers came to the New World in 1635. They planned to make money from all the fish in the waters off New Hampshire’s coast. They also thought they could trade with the Native Americans for beaver pelts, which were very popular in England. Unfortunately, Mason died unexpectedly before leaving England. For nearly 100 years afterward, his heirs fought to protect their claim to New Hampshire.

Caption:

At more than 6,000 feet, Mount Washington is the tallest mountain in New England. The first person to climb it was an Englishman named Darby Field. The Abenaki had warned Field that it was dangerous to go to the top of Mount Washington because of “evil spirits,” but the real danger was the terrible weather conditions so high up. No one knows why Field was so determined to make such a difficult climb, although there were rumors at the time that there were precious gems, like diamonds, high up in the mountains. After Field's climb to the top, no one else seemed interested in Mount Washington until after the American Revolution, more than 100 years later. 

Caption:

For most of the 1600s, the leader of the Abenaki in southern New Hampshire was a man named Passaconaway. He was the sachem, or chief, of the Pennacook tribe, which included as many as 12,000 people. Passaconaway was greatly respected by his people, and many believed he had all sorts of mystical powers to summon huge storms and talk to animals like bears. Although no one knows when Passaconaway was born, he was rumored to be over 100 years old when he stepped down as leader to his people. Passaconaway believed the Abenaki should live with the English settlers in peace. In his last speech, he urged his people to work with the English.