The New Hampshire of today carries its history in plain sight. Town-meeting government still runs many communities. The state remains one of the few with no general sales tax and no broad tax on wage income, leaning instead on local property taxes — a fiscal identity that shapes its politics and its towns. And every four years the nation turns its attention to New Hampshire for the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, a tradition that drew major national attention beginning in 1952.
The outdoor identity endures from the White Mountains to the Lakes Region to the short but busy seacoast, alongside seasonal traditions — fall foliage, maple season, winter skiing, covered bridges, and summer on the lakes. The mill cities have become centers for new work, and the small towns keep their commons and Main Streets.
Most of all, the 603 is its local businesses and communities — the shops, trades, restaurants, markets, and events that fill the same streets generations have walked. That is where 603Local picks up the story: explore New Hampshire's towns and the local businesses keeping the Granite State moving, because the story is still being written, town by town.