The "Granite State", with many of the highest mountains in the Eastern U.S., New Hampshire is just west of Maine, separated by a long straight border. The southern 35 miles or so of that border consists of the Salmon Falls River, which runs into Great Bay on which Portsmouth lies.
The Connecticut River forms almost all of New Hampshire's western boundary, separating it from Vermont.
The southern border is mostly a straight east-west line separating the state from Massachusetts.
The Merrimack River divides in half the Southern third of the state before heading east to the Atlantic, meandering parallel to the eastern one-fourth of the NH-MA border.
One of the smallest counties, around a bit south of the center of the state. The wide, and 25 mile long Lake Winnipesau forms much of its northern border. It contains the towns of Lakeport, Laconia, Meredith, Belmont, and the Gilmonton Iron Works.
Fairly large county around the middle of the border with Maine.
Medium size county on the southwest corner of the state, bordering Vermont and Massachusetts. Contains Walpole, Keene, Marlboro, Swanzey, East Jaffrey.
At the top of the state, and around 80 miles from north to south, it is tall and thin, and very thinly populated. Contains some of the highest peaks of the state.
One of the two largest counties. Forms the west half of the middle third of the state. Contains some of the highest peaks of the state. Also the towns of Canaan, Lebanon, Hanover.
Makes up the middle of the bottom three counties. Contains Manchester and Nashua.
About 30 miles from the southern border of NH, just north of Hillsboro Cty.
In the southeastern corner of the state. It contains the only bit of ocean frontage; around 20 miles of it. At the northern end of that shoreline is Great Bay
Sits on the southernmost 30 miles or so of the NH-Maine border. Contains Dover, and fronts on part of Great Bay.
Small county on the Connecticut River - the next-to-southernmost western border county.
Home town of Salmon P. Chase and his uncles Philander and Dudley (a U.S. Senator from VT); founded in part by his grandfather, also named Dudley, who immigrated from England.
In Sullivan County, near the 2,789 foot Croydon Mt., and across the Connecticut River from Windsor, VT.
In Rockingham County, near the southeast corner of NH. Home of Phillips Exeter Academy, where Daniel Webster attended before going on to Dartmouth (see Hanover, NH)
Home, prior to the father going into shipping at Portsmouth, and later after the shipping crash, of the family of Seargent S. Prentiss. Less than 10 miles inland from Portsmouth.
Near the south of Grafton County, on the Connecticut River.
Home of Dartmouth College, where Daniel Webster graduated. Webster also won a famous supreme court case concerning Dartmouth, preventing the state from modifying the charter it had granted to the college, and establishing an important precedent for the inviolability of contracts, such as those chartering a corporation granted by a state.
Near the middle of the southern border, on the Merrimack River, just 10-15 miles upriver from Lowell, MA.
New Hampshire's only major seacoast town. Home of Daniel Webster's early law practice.
Birthplace of Seargent S. Prentiss, where his father was a shipmaster until ruined by embargo and/or War of 1812. They remained in the area, moving a few miles inland to a farm near Gorham.
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Around the middle of Merrimack County, around 3 miles west of the Merrimack river.
Birthplace of Daniel Webster.
Forms most of the boundary between VT and NH, after which, it runs straight south across Massachusetts and Connecticut, to finally empty into Long Island Sound.
Separates Rockingham County from the southern tip of Maine.