New Hampshire

My uncle and I arrived on the right day to visit the New Hampshire State House.

Located on Main Street in downtown Concord, NH, the town was holding the annual Market Days Festival outside when we arrived in June 2023 for a visit. Of course, we made time for that, but we stand on business first.

The New Hampshire State House could pass for a courthouse; given the small size and population of New Hampshire, it’s what you’d expect. Even with Market Days Festival, we did not have a problem with parking.

Learn more about the New Hampshire State House history or plan a visit.

When you enter the building, you are in the Hall of Flags, which features New Hampshire’s 107 battle flags for wars throughout American history.

The legislature is called the General Court of New Hampshire. 

For its small size, the New Hampshire State House has the largest state legislative body in the United States. The New Hampshire House of Representatives has 400 members from 203 legislative districts. The representative-to-resident ratio of 1 per 3,300 residents is the lowest in the nation.

The House of Representatives has met in Representatives Hall since 1819, making it the oldest chamber in the United States in continuous use.

The Senate Chambers are much smaller, with only 24 New Hampshire state senators, and similar in size to the other state Senate chambers in New England.

The New Hampshire State House is also home to the New Hampshire Governor.

Given the size, we got through it quickly, which was great because it left us time to go outside for Market Days Festival, which is held every June. The entirely of Main Street is filled with vendors selling clothes, jewelry, food and more, plus live music. After spending the night, I left Concord a fan.

With a population of just under 45,000, Concord is one of the smallest state capitols in the United States, but it has a robust downtown business district, which I got to visit again in September 2023 when I drove to Canada’s Atlantic Provinces. My main goal was to get another coffee from Revelstoke Coffee, which is right across Main Street from the State House.

Downtown Concord is a fantastic destination for great shopping at local businesses, so if you visit the New Hampshire State House, make time to hang out, shop, and eat.

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