Happy Tuesday friends! I hope you are having a lovely start to your week! Today I am excited to share more about our New England Winter Road Trip that we took in February (prior to the outbreak of the COVID 19 virus and stay at home/shelter in place orders)! To read about the exact route that we took check out this post HERE! Here is a general overview...

We arrived in Concord around lunch time and after eating at Margaritas (you can read my review HERE) we drove less than a half a mile to explore the historic area of Concord. If you go to Concord in the warmer months you could easily walk this, but it was freezing and we chose to drive! *smiles* For those who may need it there is ample disability parking which is wonderful!

The first thing we did was explore the beautiful and historical St. Paul's Episcopal Church. You can read all about that HERE and then we spent time exploring the historical and awe-inspiring New Hampshire State House (click HERE to read more)! After exploring the State House we moved our car (mostly to warm up *smiles*) less than a half a block up to the New Hampshire State Library. 

If you interested in American History (or ever watched West Wing), then the New Hampshire State Library is something that you are aware of that holds an incredible amount of History for our country in numerous ways at the state and federal level. 

The New Hampshire State Library is the first state library that was founded in America. 

Founded in January 1717, the New Hampshire State Library is considered one of the oldest institutions in the United States. While the State Library was originally situated in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, this state library has been located in Concord since 1808. The current building, seen in the pictures above was opened right before the turn of the 20th century, opening in 1895. 

Interestingly, the state library also housed the New Hampshire Supreme Court until 1970. 

The New Hampshire State Library is famously known to host the first of many important steps in the presidential elections. There is a massive media coverage surrounding this time period and the publicity can often be a huge notice of who will end up being a front runner. This primary is often seen as a major testing grounds for both political parties as those who do well in this primary often become serious contenders for the presidency. Often times (in a matter of hours) the front runner changes the layout of national politics in unexpected ways. Most Famously this happened in 1952, 1968, 1980, and 2008. 

How incredible is that? This piece of history is truly something amazing to see and visit. 

Outside the Library there are a number of benches that hold additional historical value that you can read about in the pictures above. 

It's always amazing to learn and read of all of the History of these buildings, where they started and where they are now. The stories and historical precedents that were made is a gentle reminder to continue to make wise and important decisions everyday for our country! Our actions truly can affect generations to come!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read today! Please let me know if you have any questions about the New Hampshire State House or our New England Winter Road Trip! Happy Tuesday friends! I hope you have a wonderful day!

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Thank you again for reading today! Are you a teacher? Did you know that I have pictures from New Hampshire State Library in the historical travel section (HERE) of the Caravan Sonnet Teachers Pay Teachers Shoppe? You can find the exact listing HERE! If you are a teacher or a homeschool mama you could use these pictures in a variety of ways in your classroom, in presentations, on printables on social media, and MUCH more! Check out the shoppe HERE!

Happy Monday friends! I hope you had a wonderful mother's day weekend! If you missed my joyful and exciting announcement about a HUGE personal change in my life- I hope you will take a moment to read my exciting news (click HERE!)! I am so grateful for this beautiful community and all of your love and support! 

Today I am excited to share more about our New England Winter Road Trip that we took in February (prior to the outbreak of the COVID 19 virus and stay at home orders)! To read about the exact route that we took check out this post HERE! Here is a general overview...

After eating at Margaritas (you can read my review HERE) we drove less than a half a mile to explore the historic area of Concord. If you go to Concord in the warmer months you could easily walk this, but it was freezing and we chose to drive! *smiles* For those who may need it there is ample disability parking which is wonderful!

The first thing we did was explore the beautiful and historical St. Paul's Episcopal Church. You can read all about that HERE and then we spent time exploring the historical and awe-inspiring New Hampshire State House! 

The New Hampshire State House (also known as the State Capitol) is the nation's oldest state house in which the legislature still uses the original chambers.

How incredible is that? This piece of history has been in existence and in use since 1819!

As the sign above shares it was used starting in 1819 as the legislature. The statehouse had been designed approximately 5 years prior to this and the building was build by the architect Stuart Park in the years of 1816-1819.

As I mentioned above the the State House of New Hampshire is the oldest state capitol in which the legislature meets in their original chambers. Some people think that it is the Massachusetts Senate which holds this honor. The truth is that the Massachusetts Senate House is older (originally used by the House of Representatives) but does not still meet in the original chambers. 

Walking around the grounds and through this archway truly made me pause at the incredible amount of history that has taken place on these grounds. 

While you can visit the inside of the State House and tour it this was not an option on the day we visited in the winter. To be honest there was something kind of amazing about being the only people walking around in the winter. It was quiet and you could just "feel" the history surrounding you. 

It's always amazing to learn and read of all of the History of these buildings, where they started and where they are now. The stories and historical precedents that were made is a gentle reminder to continue to make wise and important decisions everyday for our country! Our actions truly can affect generations to come!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read today! Please let me know if you have any questions about the New Hampshire State House or our New England Winter Road Trip! Happy Monday friends! I hope you have a wonderful day and start to your week!

Happy Thursday friends! I hope your week is starting off well! Today I am excited to share more about our New England Winter Road Trip that we took in February! If you missed my post on Monday (click HERE) check it out so you can see the exact route that we took. Here is a general overview...

After eating at Margaritas (you can read my review HERE) we drove less than a half a mile to explore the historic area of Concord. If you go to Concord in the warmer months you could easily walk this, but it was freezing and we chose to drive! *smiles* For those who may need it there is ample disability parking which is wonderful!

We first walked around St. Paul's Episcopal Church. You couldn't enter at that time but you could walk around and it was beautiful. In many ways the church reminded me of St. John's Stone Church in St Johns, Canada (in the province of New Brunswick). If you have been around the blog for a long time you may remember that I have visited there a couple of times (you can click HERE to read about that beautiful church!) and there were just some similarities in the structure and the red doors.

St. Paul's Church began after the American Revolution and in many ways it was an interesting time period for this church to begin. At the time Episcopal churches were seen as suspect because of their deep roots with England and due to this growth in the Episcopal churches after the war was very slow. 

In fact, there were only four church during the time period of St. Paul's beginnings that existed in the entire state of New Hampshire! But in the years following the War of 1812, a group of 10 men decided that they wanted to build an Episcopal church in Concord. So St. Thomas's Chapel came together and met in an existing building of Concord for the years of 1818 to 1820. It was at that time that the decision to build a church was made. 

A small wooden church was made and the name was changed to St. Paul's. As growth started to slowly expand the church after about eight years, a new building (the red brick building that you see in these pictures) was constructed. That stayed until 1984 when sadly and tragically an arsonist set the church on fire and while the outside walls were structurally safe, the inside was destroyed. 

Over the next years the inside was reconstructed and today the St. Paul's Episcopal Church is a thriving and important part of the Concord, New Hampshire community. It's always amazing to learn and read of all of the History of these buildings, where they started and where they are now. The stories that people have lived in them is a sobering and inspiring part of History I believe and a gentle reminder of how we can all rise again from the ashes. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read today! Please let me know if you have any questions about St. Paul's or our New England Winter Road Trip! Happy Thursday friends! I hope you have a wonderful day!

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Thank you again for reading today! Are you a teacher? Did you know that I have pictures from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in the historical travel section (HERE) of the Caravan Sonnet Teachers Pay Teachers Shoppe? You can find the exact listing HERE! If you are a teacher or a homeschool mama you could use these pictures in a variety of ways in your classroom, in presentations, on printables on social media, and MUCH more! Check out the shoppe HERE!

If you are planning a similar trip and would like, you can read all of the posts from the trip by clicking on the links below:

It was a brief, but it was a wonderful visit and I would definitely recommend it! I would love to go back someday! If you are planning a similar trip and would like, you can read all of the posts from the trip by clicking on the links below: