New Hampshire State House // Concord, New Hampshire

Happy Tuesday friends! I hope your week is starting off well! 

As I mentioned in my post about a new direction that Caravan Sonnet is heading in (you can read more HERE!) I am excited to spend more time sharing about upstate New York, New York, and New England in my travel posts! Last week I shared that I am excited to share with y'all some recap posts from the New England Winter Road Trip that I took with my mom 2 years ago about a month before the world stopped due to the pandemic! 

At the time I shared a couple of posts about our trip, but with the way the world changed I stopped sharing and didn't get to share even half of what we saw or what we did and so I am excited to revisit this trip and share more! I hope that it encourages you to consider taking a road trip (in part or in whole depending on your circumstances) this winter to this beautiful place in the world! Today I am excited to re-share our visit to the New Hampshire State House in Concord, New Hampshire!

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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!