One of the first means of transportation was by foot. From the Indians, the earliest settlers also learned a style of running, which enabled one to travel long distances without tiring. Traveling was much easier if one was fortunate enough to own a horse. Riders used stream beds and river banks to travel by horseback.

River travel was one of the first alternatives to walking and horseback riding. New Hampshire's rivers also became the state's first highways. From the days of the first settlers, small boats navigated New Hampshire's rivers: the Merrimack, the Connecticut, the Saco, and the Androscoggin. The lake system around Winnipesaukee and the six rivers which empty into Great Bay were well-travelled waterways. These natural highways encouraged the growth of farm villages into cities. Towns grew where goods could be moved easily on the water near them: Manchester, Nashua, Laconia, Exeter, Dover, Lebanon, and Portsmouth.

As New Hampshire settlers looked for new places to live, movement was away from the river. This brought about the need for new roads. Governor John Wentworth was responsible for much of New Hampshire's early road construction. By 1771, there were over 200 miles of road in New Hampshire.

The rivers, however, continued to be a major means of transportation. In 1807, a canal bypassed the rapids on the Merrimack River, enabling the Amoskeag Mills to become the largest textile mill in the world.

On the high seas, New Hampshire-built clipper ships became world famous as a comfortable means of transporting cargo and passengers. Steam-powered boats traveled the inland rivers, as well as the New England coast. As early as 1793, Samuel Morey from Orford was running a steamboat on the Connecticut River.

By the early 1800s an efficient network of "turnpikes" or toll roads was built in New Hampshire. A lighter and faster carriage could be used on these roads. Stephen Abbott and Lewis Downing of Concord built some of the finest carriages in the world. In 1826, the Abbott and Downing Company began manufacturing many types of carriages, the most famous of which was the Concord Coach.

The longing for a more convenient and comfortable way to travel from place to place over long distances led to the spread of the railroad. In 1840, the Boston and Maine railroad entered Exeter, and by 1850, Nashua, Manchester, Exeter, Dover, and Portsmouth all had railroad lines to Boston. The Mt. Washington Cog Railway was constructed in 1869, designed by Herrick Aiken of Franklin and built by Sylvester Marsh of Littleton.

In the 1800s, the railroads connected the cities, but within the cities, horsedrawn streetcars were used. They were replaced by electrified trolley cars in the 1890s.

The first automobile had a rough time, usually driving over roads intended for four-legged animals. As the number of autos increased, the methods of road-building improved. Soon New Hampshire became easily conquered by the automobile.

In 1911, the first airplane was seen in New Hampshire skies. This was a non-stop flight from Waltham, Massachusetts to Laconia, New Hampshire. In l927, the first airport was built in Manchester, and in 1933, passenger flights first came to New Hampshire.

New Hampshire also has made a contribution to space travel. On May 21, 1961, a Derry man, Alan Shepard, became the first astronaut to go into outer space.

1. To present a history of transportation in New Hampshire from the earliest days to modern times.

2. To give students a better understanding of the relationship between historical events and the development of different types of transportation.

3. To make students aware of how man's needs create new forms of transportation.

4. To suggest some future problems New Hampshire may have in the field of transportation.

1. Ask students to list various means of transportation available today.

2. Review post-lesson activity number 4 in Lesson #3, "Work In Colonial Times."

3. Review forms of transportation discussed in earlier programs (foot, canoe, gundalow, ox-cart, horseback, wagon).

4. Bring pictures and models of stagecoaches to class.

5. Ask students to estimate how long it takes to travel by car from their town to various points in and near New Hampshire.

1. Draw a class mural of different kinds of transportation used in New Hampshire.

2. Research the history of transportation in your own town.

3. Make a paper model of a gundalow.

4. Review reasons for the building of canals and why they fell into disuse. Are there any remains of old canals in your area?

5. Write a letter home describing a trip in a stagecoach in the mid-1800s.

6. Assign students to research and report on Thaddeus Lowe, Samuel Blodgett, and Alan Shepard.

7. Ask students to make a collection of pictures of various forms of transportation.

8. Dramatize "Transportation: Then and Now," showing how today's short trips were once difficult journeys.

9. Discuss how the automobile has changed our way of life. Comment on our dependence on this method of transportation.

10. Research and report on the need for mass transportation in New Hampshire.

11. Debate the issue of the individual use of mass transit to solve traffic problems.

12. Ask students to write or draw descriptions of future forms of New Hampshire transportation.

• gundalow
• canal
• street car
• pram
• clipper ship
• trolley
• flatboat
• steamboat
• horseless carriage
• corduroy road
• Concord Coach
• astronaut
• turnpike
• toll road
• Cog Railway

• Merrimack River
• Manchester
• Somersworth
• Connecticut River
• Nashua
• Orford
• Saco River
• Laconia
• Concord
• Androscoggin River
• Exeter
• Mt. Washington
• Winnepesaukee
• Dover
• Keene
• Great Bay
• Lebanon
• Derry
• Portsmouth

IMPORTANT DATES

By 1771	Over 200 miles of roads were finished in New Hampshire.
1793	Samuel Morey running a steampowered boat on the Connecticut River.
1793	Samuel Blodgett proposes canal on Merrimack River.
1807	Canal completed.
1826	Abbott & Downing Company begins manufacturing carriages.
1835	New Hampshire legislature offers grant to build railway line from Massachusetts to Maine through New Hampshire.
1851	Three clipper ships built at Portsmouth shipyard.
1899	First electric trolley in New Hampshire.
1911	First airplane in New Hampshire skies.
1927	First airport built in New Hampshire.
1933	First passenger flights come to New Hampshire.

WEB RESOURCES

• Era of the Clipper Ships
• Trollycars.com
• Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Transportation History
• Women in Transportation
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