New Hampshire State Symbols, Songs, and Emblems

For the latest symbols information, visit the NETSTATE CHRONICLE.

Designation	Symbol / Emblem	Adopted
Amphibian	Spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)	1985
Animal	White tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)	1983
Beverage	Apple cider	2010
Bird	Purple finch (Carpodacus purpureus)	1957
Butterfly	Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis)	1992
Dog	Chinook	2009
Emblem	Design featureing the Old Man of the Mountain	1945
Flag	Find out more	1909
Flower	Purple lilac (Syringa vulgaris)	1919
Freshwater fish	Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)	1994
Fruit	Pumpkin (Cucurbita mixta)	2006
Gem	Smoky quartz	1985
Great Seal	Find out more	1931
Insect	Ladybug (Coccinella novemnotata)	1977
Language	English	1995
Mineral	Beryl	1985
New Hampshire Native	Find out more	2002
Rock	Granite	1985
Saltwater Game Fish	Striped bass (Roccus saxatilis)	1994
Songs	"Old New Hampshire," words by Dr. John F. Holmes and music by Maurice Hoffmann	1949
	"New Hampshire, My New Hampshire," words by Julius Richelson and music by Walter P. Smith	1963
	"New Hampshire Hills," words by Paul Scott Maurer and music by Tom Powers	1973
	"Autumn in New Hampshire," composed by Leo Austin	1977
	"New Hampshire's Granite State," composed by Annie B. Currier	1977
	"Oh, New Hampshire (You're My Home)," composed by Brownie McIntosh	1977
	"The Old Man of the Mountain," composed by Paul Belanger	1977
	"The New Hampshire State March," composed by Rene Richards	1977
	"New Hampshire Naturally," composed by Rick Shaw & Ron Shaw	1983
	"Live Free or Die," composed by Barry Palmer	2007
Sport	Skiing	1998
Tartan	Find out more	1995
Tree	White birch (Betula papyrifera)	1947
Vegetable	White potato (Solanum tuberosum)	2013
Wildcat	Bobcat (Lynx rufus)	2015
Wildflower	Pink lady's slipper (Cypripedium acaule)	1991

Making laws in New Hampshire

The New Hampshire legislature, called the New Hampshire General Court, offers A Primer On Legislative Process to help us understand how laws are made in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire House of Representatives: [ History of the New Hampshire House of Representatives | How the House Votes ]
[ House Rules ]

New Hampshire Senate: [ Senate Fast Facts | History of the New Hampshire Senate | About the Senate Chamber ]
[ How the Senate Operates | Senate Rules | Senate Trivia ]

Much of the business of making law is carried out in committees in the House of Representatives and committees in the Senate.

Sources...

New Hampshire Almanac: State Symbols . State of New Hampshire. 2009. 13 April 2009 <http://www.nh.gov/nhinfo/index.html>
Shankle, George Earlie. State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols. Irvine, Calif.: Reprint Services Corp, Revised edition, 1971.
Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols: A Historical Guide Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 3 Sub edition, 2001.

Additional Information

New Hampshire Facts and Symbols
by Muriel L. Dubois

New Hampshire Facts and Symbols, by Muriel L. Dubois. 24 pages. Social Studies Collections; Rev Upd edition (August 2003) Reading level: Ages 4-8. Easy-to-read text covers major state symbols such as the state flag, seal, bird, tree, flower, animal, and more. A "Fast Facts" section highlights the state's capital city, largest city, physical size, population, natural resources, farm products, and primary manufactured goods..

State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols
Benjamin F. Shearer, Barbara S. Shearer

State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols, by Benjamin F. Shearer, Barbara S. Shearer. 544 pages. Greenwood Press; 3 Sub edition (October 30, 2001) This is one of the best, and most comprehensive, books we could find about the official state names and nicknames, mottoes, seals, flags, capitols, flowers, trees, birds, songs, and miscellaneous designations of each state. This, coupled with the 1938 Shankle book, formed the basis of our symbol library. If you're serious about your states symbols, you'll want to have this book and the one below. This book also contains information about state holidays, license plates, sports teams, universities and other trivia.

State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols, by George Earlie Shankle. 522 pages. Reprint Services Corp; Revised edition (June 1971) Reprint of the 1938 revised edition. The first comprehensive book about our state symbols! From the preface: "This book grew out of the desire of its author to know, about his native state, a great many facts which he found exceedingly difficult to obtain. After three years of research in the Library of Congress, he is able to give to the public this storehouse of information, which could have been gathered from not library less fertile in source material..."

Visit the NETSTATE New Hampshire State Book Store for additional New Hampshire related books, including New Hampshire Reference Books, History, Biographies and Cookbooks.