Manchester Facts
Fact 1: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, buildings of the Amoskeag Millyard make up what could possibly have been North America's first industrial complex. Constructed along the Merrimack River in the 1830s, the mills helped Manchester become the world's leading producer of textile products by 1900, a title the Queen City kept until the Great Depression.
Fact 2: The royal treatment? Manchester enjoys a certain noble quality, which can even be traced back before its reign over the early 20th century textile industry. After all, Manchester is known as the "Queen City" because it's New Hampshire's largest city but not its state capital. This regal attitude also spills over onto the athletic field – or ice, as it were – thanks to the Manchester Monarchs, a minor hockey team hoping to rule the AHL.
Fact 3: Like many other young folks in the '20s and '30s, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald decided to make their fortunes out west, leaving their Manchester hometown for whatever success Southern California could bring. After various odd jobs and a few ill-advised gambles, the brothers opened a hamburger stand near the Santa Anita racetrack in 1937. The rest, of course, is legend, and their modest little shack grew to become one of the most recognizable businesses in the world – fast food service, Golden Arches, and all.
Fact 4: Symbols of Anheuser-Busch for more than 65 years, the Clydesdale horses are typically at least four years old, stand six feet high at the shoulder, and weigh nearly a ton or more. The Merrimack Hamlet is home to several younger horses currently "in training" for the honor.
Fact 5: Never accuse Manchester of being a town whose residents lack entrepreneurial spirit. Aside from the McDonald Brothers, the Queen City was also home to Charles and Joseph Revson, who founded Revlon Cosmetics in 1932. In the earliest days, the company had only one product: nail enamel. Today, Revlon is one of the giants of the cosmetic industry.
Fact 6: Manchester's history is far more than that of a large textile town. During the first half of the 20th century, the Queen City emerged not only as the world's preeminent producer of textiles but also managed to lead the way in other production as well. From cigars and shoes to sewing machines and locomotives, quality products bearing the "Made in Manchester" label appeared in cities all over the world.
Fact 7: Despite its deep sense of history and strong ties to the historic Millyard, Manchester is truly young at heart, thanks to the area's large number of colleges and universities and its impressive array of cultural opportunities. Indeed, from first-rate museums like the Currier Gallery of Art to world-class venues like the Verizon Arena, the Queen City never has a shortage of things going on.
Fact 8: "Just sign it there, somewhere under Mr. Hancock's..." Nearby Merrimack proudly lays claim to being the final resting place of Irish-born Dr. Matthew Thornton, whose signature was last on the Declaration of Independence. Dr. Thornton also drafted New Hampshire's first constitution in 1775.
Fact 9: One of the country's most influential and widely known literary figures, poet Robert Frost spent a few years working on a farm outside of Derry. However, Frost proved a much better poet than farmer, and in 1912 he sold the farm and moved his family to London, where his writing began to garner its first critical and financial success. The years Frost spent in New Hampshire were not a total loss, however, and he often noted that they provided material for several poems. In fact, he entitled his 1923 collection "New Hampshire."
Fact 10: A legendary figure of American political theater, statesman Daniel Webster holds a place of high esteem in New Hampshire, lending his name to a major thoroughfare that runs from Manchester to Merrimack and to a college in nearby Nashua. Webster, a Federalist, was also a staunch defender of the Union and of New England industries. After graduating from Dartmouth in 1801, Webster opened a law office in Portsmouth, 60 miles east of Manchester.
