NH Historical Highway Marker Quest launches in time for Historic Preservation Month

To help celebrate May is Historic Preservation Month, the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has debuted a new program, Historical Highway Marker Quest, that encourages visits to the state’s more than 270 historic highway markers.

Anyone who documents their visits to at least 10 markers is encouraged to fill out a simple form and submit it to the NHDHR, which will then send an “I love N.H. Historical Highway Markers” sticker to the participant. Forms can be downloaded from the NHDHR website, nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov. 

Marker fans are also encouraged to post images of their highway marker visits on social media, and to include the hashtag “#NHHistoricalMarkers.”

In addition to its @NHHistoricalMarkers Instagram account, the NHDHR has division-wide accounts on Instagram and Twitter; both use the handle @NHDHR_SHPO.

To make it even easier to choose which markers to visit, the NHDHR has upgraded its online N.H. Historical Highway Markers map, which provides a picture and location description of each marker, as well as its number. Users may choose to view markers by region or on a full map of New Hampshire.

The updated website can be accessed by visiting nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov/registers-recognition/nh-historical-highway-markers and clicking on “View the New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker Map.”

N.H. Historical Highway Marker topics range from Abenaki Native Americans to poets, painters and contemporary sports figures; from meeting houses to stone arch bridges and long-lost villages; and from factories and cemeteries to places where international history was made.

Begun as National Preservation Week in 1973, Preservation Month was extended to all of May by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2005 in an effort to provide greater opportunity to explore historic heritage.

Any municipality, agency, organization or individual wishing to propose a historical highway marker to commemorate significant New Hampshire places, persons or events must submit a petition of support signed by at least 20 New Hampshire residents. They must also draft the text of the marker and provide footnotes and copies of supporting documentation, as well as a suggested location for marker placement.

New Hampshire's Division of Historical Resources, the State Historic Preservation Office, was established in 1974 and is part of the NH Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. NHDHR’s mission is to preserve and celebrate New Hampshire’s irreplaceable historic resources through programs and services that provide education, stewardship, and protection. For more information, visit us online at nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov or by calling 603-271-3483.

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