Statehood The 9th state June 21, 1788 Captial Concord State Motto Live free or die Origin of State Name Captain John Mason named the area after the English county of Hampshire, where he had spent time as a youth. State Nickname The Granite State New Hampshire is known as the Granite State because of its extensive granite formations and deposits. Interesting Facts New Hampshire cast the decisive vote on June 21, 1788, that put the Constitution into effect. In 1952 New Hampshire introduced the nation's first presidential primary election. The first recorded visit to New Hampshire took place in 1603, when an English sea captain, Martin Pring, explored the shoreline and a small part of the interior.