Nearly two centuries after its installation into a soaring white steeple, the Paul Revere bell of Hancock’s town meetinghouse continues to proudly ring day and night – one of countless charms that still call visitors from far and wide to this cozy, postcard village in the shadow of the Monadnocks.

First settled in 1764, Hancock was set off from Peterborough and incorporated in 1779, earning its name for a certain Founding Father and Bay State governor with a very large signature, who owned some 1,875 acres in the community. For a century or so, Hancock quietly flourished as a peaceful farming town along the banks of the Contoocook. With the introduction of rail travel to the region in the 1870s came a torrent of vacationers in the summer and fall seasons, captivated by the town’s breathtaking foliage, abundant nature, and stunning architecture.

Little has changed since then. And that’s just the way locals and visitors like it. Indeed, much of Hancock’s Main Street remains as it was back in 1779, every immaculately preserved clapboard and brick structure – from the meetinghouse and its vestry to the town post office, all separated by simple gravel paths – listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Then as now, no visit to town is complete without a swim or skate on Norway Pond or Lake Nubanusit; or without gaping at Elephant Rock and the countless other geological and wooded wonders that line Hancock’s plentiful back roads.

Nature-minded travelers will want to lace up their boots for a visit to the Harris Center for Conservation Education, a hidden treasure on the old Briggs family summer estate which serves 26 schools throughout the Monadnock region and safeguards more than 11,000 acres locally through conservation easements (www.harriscenter.org). The friendly staff there will be happy to lead a hike or walk you through a wildlife viewing in the center’s Supersanctuary.  Finally, no hungry visitor can afford to leave without stopping by Fiddleheads, a Hancock eating institution, where the lure of Sherry Williams’ gourmet goodies – from pizzas to pancakes – has locals devotedly lining up to her counter morning, noon, and night.

HANCOCK, NH

• Population of 1,801 (2008 census)
• Though Hancock was named for the 1^st Governor of Massachusetts, there is no official record of John Hancock having ever visited the town.
• Hancock is the oldest town in America to host a National Radio Astronomy Observatory antenna. This is part of the United States’ Very Long Baseline Array, a system of ten radio telescopes in the U.S. controlled remotely and working together as the world’s largest dedicated, full-time astronomical instrument, using the technique of very long baseline interferometry.
• The tradition of Old Home Day may have originated in Hancock in 1879, with a family picnic. In the 130 years since, that picnic has grown to include a full town celebration, including a parade, each August. It is believed that NH Governor Frank Rollins, in his 1899 proclamation making Old Home Day a state holiday, drew inspiration from the townspeople in Hancock and envisioned the gatherings as a way to encourage others who had moved away to come back and visit. Today, better than 50 towns in NH send out invitations throughout the country to relatives and Granite State descendents to return for local Old Home Day celebrations.
• Notable residents of Hancock have included: Person Colby Cheney, 43^rd Governor of NH and U.S. Senator; Joseph Grew, U.S. Ambassador to Japan; Jay Pierrepont Moffat, U.S. Ambassador to Canada; Noted artist Lilla Cabot Perry, a protégé of Claude Monet; Elizabeth Yates, recipient of a Newbery Medal, recognizing the most distinguished contribution to American children’s literature, for her 1951 novel “Amos Fortune, Free Man”; Philanthropist and educator Charles E. Merrill Jr., founder of the Commonwealth School in Boston and son of Merrill-Lynch co-founder Charles E. Merrill.