Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Real events too strange to have made the textbook.
Chesterfield, NH
Costume designer Antoinette Sherri built an extravagant country estate here and became locally famous for lavish parties and eccentric behavior. The house burned in 1962, leaving stone foundations, columns and the remains of a dramatic staircase in the forest. The upper portion of the staircase collapsed in 2021, so visitors should admire the ruins without climbing them.
Milford, NH
Monson was an early inland colonial settlement established in the 1730s and abandoned only a few decades later for reasons that remain debated. Today a Forest Society reservation preserves cellar holes, old roads, stone walls and marked homestead sites along roughly three miles of trails. Unlike many alleged ghost towns, this one is specifically protected for public exploration.
Milan, NH
The enormous Nansen Ski Jump rises above the North Country like an industrial skeleton built into the hillside. Completed in the 1930s, it hosted major competitions and Olympic trials and was once among the largest ski jumps in the eastern United States. The state historic site preserves the structure and surrounding grounds, but visitors should obey barriers and never climb the tower.
Hinsdale, NH
The Northfield Drive-In sits directly along the New Hampshire–Massachusetts state line, and its unusual placement is tied to historic differences in movie-projection labor rules. The drive-in also appeared in the film "The Cider House Rules." It continues to operate seasonally, so check the current movie schedule before routing here.
Franconia, NH
New Hampshire's famous Old Man of the Mountain rock profile collapsed from Cannon Cliff in 2003. At Profile Plaza, steel "profilers" allow visitors to stand at specific points and visually reconstruct the vanished face against the cliff. The memorial turns an absent landmark into something visitors can still physically line up and see. Secondary source: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=81875
Hanover, NH
The Panarchy undergraduate society occupies a former fraternity house containing a basement room decorated like a ritual chamber, complete with a stone tomb-like centerpiece. The unusual interior has become an online curiosity, but Panarchy is a private residential society rather than a public attraction. OddWay visitors should treat this as an exterior-only history stop and should not attempt to enter.
Keene, NH
Downtown Keene stood in for the fictional town of Brantford in the 1995 film "Jumanji." A Parrish Shoes sign connected to the movie was later recreated and became a local memorial to Robin Williams after his death. The sign remains an easy public stop for fans of the film.
Rye, NH
This concrete World War II observation tower was part of the coastal fire-control network protecting Portsmouth Harbor. Its tall, windowed silhouette rises unexpectedly from the trees and looks more like a small brutalist castle than a military instrument. The exterior can be viewed from the site, while interior openings are limited and should be checked in advance.
Concord, NH
A 92-foot Redstone rocket replica towers outside the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center. The Redstone family of rockets included the vehicle that launched New Hampshire native Alan Shepard on the first American crewed spaceflight. The outdoor rocket can be seen without entering the museum.
Pittsburg, NH
For several years in the 1830s, residents north of Pittsburg organized the self-declared Republic of Indian Stream amid a border dispute between the United States and British Canada. The tiny government had its own constitution and local institutions before the territory was absorbed into New Hampshire. A state marker on U.S. Route 3 commemorates the unlikely republic. Coordinate source: https://mm.nh.gov/files/uploads/dhr/documents/highway-markers-by-number.pdf
Manchester, NH
Richard McDonald, one of the brothers whose restaurant system became McDonald's, is interred at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Manchester. His niche includes imagery referencing the Golden Arches and his role in the company's history. The understated cemetery stop is an unusual endpoint for one of America's most recognizable business stories.
Grafton, NH
This enormous former mica mine cuts open the side of Isinglass Mountain with tunnels, pits and mineral-rich rock faces. After years of closure, Ruggles reopened to the public and again allows visitors to explore and collect a limited amount of minerals under site rules. The 2026 season is scheduled to run through October 11.
Weare, NH
In 1772, New Hampshire mill owners resisted royal officials attempting to enforce laws reserving the colony's largest white pines for the British Crown. The confrontation became known as the Pine Tree Riot and is often remembered as an early act of resistance preceding the American Revolution. A marker and millstone identify the historic tavern site.
Concord, NH
Two stone staircases stand without a house, leading upward into empty space beside a Concord street. They are remnants of the final home of President Franklin Pierce, which survived long after his death before being demolished in the twentieth century. The stairs are a compact physical ghost of a building that no longer exists.
Mason, NH
Samuel Wilson, the meatpacker traditionally associated with the American "Uncle Sam" nickname, spent part of his early life in this Mason house. The exact development of the national symbol is more complicated than the popular legend suggests, but Wilson's connection has been officially commemorated. The house is private property, so view the marker and exterior only from a lawful public area.
Littleton, NH
This tiny fenced cemetery is dedicated to three Morgan horses, Maud, Mollie and Maggie, that belonged to Eli and Myra Wallace. The horses were buried with equipment including harnesses, bridles, blankets and feed boxes, and Wallace's estate provided for the site's continued care. It is one of New England's most unusual purpose-built animal cemeteries. Secondary source: https://www.visitwhitemountains.com/blog/post/scary-tales-of-the-white-mountains/
Hart's Location, NH
The Willey family lived beneath the steep walls of Crawford Notch when a catastrophic landslide struck in August 1826. Their house was miraculously spared by the debris, but the entire family and two hired men died after apparently fleeing it. The tragedy became one of the White Mountains' most famous nineteenth-century disaster stories. Secondary source: https://www.topozone.com/new-hampshire/carroll-nh/locale/willey-house/
Mont Vernon, NH
William G. Bruce died in a hunting accident, and his grave was given an unusually elaborate memorial featuring a life-size granite hunting dog. The animal appears to stand guard beside the marker long after Bruce's death. Visit respectfully and only during permitted cemetery access.
