The Seven Smallest States in the U.S. in Area

7. Massachusetts

Area: 10,555 square miles
Capital: Boston
State since: Feb. 6, 1788

The Bay State was a hotbed of revolutionary activity during the struggle against Great Britain that became the Revolutionary War. Outraged Bostonians (and others) dumped British tea into the harbor at the Boston Tea Party. The first official battles of the war took place in Lexington and Concord; at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Patriots were told not to fire on the Redcoats until they "saw the whites of their eyes." Also from Massachusetts was Deborah Sampson (right), the first woman to receive a military pension: She dressed as a man and saw combat at Tarrytown, N.Y., in the waning days of the Revolutionary War.

Fun Massachusetts fact: The state is the birthplace of four U.S. Presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy, and George Bush.

 


6. Vermont

Area: 9,615 square miles
Capital: Montpelier
State since: March 4, 1791

The name of the Green Mountain State comes from the French words for green mountain: "mont vert." Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys made quite a name for themselves during Revolutionary times; among their exploits was the capture of Fort Ticonderoga.

Today, the state is a leader in the production of granite and marble. Famous modern Vermont exports include Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Fun Vermont fact: Not surprisingly, for a state with a major industry the production of maple syrup, the state tree is the Sugar maple.


5. New Hampshire

Area: 9,350 square miles
Capital: Concord
State since: June 21, 1788

The Grante State provided the crucial ninth state approval of the Constitution, bringing it (and the modern nation) into being. 18th-Century Scotch-Irish immigrants were the first to plant potatoes in North America; they did so in what is now Derry, in 1719.

Portsmouth was a hotbed of shipbuilding during the Revolutionary War. In the 20th Century, Portsmouth was the site of the treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War.

Fun New Hampshire fact: The state insect is the ladybug.

 

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce


Numbers 4–2

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David White