Hanover

Eleazar Wheelock founded Hanover's Dartmouth College in 1769 to educate the Abenaki "and other youth." When he arrived, the town consisted of about 20 families. Over time the college and the town grew symbiotically, with Dartmouth eventually becoming the northernmost Ivy League school. Hanover is still synonymous with Dartmouth, but it's also a respected medical and cultural center. Shops, mostly of the independent variety, fill the town's commercial district, which blends almost imperceptibly with Dartmouth's campus. Hanover and West Lebanon, with Woodstock, Quechee, Norwich, and White River Junction across the Connecticut River in Vermont, form an appealing two-state vacation destination.