It's 603 Day in NH

It's the third day of the sixth month and, in NH, that means it's 603 Day.

In 2018, former Governor Chris Sununu declared June 3 as 603 Day, also called New Hampshire Day. Since then, it's become a tradition for Granite state residents to celebrate all things New Hampshire to show their 603 pride. 

It's not a state holiday; however, Governor Kelly Ayotte supports the tradition by encouraging residents to visit the state's tourist attractions and small businesses.

Why 603?

It's the telephone area code that represents the state of New Hampshire in the Eastern time zone, also known as America/New York.

Area code 603 is one of the longest area codes to cover the entire state without being split or overlaid in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). In October 1947, this area code was created as one of the original 86 numbering plan areas. 

Area code 603 vanity plate seen recently

That said, NH isn't the only state that can claim this distinction; however, it's one of four out of the total six New England states with a single area code.

Currently, 12 U.S. states have a single area code: Alaska (907), Delaware (302), Hawaii (808), Idaho (208), Maine (207), Montana (406), New Hampshire (603), North Dakota (701), Rhode Island (401), South Dakota (605), Vermont (802) and Wyoming (307). 

The two other New England States have multiple area codes, Massachusetts with 9 and Connecticut with 4 area codes.

Interestingly, the largest U.S. state, Alaska only has a single area code because of its sparse population and large geographical area. That made me curious as to which U.S. state(s) have the most area codes as of 2025.

Not surprisingly, those honors went to the second and third largest states: California (third largest) with 38; Texas (second largest) with 28 area codes 

What really surprised me was that the next two states with the most area codes are not even in the top 10 largest U.S. states.

Florida, the 22nd largest state has 23, followed by Ohio, the 34th largest state, with 15 area codes.

Ironically, the 2nd largest U.S. city, New York, has 5 area codes and the state of New York has 22 area codes overall.

In the 1990s, the number 1 was added before U.S. area codes and telephone numbers as the country code. This lets the telephone system correctly route calls whether within the same area code in the U.S. or internationally when the U.S. country code of +1 is used.

So now you know, all about 603 day, but there's more (of course).

How did area codes start?

Lily Tomlin as Ernestine

Before 1947, most telephone calls were made with the assistance of a central office operator. Callers would pick up their phone, wait for an operator to ask, number please, then give the desired number. The operator would manually connect the call through a switchboard by plugging cords into the appropriate outlets to establish a connection between the caller and the recipient. The central operator also acted as an emergency dispatcher. 

The role of a switchboard operator was famously re-enacted by actress Lily Tomlin in the 1970s Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In sequences as Ernestine. Who can forget herl her opening lines — one ringy dingy, two ringy dingys and A gracious good afternoon, is this the party to whom I am speaking?

In October 1947, Bell Labs (now AT&T, Inc. formerly American Telephone and Telegraph Company) developed the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) to simplify long-distance calling by allowing direct distance dialing (DDD) without operator assistance. The plan divided most of North America into 86 numbering plan areas (NPAs) and each was assigned a unique three-digit NPA code or area code. The new numbering plan included 152 area codes, each could serve up to 540 central offices. Originally, only 86 area codes were assigned. 

There's always a New Jersey connection

My home state of NJ received the first NPA code in the new system, which was area code 201. The fact that Bell Labs was headquartered in Murray Hill, NJ, might just have been a factor. The second area code of 202 was assigned to the District of Columbia. The allocation of area codes was readjusted as early as 1948 before implementation of the plan started. 

The first customer-dialed direct call using an area code was made November 10, 1951, from Englewood, NJ, to Alameda, CA. Soon afterwards, Direct distance dialing (DDD) was introduced countrywide. By the early 1960s, DDD had become commonplace in cities and most towns in the U.S. and Canada. By 1967, the number of assigned area codes had grown to 129. As of 2025, there are 335 assigned area codes nationwide.

Rotary dial phone

Rotary dial phones were introduced to the public in the early 1900s. The first commercial installation of a rotary dial system was in La Porte, IN, in 1892. The first standardized mass-produced dial telephone, the Western Electric model 50, appeared in 1919. From the 1920s to 1960s, rotary dial phones were used widely replaced in the 1960s to 1970s, by push-button or touch-tone phones, discontinued in the  1980s. The rotary phone shown here was identical to the one in my parents' home which came in a basic color, black.

Today, NJ, the 4th smallest U.S. state, now has 10 area codes, the same as the lrger states of GA, NC and VA.

And, now you know MORE about area codes, maybe not all, but some more. Also, Grenville, aka Patrick, is to “blame” for this post as he informed me that June 3 was 603 day in NH. 

Although I didn't include a video link to Ernestine, you can check many of her fun calls online (YouTube). It was a fun trip for me down memory lane and may be for you too.