History, Community and the Spirit of the Sea - New Hampshire Magazine

History, Community and the Spirit of the Sea - New Hampshire Magazine

Illustration by Peter Noonan Rye is more than mansions along 1A and seafood from Petey’s or Ray’s. It’s home to more than 5,500 residents and even four small islands 7 miles out to sea. But what makes Rye — well, Rye? Alex Herlihy, the town historian, who also spent many years as a history teacher before that, knows a thing or two. Part of the allure is the “beautiful serpentine beaches,” which he says at one point made the town as famous as New…