When the Revolutionary War ended in 1789, General John Stark returned to his family home in Manchester. There, John and his wife, Molly, ran a successful farm. A few years later, President George Washington asked John Stark to travel to our nation's capital for a special honor. In honor of John Stark's service during the Revolutionary War, President Washington awarded John Stark the rank of Major General - one of the highest ranks a soldier could receive. John Stark was proud to receive this honor.

In 1809, a group of soldiers who fought at the Battle of Bennington wrote a letter to John Stark to ask him to attend a party in honor of that famous battle. John Stark wrote a letter back to these men, and in it said that he could not go to the celebration because he was 81 years old and the journey would be too difficult for him. In his letter, John Stark wrote "Live Free or Die --Death is not the worst of evils". New Hampshire's motto, Live Free or Die, is based on these famous words.

John and Molly Stark lived long and prosperous lives. Molly Stark died in 1814 at the age of 78. John died on May 8, 1822 at the age of 94. Both John and Molly are known today as being very important people in New Hampshire's history.