John Stark was born in 1728 in Nutfield, which is now Londonderry, NH.

When he was eight years old, his family moved to the town of Derryfield, which is now the city of Manchester. His family built a small home by the Amoskeag Falls. This house has now been moved to Elm Street in Manchester. Like his father, John Stark was a farmer.

In 1752, while trapping furs in northern New Hampshire, Stark was captured and held prisoner by Abenaki Indians. They planned to march their captives to Canada to sell them as servants to the French. John Stark used this time to learn their language and ways. Eventually, the Indians grew to respect Stark's brave, independent attitude. Once they made him run the gauntlet, which meant he had to run between two rows of men who would beat him with sticks. He held only a long pole, which he used to hit back. "I will kiss all your women," he said laughing as he went through. They admired his courage so much that he was adopted into the tribe. Stark was ransomed for $103, a sum he quickly repaid through more trapping.

John Stark's ability and stamina as a frontiersman and a soldier earned him the rank of senior captain in the French and Indian Wars with Robert Rogers and his famous Rogers Rangers.