The Town of Rye, New Hampshire is located on the Atlantic Coast. A one hour drive from major areas like Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Maine or the foothills of the White Mountains. The town has the longest stretch of coastline of any New Hampshire coastal town. It also contains four of the nine islands known as the Isles of Shoals.

Bountiful fishing drew early settlers, and small farms developed through the nineteenth century. During the Victorian era, the area was known throughout the eastern United States as a first class summer resort.  None of the numerous large wooden hotels and boarding houses of that period remain on the mainland. Today the town is primarily residential.