The NH Town That Sold Itself To A Ski Resort Company Waterville Valley, New Hampshire company

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]New Hampshire had a town that literally sold itself to a ski resort company and nobody stopped it. Waterville Valley not metaphorically sold out, actually sold the entire town to a corporation and it's still owned by that corporation today.

[00:00:19]Here's what happened.

[00:00:21]Waterville Valley was a tiny mountain town.

[00:00:24]In the 1960s, Tom Corcoran bought thousands of acres and developed a ski resort.

[00:00:30]But he didn't just build a resort. He bought the town.

[00:00:34]The corporation owns the land, the buildings, the infrastructure, everything. The town has a government, holds elections, but the corporation owns the actual property. They control what gets built, what businesses operate, who can live there. It's a company town disguised as a New Hampshire municipality. Residents live there, but they don't own it. They lease from the corporation. Businesses operate on corporate land. The ski resort determines the town's entire economy and physical existence. If the company decided tomorrow to shut it down, they could.

[00:01:10]This would be illegal in most states.

[00:01:13]New Hampshire's libertarian live free or die philosophy apparently includes freedom to sell your entire town to a corporation.

[00:01:21]And Waterville Valley is fine with it because the resort brings money.

[00:01:25]But it's not a real town. It's corporate property with a municipal government.

[00:01:30]And nobody in New Hampshire sees a problem with this.

[00:01:33]Live free or die.

[00:01:35]As long as the corporation approves.