Abundant streams run cold and clear throughout this enormous New England county. The scenic White Mountain National Forest brings in lots of visitors--for the winter skiing, the numerous hiking trails, the brilliant displays of fall colors. But long after they're gone, the country, towns and people, well, you'll find them to be pretty much like they've always been.

"It's quaint here," says Joe Kensella as Bristol barber Dove Cote cuts his hair "Nothing changes too much." Cote, who's been barbering in this tiny shop for 43 years, chimes in, "like this chair; it's over 100 years old." This is the kind of place where people come in to visit for a while just to watch hair getting cut.

Residents here can add one more "stays the same" to the list: This is the second year the county has made it on The Progressive Farmer's list of top 10 counties. A drive through the county reveals wonderful little towns such as Bristol, Plymouth, Littleton and Hanover, home of Ivy League's Dartmouth College. And in between the towns are crossroads stores where you can find just a little of everything, from bologna sandwiches at lunch to plenty of Doe-In-Heat scent during deer season.

Most of the land here is in timber (90%), but the clearings stand out. On the hillsides lie green pastures and stark white birch trees; in the bottomlands, crops. In so many of the important categories we considered--crime rates, health care, the quality of education--Grafton County ranks high in the United States. And despite its slow economic growth, jobs are good here, unemployment is low and the cost of living is favorable. Things might not change much in this part of the world, and people here like that just fine.