March History, White Mountains – When it comes to the history of the New Hampshire White Mountains, throughout the years, March was an active month. In fact, so many historical events took place during this month listing all of them would require more time than I have. So included here are just a few interesting events that happened.

A few of the more significant March events are President William Howard Taft signing the Weeks Act on March 1, 1911. And the Appalachian Mountain Club’s second meeting on March 8, 1876; at this meeting, it was voted to allow women to join the club. Both of these events impacted the White Mountains greatly.

In March 1917, the New Hampshire legislature approved the incorporation of the Beebe River Railroad. Including sidings and spur lines, this logging railroad was roughly 25-miles long. It began off the Boston & Maine Railroad in Campton, followed the Beebe River drainage up into Sandwich, and ended near logging Camp 12 at the base of Mount Whiteface in Waterville. Some of the spruce harvested by this railroad was used in the manufacturing of airplanes during World War 1. The last load of timber hauled on this railroad was in 1935.

An act to survey and locate, and construct Jefferson Notch Road was approved by the state of New Hampshire on March 22, 1901. Jefferson Notch Road begins off Base Road in Crawford's Purchase. It travels through Chandler's Purchase, Thompson and Meserve's Purchase (above), Low and Burbank's Grant, and eventually ends at Valley Road in Jefferson. Built in 1901-1902, and open for usage in 1902, the purpose of the Jefferson Notch Road, known as Jefferson Notch Highway in the early days, was to connect the Crawford House with Jefferson Highlands. Along this dirt road is the highest elevation reached by a public highway in New Hampshire.

Benton MacKaye, born on March 6, 1879, in Connecticut, is referred to as the father of the Appalachian Trail. He proposed the Appalachian Trail in a 1921 article, and he is responsible for organizing the first Appalachian Trail conference in Washington, D.C., in 1925. He was also one of the co-founders of the Wilderness Society. Its believed that a visit to the White Mountains in August of 1897 helped form his wilderness values.

The short-lived Woodstock & Thornton Gore Railroad, operated by the Woodstock Lumber Company, was incorporated in March 1909. It began at the Woodstock Lumber Company’s sawmill on the western bank of the Pemigewasset River in Woodstock. From the mill, it traveled roughly 8 miles into the Eastman Brook drainage, traveling through the northern portion of Thornton, ending in Livermore.

Two other lumber operations involving railroads were also formed during the month of March. The roughly 6 mile long Little River Railroad, incorporated in March of 1891, was in operation from 1893-1900. And incorporated in March of 1903, the Swift River Railroad Company was in operation from 1906-1916.

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Happy image making..

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Bibliography:
Donovan, Erin Paul. “Beebe River Railroad, New Hampshire.” ScenicNH Photography LLC, 19 Apr 2018, https://www.scenicnh.com/blog/2018/04/beebe-river-railroad/.

Donovan, Erin Paul. “Scenic Backroads, White Mountains.” ScenicNH Photography LLC, 01 Sept 2016, https://www.scenicnh.com/blog/2016/09/new-hampshire-backroads/.

“Benton MacKaye.” The Wilderness Society, https://www.wilderness.org/benton-mackaye#.

Donovan, Erin Paul. “Woodstock & Thornton Gore Railroad.” ScenicNH Photography LLC, 31 Oct 2020, https://www.scenicnh.com/blog/2020/10/woodstock-and-thornton-gore-railroad/.

Erin Paul Donovan

Owner of ScenicNH Photography LLC

Erin Paul is a professional photographer, writer, and author who specializes in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the New Hampshire White Mountains. His work is published worldwide, and publication credits include: Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Backpacker Magazine, and The Wilderness Society.