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Units of New Hampshire History
Unit 14: Preserving New Hampshire
Find It!

Find It! Preserving New Hampshire

All the resources that appear in this unit are gathered here for you—the photographs, maps, objects, audiovisuals, documents, videos, biographies, and vocabulary words. Click on the image below to see a larger view of each resource with more information about each one. On some of the resources you can even zoom in and get a closer look. So go ahead, dive in, and explore. Before you know it, you’ll be thinking like a historian.

Find It! Scavenger Hunt

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Scavenger Hunt

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Photographs & Prints in this Unit:

Photograph/Print

Concord Lumber Company

George W. Perry Scrapbooks

1906

Caption:

This photograph shows employees of the Concord Lumber Company gathered at a wood lot. They are surrounded by timber in various stages of processing.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Clearcutting near Albany

Ralph C. Larrabee

1915

Caption:

This photograph shows a view of Mount Tripyramid in the background with the Sabbady Brook Logging Camp in the foreground. To the right, a partially cleared mountainside is visible.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Forest Fire

Caption:

Looking down from a peak, this photograph captures the progress of a large forest fire in New Hampshire.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Asquam Lake

Charles H. Sawyer

1928

Caption:

This photographic print is of Asquam Lake (now Squam Lake) in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Saco River, North Conway

Benjamin Champney

1874

Caption:

Benjamin Champney was one of the most famous artists to paint the White Mountains. He had a studio in North Conway, NH.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Planet Earth

WikiImages

undated

Caption:

Everything on the planet Earth is connected—human, plant, and animal life.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Uncanoonuc Incline Railway Climbing the Mountain

Photograph/Print

Uncanoonuc Incline Railway Climbing the Mountain

circa 1910

Caption:

Rising to almost 1,400 feet, South Uncanoonuc Mountain is the tallest mountain in the Merrimack Valley. Tourists visited the mountain in large numbers once the Uncanoonuc Incline Railway opened in 1907. From the top of the mountain, where there was a hotel, restaurant, and dance pavilion, people could see far across New Hampshire.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Goffstown Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Sawyer Woolen Mills

Rollin Caughey, Strobridge Lithographing Company

1884

Caption:

The Sawyer Woolen Mills in Dover, NH, opened in the 1820s and was the largest wool textile factory in the country in the 1880s, until Amoskeag Mills got bigger. It is on the banks of the Bellamy River.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Stacked Lumber Waiting for Transport

circa 1894–1948

Caption:

Logging has always been an important industry for New Hampshire. This image shows rows and rows of lumber waiting to be transported from the lumber camps to the sawmill by the East Branch and Lincoln Railroad. This railroad line was built especially for logging, to bring the logs out of the mountain forests to the sawmills where they could be processed into lumber or wood chips. The East Branch and Lincoln Railroad covered 72 miles and was the largest logging railroad in New England.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Elm Street By Night

circa early 1900s

Caption:

New Hampshire's cities grew quickly during the Industrial Revolution! Manchester became the largest city in the state, and it is still the largest today. Life was very different in cities than in farming towns. There were all sorts of places for entertainment and shopping. New technology, like electric lights and streetcars, meant that people could go out in cities at night.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Manchester (NH) Historic Association

Photograph/Print

Fishing at Amoskeag Falls

Ernest Gould photograph of a mural by William Abbot Cheever

Caption:

People have fished New Hampshire's fast-moving waters for thousands of years. Amoskeag Falls on the Merrimack River is one example of an excellent fishing spot. Each spring, bands of Abenaki would gather at this place to fish. They used spears and nets made from natural materials to catch the fish. This painting was created in the 1970s as part of a mural that now hangs in the Hooksett, NH, town hall.

Image Credit:

Photograph/Print

Plymouth Wilderness

Francis S. Drake

Caption:

N'dakinna was rich in natural resources and beauty. There were lakes, rivers, streams, mountains, and trees. There were plenty of animals and plants to hunt and gather for food, shelter, and clothing.

Image Credit: From Indian History for Young Folks, published in 1919, at the Internet Archive

Factories During the Industrial Revolution

Photograph/Print

Factories During the Industrial Revolution

From Griffiths' Guide to the Iron Trade of Great Britain

1873

Caption:

This picture of factories during the Industrial Revolution shows how burning coal polluted the air. During the 1800s, factories started to use coal to fuel their furnaces. Hot furnaces were needed to produce items like iron, soap, glass, and pottery. Coal was also needed for steam engines. Steam engines use hot steam from boiling water to power machines or turn a wheel. To create the steam, most steam engines heated the water by burning coal. Steam engines were used in all sorts of factories, as well as trains, mines, and steamboats.

Image Credit: Digitized by Robarts Library, University of Toronto, for flickr's The Commons

Photograph/Print

Pile of Trees from Logging

circa 1894–1948

Caption:

Logging has always been an important industry for New Hampshire. This picture shows piles of trees that had been cut down in the White Mountains. They will be transported to sawmills and processed into lumber to build things or wood chips to be made into paper.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Dump on the Banks of the Nashua River

Ivan Massar

1973

Caption:

The growth of new industries in New Hampshire during the 1800s and 1900s damaged the state's waterways. This water pollution especially affected the Merrimack River and its tributaries, or the smaller rivers that feed into it. This photo shows water pollution on the Nashua River, which is a tributary of the Merrimack River. This garbage dump was right on the river bank, and a lot of the trash washed into the river. Notice that there are industrial items as well as household trash. The government did not make laws to clean up and protect waterways until the middle of the 20th century.

Image Credit: Records of the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Photograph/Print

Old Man of the Mountain Viewing Plaza

2011

Caption:

At Profile Plaza in Franconia Notch State Park, visitors can still appreciate the Old Man of the Mountain, even though it fell in 2003. A series of "steel profilers" stand in the plaza. If you follow the signs in front of one of them and stand in the right place, you can look up and see what it used to look like when the Old Man was perched on the edge of the cliff. Profile Plaza was completed in 2011.

Image Credit: Old Man of the Mountain Legacy Fund

Photograph/Print

Mount Lincoln After a Fire

Ralph C. Larrabee

1929

Caption:

By the late 19th century, timber companies had cut down so many trees in the White Mountains that huge parts of the forest were gone. This had a negative impact on tourism, an important industry in New Hampshire. Tourists came to the White Mountains to see natural beauty, not piles of tree stumps. This photo shows Mount Lincoln, near Franconia Notch, after logging and a forest fire had damaged the land.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Foresters at Work

circa 1910–1980

Caption:

This photo shows foresters working in New Hampshire. Forests are an important natural resource, not just in New Hampshire but all over the world. Foresters are the people whose job is to take care of the forests and keep them healthy. Each state has its own forestry agency, and the federal government has one too.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Glencliff Trail

B. W. Muir

1939

Caption:

Part of forest management is preserving the land for recreation, such as hiking. Hiking trails need to be created and maintained. This photo shows Glencliff Trail near Mount Moosilauke.

Image Credit: Records of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Archives and Records Administration

Photograph/Print

White Mountain National Forest Brochure

Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

1924

Caption:

The White Mountain National Forest was created in 1918. It was the first national forest created in the eastern United States. A national forest is land that is owned, managed, and protected by the federal government. The WMNF includes land in both New Hampshire and Maine.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

White Mountain National Forest Sign

2006

Caption:

The White Mountain National Forest was created in 1918. It was the first national forest created in the eastern United States. Today, 6 million people use the WMNF each year, to hike, fish, camp, bike, and ski.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons user EBY3221

Franconia Mountains and the Pemigewasset

Photograph/Print

Franconia Mountains and the Pemigewasset

Charles H. Sawyer

1928

Caption:

This is a view of the White Mountains looking north to Franconia Notch. A notch is a pass through the mountains, and Franconia Notch is one of the most well-known areas in the state. The Old Man of the Mountain, the Flume Gorge, and Echo Lake are all located in Franconia Notch. In the 1920s, there was a public campaign to protect and preserve this land.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Franconia Notch, White Mountains, Echo Lake and Profile House

Photograph/Print

Franconia Notch, White Mountains, Echo Lake and Profile House

Edward Hill

1887

Caption:

This painting shows Profile House, a famous grand resort hotel located in Franconia Notch. A notch is a pass through the mountains, and Franconia Notch has been one of the most popular tourist areas in New Hampshire since the 1850s. The Old Man of the Mountain, the Flume Gorge, and Echo Lake are all located in Franconia Notch. After Profile House burned down in 1923, there was a public campaign to protect and preserve this land. It is now a state park.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Profile House Fire

1923

Caption:

Profile House was a grand resort hotel in Franconia Notch in the White Mountains. It was called Profile House because its location was a good spot to view the Old Man of the Mountain. In August 1923, Profile House burned down. Its owners did not want to rebuild, so there was a big public campaign to save the land in Franconia Notch.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Child Participating in Franconia Notch Campaign

Photograph/Print

Child Participating in Franconia Notch Campaign

Manchester Union

1928

Caption:

In the 1920s there was a big public campaign to raise money to make Franconia Notch a state park. Thousands of people all came together and donated money to this cause, including schoolchildren. Kids like this 4-year-old boy from East Jaffrey, NH, saved up their pennies, nickels, and dimes to "buy" a tree for a dollar.

Image Credit: Courtesy of SPNHF Archives, Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.

Photograph/Print

Water Pollution

Caption:

Foam on rivers and streams can be a sign of water pollution. The foam can come from chemicals or detergents that are released into the water by factories.

Image Credit: Adobe Stock user samopauser

Photograph/Print

Cleaning Up Kezar Lake

Jennifer Keith/UPI

1984

Caption:

People started becoming more and more concerned about water pollution in the 1970s and 1980s. This photo shows workers cleaning up Kezar Lake in Sutton, NH. This clean-up project was run by the Environmental Protection Agency, which is part of the federal government, the state of New Hampshire, and a private group called the Kezar Lake Association.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Cleaning Up the Rivers

Caption:

Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, Americans started becoming more and more aware of how important it is to keep our waterways clean. People started to work together to have "clean up days" in their schools and communities. Have you ever attended one of these events?

Image Credit: Adobe Stock user freebird7977

Photograph/Print

Industrial Electricity Line Tower

Caption:

Electric towers support cables that transmit electricity from power plants to homes and businesses. In the 20th century, people started using electricity to light and heat their homes, businesses, and schools. Before then, people relied on water power or steam power. Think about how many things you use every day that run on electricity!

Image Credit: Adobe Stock user Leonid

Photograph/Print

Oil Spill

Caption:

In the 1970s, Granite Staters organized to prevent an oil company from building a big oil refinery on the New Hampshire coast. Many people were worried that the refinery would cause an oil spill. The damage caused by oil spills is widespread and lasts a long time. It pollutes the water and makes it unsafe for people, fish, plants, and animals, like this seagull.

Image Credit: Adobe Stock user Vasilii

Photograph/Print

Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant

Jim Richmond

Caption:

Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant opened in 1990 in Seabrook, NH. Nuclear power is a kind of energy that was developed in the middle of the 20th century. For more than 10 years, grassroots activists tried to prevent this plant from opening. They were concerned that it would be harmful to the environment.

Image Credit: flickr

Photograph/Print

Seabrook Protest

Peter Blakely

1986

Caption:

Starting in 1976, grassroots activists began to protest the construction of a nuclear power plant at Seabrook, New Hampshire. They were able to delay the plan opening for many years, but it finally opened in 1990. In May 1986, these young mothers participated in a march and rally against the Seabrook project, along with 1,000 other people.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Clamshell Alliance Poster

Clamshell Alliance

1978

Caption:

The Clamshell Alliance was a grassroots campaign to stop the construction of a nuclear power plant at Seabrook, New Hampshire. A grassroots campaign is when a lot of people come together and make small contributions that add up to big changes. This poster is encouraging people to come to protest at the site where the power plant will be built. This grassroots campaign was not successful, and the power plant opened in 1990.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Clough State Park

2018

Caption:

There are 93 state parks in New Hampshire today, in every area of the state. People use them to hike, boat, fish, swim, and all sorts of other activities. Almost 10% of the land in the state is protected in state parks. This is Clough State Park in Weare, New Hampshire.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons user John Phelan

Photograph/Print

LCHIP Logo

2000

Caption:

New Hampshire's Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) is a state program which provides money to towns and community groups to buy and protect natural and historic sites. LCHIP helps to keep the sites open to the public and safe from development. It was founded in 2000. As of 2023, it has conserved over 235,000 acres of land and preserved 324 historic sites.

Image Credit: Courtesy of LCHIP

Photograph/Print

Blizzard

Caption:

Blizzards happen when cold, polar air mixes with warm, southern air. They have winds over 35 miles per hour and the snow makes it hard to see and dangerous to drive. The climate of New Hampshire—and the world—is changing faster than it should. If it keeps changing, and global warming gets worse, we could see more extreme weather events such as blizzards.

Image Credit: Adobe Stock user nd700

New Hampshire Historical Society Renovations

Photograph/Print

New Hampshire Historical Society Renovations

2014

Caption:

Recently, many organizations and businesses have changed how they do things because of climate change. The New Hampshire Historical Society, for example, made a lot of changes to its building so that it doesn’t need as much energy to heat or cool. This photo shows workers replacing skylights in the Society's museum gallery with energy-efficient lighting.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photograph/Print

Exeter High School Solar Panels

2012

Caption:

More and more Granite Staters are using energy sources that don't harm the environment, like solar power. These solar panels were put up at Exeter High School in Exeter, NH, in 2010. It produces 5-10% of the school's energy each year and saves the school district money. At the time, it was the largest solar project in the state, but there have been a lot more since then.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons user SayCheeeeeese

Photograph/Print

Hiking at Artist's Bluff

Caption:

The White Mountain National Forest was created in 1918. It was the first national forest created in the eastern United States. Today millions of visitors enjoy the WMNF each year, such as this hiker on Artist's Bluff in Franconia Notch.

Image Credit: Adobe Stock user haveseen

Photograph/Print

Mount Washington Summit

Caption:

Mount Washington is located inside the White Mountain National Forest, which was created in 1918 to protect New Hampshire's forests. Most of the land on the mountain, though, belongs to the state of New Hampshire. It is a state park. The federal government, state government, and private organizations work together to protect this important natural resource.

Image Credit: Adobe Stock user Frank

Photograph/Print

Cleaning Up Pollution

Peter Blakely

1984

Caption:

The Environmental Protection Agency is a federal agency that was created in 1970. One of the tasks of the EPA is to clean up contaminated sites, such as this one in Barrington, NH. Someone had stored barrels of chemicals, oil, and grease in barrels on this land. The barrels rusted and the chemicals, oil, and grease contaminated the soil and ground water. This was dangerous for the environment and for public health.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Maps & Charts in this Unit:

Maps & Charts

Forest Cover in 1894

New Hampshire Forestry Commission

1894

Caption:

This map was created by the New Hampshire Forestry Commission in 1894 to show how much of the state was covered by forest and where those forests were located. The map uses green to show locations of forests throughout the state.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Maps & Charts

Land Use in New Hampshire

National Resources Conservation Service

2003

Caption:

This infographic, based on data compiled by the National Resources Conservation Service, illustrates how land is used in New Hampshire. It is not intended to show the accurate distribution or location of land use across the state. According to the infographic, forest cover is the greatest use of land in New Hampshire.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the National Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Maps & Charts

Merrimack River Watershed

2007

Caption:

This map shows the Merrimack River watershed. A watershed is an area of land that drains into a particular river.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons user Karl Musser

Maps & Charts

Northern Pass Proposed Route

2015

Caption:

Northern Pass was a plan to run giant power lines through the White Mountains to bring energy from Canada to New England. A lot of New Hampshire's forests would have been cut down. Big towers would have been built above ground to hold the power lines. In some places the lines would have been dug underground instead. This map shows the planned route for the Northern Pass project. The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and other groups worked together to stop Northern Pass.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

Objects in this Unit:

Object

Stop Northern Pass Button

2017

Caption:

Northern Pass was a plan to run giant power lines through the White Mountains to bring energy from Canada to New England. A lot of New Hampshire's forests would have been cut down. Big towers would have been built above ground to hold the power lines. In some places the lines would have been dug underground instead. Many people felt this project was dangerous and would spoil New Hampshire's natural beauty. There was a successful public campaign against it, so it never happened.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Object

White Mountain National Forest Quarter

United States Mint

2013

Caption:

In the 2010s, the United States Mint issued a series of quarters with images of national sites and national parks. This quarter, about the White Mountain National Forest, shows Mount Chocorua.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Documents in this Unit:

Document

Tree Purchase Certificate

Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests

circa 1927

Caption:

People who donated to the effort to buy Franconia Notch for the purpose of creating a state forest received certificates of purchase like this acknowledging their "ownership" of trees. By 1928, 15,000 individuals had donated a total of $100,000.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the SPNHF Archives, Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.

Document

Buy a Tree

Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests

1927

Caption:

Created in 1901, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests was a leader in the campaign to save Franconia Notch from being wiped out by the lumber industry. This article, published in a 1927 issue of Nature magazine, encouraged citizens to contribute to the effort to buy Franconia Notch, which was owned privately, by making a donation and "buying" a tree.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the SPNHF Archives, Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests Membership Certificate

Document

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests Membership Certificate

1901–1912

Caption:

The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests was created in 1901. It was founded by a group of people who wanted to make sure that the Granite State's forests were used wisely. They wanted to manage the forests so that there would be enough resources for industry but also enough protections so that forests would be around for a long time. The SPNHF is still protecting New Hampshire's forests today.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Document

Franconia Notch Campaign

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

1928

Caption:

There was a public campaign to save and preserve Franconia Notch in the 1920s. The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests created this image—it is not a real photograph—to show people what the Old Man of the Mountain would look like if the land in Franconia Notch was sold to timber companies. The SPNHF used this image to get people's attention so that they would help save Franconia Notch. They sent it to newspapers and magazines all over the country.

Image Credit: Courtesy of SPNHF Archives, Milne Special Collections, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.

Document

Opposing the Oil Refinery Project

From The New Hampshire

1974

Caption:

In 1973, a Greek company called Olympic Oil wanted to build a oil refinery on New Hampshire's Great Bay. Representatives from the company talked with different groups in the area to try and get support for the project. They visited the University of New Hampshire in February 1974. As this photo from the University of New Hampshire student newspaper shows, some people opposed the project.

Image Credit: Save Our Shores Papers, 1973-2001, MC 69, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA

Document

Save Our Shores Membership Card

1973–1974

Caption:

Save Our Shores was a grassroots organization that worked to stop an oil company from building a refinery on New Hampshire's Great Bay in the 1970s. They wrote letters and articles, gave speeches, and talked to their elected representatives. Although the oil company had lots of money and resources, this group of ordinary citizens won out, and the refinery was not built.

Image Credit: Save Our Shores Papers, 1973-2001, MC 69, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA

Vocabulary in this Unit:

Vocabulary Term

noun

A body of water that boats can travel on

Secret Found...
Color Mason The Moose!

GAME SETTINGS

Find It! Preserving New Hampshire

Find It! Scavenger Hunt

Click On An Icon To Find A Resource!

Photographs & Prints in this Unit:

Maps & Charts in this Unit:

Objects in this Unit:

Documents in this Unit:

Vocabulary in this Unit:

Secret Found... Color Mason The Moose!

SECRET FOUND!

Play the Matching Game with Mason The Moose :)

Select Difficulty level:

GAME SETTINGS

Find It! Preserving New Hampshire

Find It! Scavenger Hunt

Click On An Icon To Find A Resource!

Photographs & Prints in this Unit:

Maps & Charts in this Unit:

Objects in this Unit:

Documents in this Unit:

Vocabulary in this Unit:

advertisement

advertising

canal

carbon footprint

clear-cutting

climate change

conservation

deforestation

downstream

energy

environment

environmentalism

factory

glacier

grassroots

Industrial Revolution

industrialization

landscape

littering

lumber

natural resources

pollute

pollution

public awareness

recreation

renewable resource

river mouth

river source

root system

runoff

slash

timber

tourism

tributary

upstream

waste

watershed

watershed boundary

waterway

Secret Found...
Color Mason The Moose!