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Units of New Hampshire History
Unit 13: Tourism in New Hampshire
Find It! Tourism in New Hampshire

Find It! Tourism in New Hampshire

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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

Can you help Mason find these items on the page and answer the questions?

Scavenger Hunt

Click On An Icon To Find A Resource!

Audiovisuals in this Unit:

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Audiovisual

Mason Presents: Lake Winnipesaukee

Fritz Wetherbee

Caption:

How did Lake Winnipesaukee get its name?

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored lithograph of people caught in the middle of a storm on rugged terrain. The wind of the storm is pushing everything in its path to the right. There are two buildings in the background and an American flag on a flag pole in the right-hand corner.

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Audiovisual

Mason Presents: Mount Washington

Fritz Wetherbee

Caption:

Why is Mount Washington known as the "home of the world's worst weather"?

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Audiovisual

Mason Presents: The Isles of Shoals

Fritz Wetherbee

Caption:

Fritz Wetherbee explains how the Isles of Shoals changed over time from the center of the fishing industry to a center of arts and literature.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Mason Presents: The Old Man of the Mountain

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Audiovisual

Mason Presents: The Old Man of the Mountain

Fritz Wetherbee

Caption:

Granite State storyteller Fritz Wetherbee shares the tale of the Old Man of the Mountain. Note: This audio clip was recorded before the Old Man fell, on May 3, 2003.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Biographies in this Unit:

A black and white photograph of a white man in a high-collared shirt, necktie, vest, and jacket. The photograph is centered in a gold frame with inwardly curved edges.

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Biography

Abel Crawford

circa 1766–1851

Caption:

Abel Crawford moved to the White Mountains in 1790 and spent the rest of his life promoting the mountain region. At the time, very few people lived there, but he and his father-in-law, Eleazer Rosebrook, both opened inns near a pass in the mountains where travelers could cross the mountains. The pass was originally called the Notch, but now it is known as Crawford Notch after the Crawford family. Abel loved the mountains and explored them more than anyone else had done at that point. He was known for telling wild stories about what he found in the White Mountains, including tales of encountering bears and other animals. With his son Ethan Allen Crawford and other family members, Abel built taverns and inns where tourists could stay, cut hiking trails through the mountains, and led guided tours to interesting noteworthy places.

Image Credit: Photo by Mr. Spring from a portrait by Chester Harding dated 1846, New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a white man seated facing to the right. He holds a paint pallet and paint brush in his hands. He sits before a small table with a small landscape painting propped up.

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Biography

Benjamin Champney

1817–1907

Caption:

One of America’s most famous 19th-century artists, Benjamin Champney was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire. As an adult, he lived in North Conway, where he kept an artist’s studio. Benjamin loved the White Mountains and made many sketches and paintings of the natural world. These types of paintings are called landscape paintings because they focus on the land around us. Benjamin’s White Mountain paintings were very popular, and many tourists bought them, taking them to their homes in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. But not just tourists were impressed with Benjamin’s beautiful landscape paintings. Other artists were as well, and they came from all over the country to visit him at his North Conway studio to learn about painting the natural world.

Image Credit: Image from Sixty Years' Memories of Art and Artists (Woburn, MA: News Print. Wallace & Andrews), 1900

A black and white photograph of a white woman in a long, dark-colored dress. She looks at a document while sitting sideways, towards the left, at a desk.

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Biography

Celia Laighton Thaxter

1835–1894

Caption:

Celia grew up on the Isles of Shoals where her father, Thomas Laighton, was a lighthouse keeper and the owner of the first hotel on the islands. It was called the Appledore House, and it opened in 1848. Celia moved to Massachusetts when she married Levi Thaxter, but she came back to the Isles of Shoals often. She wrote many poems and stories about her life on the Isles of Shoals and published them in magazines and books. She was also an artist and drew many pictures of wildlife, particularly flowers, on the islands. Celia grew a beautiful garden near her cottage in the Isles of Shoals. It was the inspiration for her book, An Island Garden. The book included illustrations by the famous painter Childe Hassam. Celia became one of America’s most popular authors during the late 19th century.

Image Credit: Photo by Warren's (Firm), Courtesy of the New York Public Library Digital Collections

A solid black image of a moose, with white capital letters inside reading "SORRY, NO PICTURE AVAILABLE."

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Biography

Ernest Balch

Caption:

Ernest Balch was a student at Dartmouth College when he got the idea to start a summer camp for boys. He founded Camp Chocorua in the Lakes Region in the summer of 1881. Most of the boys who came to the camp were wealthy boys who lived in big cities, like Boston, New York, or Washington, D.C. Ernest Balch wanted them to learn to be self-reliant and to enjoy nature, which he didn’t think they could do while living in big cities. The boys were expected to take care of themselves while at camp. They cut their own firewood, cooked their own food, washed their own clothes, and were responsible for keeping the camp clean. But there was still plenty of time for fun! Camp Chocorua closed in 1889, and Ernest Balch moved to South America.

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Biography

Ethan Allen Crawford

circa 1792–1846

Caption:

The son of White Mountain explorer Abel Crawford, Ethan Allen Crawford helped develop the White Mountains as a tourist destination. Ethan Allen ran a hotel named the Crawford House, which offered tourists a nice place to stay when they visited the White Mountains. He also cut the first hiking trail to the summit of Mount Washington, naming it the Crawford Path. He helped write guidebooks about the mountains and placed advertisements in newspapers encouraging people to visit. An experienced mountain man, Ethan Allen loved to tell tall tales about life in the White Mountains, just like his father did. Many things in the White Mountains are named after Ethan Allen and his family, since they played such a big role in bringing tourists to the region.

A black and white photograph of a man in a high-collared shirt, necktie, vest, jacket, pants and boots with his legs crossed. His left arm rests on a table with curved and ornately decorated legs. His right arm rests on his lap, and he is holding a bunch of folded papers.

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Biography

Sylvester Marsh

1803–1884

Caption:

Sylvester Marsh was the inventor and founder of the Mount Washington Cog Railway. He was born in Campton, New Hampshire, but when he grew up, he lived in Boston and Chicago. He made his fortune by inventing machinery that allowed farmers to store grain. In 1857, Sylvester almost died when he and a friend got caught in a storm while climbing Mount Washington. It took him almost a decade, but he created a model for a special kind of railroad that could climb up steep mountains. Many people thought his invention would never work, and one critical man once called it Sylvester’s “railway to the moon.” Sylvester did manage to build the Cog Railway, though, the first one in the world. It remains one of the most popular White Mountain attractions, and thousands of people every year ride it to the top of Mount Washington.

Image Credit: Photo by William Weller, 1871, New Hampshire Historical Society

Documents in this Unit:

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Document

Mount Pleasant House Dinner Menu

1920

Caption:

Grand resort hotels were very luxurious. They provided all sorts of activities, like carriage rides, sports and games, theater shows, and concerts for their guests, as well as three lavish meals daily.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Document

New Profile House Breakfast Menu

1915

Caption:

Grand resort hotels were very luxurious. They provided all sorts of activities for their guests, like carriage rides, sports and games, theater shows, and concerts. Guests were also served three lavish meals daily. This is a breakfast menu from the New Profile House. This grand resort hotel had its own train station so that it could get fresh produce and dairy products every day.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Document

New Profile House Luncheon Menu

1916

Caption:

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Document

Railroad Passenger Ticket Prices 1860

1860

Caption:

This chart shows how much it cost to ride the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad in 1860, just as trains were beginning to come to the White Mountains.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Document

Railroad Timetable 1870

1870

J.R Kendrick

Caption:

The growth of the railroads in New Hampshire meant that people could take day trips to locations across the state. This railroad timetable shows the times of arrival and departure of freight, mail, and passenger trains going to stations in Manchester, Massabesic, Auburn, Candia, Raymond, Epping, Newmarket, Greenland, and Portsmouth.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Document

Railroad Timetable 1882

1882

Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad

Caption:

This timetable shows the schedule of the Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad. The routes went between Philadelphia, PA, and Montreal, Canada, stopping in New York, Boston, and all of the popular tourist areas of New Hampshire along the way.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Train Ticket for Trip from Profile House to the Flume

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Document

Train Ticket for Trip from Profile House to the Flume

1884

Raymond's Vacation Excursions

Caption:

The growth of the railroads meant that people could take day trips or extended trips to New Hampshire from other parts of the country. This ticket would take a tourist from Boston to the Profile House, a grand resort hotel in Franconia Notch.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Document

Yakum Spring Hotel Advertisement

circa 1880

Caption:

Many hotels in New Hampshire offered guests health benefits, like clean air and mineral springs, as well as access to natural beauty, like rivers, lakes, and mountains. This advertisement for the Yakum Spring Hotel in Goffstown, NH, promises many of these features.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Goffstown Historical Society

Explainer Videos and Virtual Field Trips in this Unit:

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Video

Mason Asks: What Is Mount Washington?

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Mason Asks: What Was the Old Man of the Mountain?

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Video

Mason Asks: What Was the Old Man of the Mountain?

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Video

Mason Explains: The Cog Railway

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Mason Explains: The Invention of "Free Time"

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Video

Mason Explains: The Invention of "Free Time"

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Mason Explains: The Regions of New Hampshire

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Video

Mason Explains: The Regions of New Hampshire

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Video

Mason Explains: The Willey Slide

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Mason Explains: Traveling to New Hampshire in the 1800s

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Video

Mason Explains: Traveling to New Hampshire in the 1800s

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Video

Virtual Field Trip: Mount Washington, Up, Up, and Away!

2023

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Maps & Charts in this Unit:

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1852

A horizontal black and white map of a mountain range. Several thin lines are drawn through the mountain range, which note the roads and rivers which pass through the mountains. Two multi-storied houses are drawn in the corners of the map, one in the upper right-hand corner and one in the lower left-hand corner. The title of the map, located in the upper left-hand corner, reads: "MAP/OF THE/WHITE MOUNTAINS, N.H./Drawn by/Franklin Leavitt, guide/1852."

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Maps & Charts

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1852

1852

Franklin Leavitt

Caption:

Franklin Leavitt lived and worked his whole life in Lancaster, NH. He worked at an inn, was an experienced mountain guide and storyteller, and carved wooden souvenirs that he sold to tourists. He even helped build the Mount Washington Carriage Road. He became very well-known among tourists to the White Mountains. Over more than 30 years, he drew a series of eight tourist maps of the region. The maps promoted hotels and tourist attractions with fun illustrations. This is the first map and it was printed in 1852. It was one of the first two maps of the White Mountains ever published. Do you notice anything unusual about it?

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1854

A square map with torn edges. The center of the map features lines marking railroad tracks, as well as the rough borders of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and Canada. A line of multi-storied houses border the lower edge of the map, beneath which is an illustrated mountain range. Several illustrated scenes set in mountain regions appear along the upper border. The map's title, located in the lower right-hand corner, reads "LEAVITT'S MAP/WITH VIEWS/OF THE/ WHITE MOUNTAINS/NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1854."

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Maps & Charts

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1854

1854

Franklin Leavitt

Caption:

Franklin Leavitt lived and worked his whole life in Lancaster, NH. He worked at an inn, was an experienced mountain guide and storyteller, and carved wooden souvenirs that he sold to tourists. He even helped build the Mount Washington Carriage Road. He became very well-known among tourists to the White Mountains. Over more than 30 years, he drew a series of eight tourist maps of the region. The maps promoted hotels and tourist attractions with fun illustrations. This is the second map and it was printed in 1854. What do you notice about this map that is different than all the others? What kinds of stories is he trying to tell with his maps?

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1859

A large horizontal black and white map of a mountain range and several multi-storied houses. Curved lines marking the area's rivers, roads, and railroad tracks connect many of the houses together. The title of the map, located in the lower left-hand corner, reads: "LEAVITT'S MAP/WITH VIEWS/OF THE/WHITE MOUNTAINS/NEW HAMPSHIRE/1859."

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Maps & Charts

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1859

1859

Franklin Leavitt

Caption:

Franklin Leavitt lived and worked his whole life in Lancaster, NH. He worked at an inn, was an experienced mountain guide and storyteller, and carved wooden souvenirs that he sold to tourists. He even helped build the Mount Washington Carriage Road. He became very well-known among tourists to the White Mountains. Over more than 30 years, he drew a series of eight tourist maps of the region. The maps promoted hotels and tourist attractions with fun illustrations. This is the third map and it was printed in 1859. What is different on this map from the other maps Leavitt drew?

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1871

A horizontal map of a mountain range. Surrounding the mountains are several illustrated scenes of people fighting off larger-than-life animals. There are also drawn curving lines between illustrated houses and the mountain region, which mark the area's main roads and railroad tracks.The title of the map, centered along the map's upper border, reads "LEAVITT'S MAP/WITH VIEWS/OF THE/ WHITE MOUNTAINS/NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1871."

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Maps & Charts

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1871

1871

Franklin Leavitt

Caption:

Franklin Leavitt lived and worked his whole life in Lancaster, NH. He worked at an inn, was an experienced mountain guide and storyteller, and carved wooden souvenirs that he sold to tourists. He even helped build the Mount Washington Carriage Road. He became very well-known among tourists to the White Mountains. Over more than 30 years, he drew a series of eight tourist maps of the region. The maps promoted hotels and tourist attractions with fun illustrations. This is the fourth map and it was printed in 1871. What do you notice about this map that is different than the earlier maps? What do you notice about the drawings? What kinds of stories is he trying to tell with his maps?

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1878

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Maps & Charts

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1878

1878

Franklin Leavitt

Caption:

Franklin Leavitt lived and worked his whole life in Lancaster, NH. He worked at an inn, was an experienced mountain guide and storyteller, and carved wooden souvenirs that he sold to tourists. He even helped build the Mount Washington Carriage Road. He became very well-known among tourists to the White Mountains. Over more than 30 years, he drew a series of eight tourist maps of the region. The maps promoted hotels and tourist attractions with fun illustrations. This is the sixth map and it was printed in 1878. Why do you think he made a new map just two years after the 1876 edition?

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1882

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Maps & Charts

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1882

1882

Franklin Leavitt

Caption:

Franklin Leavitt lived and worked his whole life in Lancaster, NH. He worked at an inn, was an experienced mountain guide and storyteller, and carved wooden souvenirs that he sold to tourists. He even helped build the Mount Washington Carriage Road. He became very well-known among tourists to the White Mountains. Over more than 30 years, he drew a series of eight tourist maps of the region. The maps promoted hotels and tourist attractions with fun illustrations. This is the seventh map and it was printed in 1882. What do you notice about this map that is different than the earlier maps? How easy would it be to find your way with this map? What do you notice about the drawings?

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1888

A horizontal map of a mountain range with torn edges. Surrounding the mountains are several illustrated scenes of people fighting off larger-than-life animals. There are also drawn curving lines between illustrated houses and the mountain region, which mark the area's main railroad tracks. The title of the map, located in the bottom right-hand corner, reads "LEAVITT'S MAP/WITH VIEWS/OF THE/ WHITE MOUNTAINS/NEW HAMPSHIRE/1888."

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Maps & Charts

Leavitt's Map of the White Mountains 1888

1888

Franklin Leavitt

Caption:

Franklin Leavitt lived and worked his whole life in Lancaster, NH. He worked at an inn, was an experienced mountain guide and storyteller, and carved wooden souvenirs that he sold to tourists. He even helped build the Mount Washington Carriage Road. He became very well-known among tourists to the White Mountains. Over more than 30 years, he drew a series of eight tourist maps of the region. The maps promoted hotels and tourist attractions with fun illustrations. This is the eighth and final and it was printed in 1888. Leavitt died about 10 years later. What do you notice about this map that is different than the earlier maps?

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Maps & Charts

New Hampshire's Ice Cream Trail

2020

Caption:

The Ice Cream Trail is a list of ice cream shops all over the state. You can get a brochure with the list and a map of all the shops. Try to visit all of them in one summer! Dairy farming has a long history in New Hampshire. The Ice Cream Trail is a great way to encourage tourists to visit New Hampshire and support the state's dairy farmers.

Image Credit: Granite State Dairy Promotion

A colored map of New Hampshire, featuing different activities that can be done in different parts of the state. The title of the map, in the upper left-hand corner, reads: "A Pictorial Map of Scenic NEW HAMPSHIRE."

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Maps & Charts

Picture Map of Scenic New Hampshire

1957

Alice Cosgrove

Caption:

This map of New Hampshire was made by New Hampshire's state artist, Alice Cosgrove, in the 1950s. It shows all of the different historic, recreational, and cultural activities available in New Hampshire.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A yellowed piece of paper of the states of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine, and the Provinces of Quebec. The state of New Hampshire is highlighted in yellow, and has several red lines runniong throughout the state. The Atlantic Ocean is colored in blue to the right of New Hampshire. The title of the map, placed in bolded black text in the top left corner reads "RAILROAD MAP/OF/NEW HAMPSHIRE/ACCOMPANYING REPORT OF THE/RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS/1890"

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Maps & Charts

Railroad Map of New Hampshire 1857

1857

J. R. Dodge

Caption:

Railroads first came to New Hampshire in 1838 and came to the White Mountains by 1851. This map shows county and town lines, as well as railroad routes, in New Hampshire in 1857.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A yellowed piece of paper of the state of New Hampshire. Surrounding New Hampshire are the four border states, "Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts", as well as "CANADA EAST", along the top border, which are typed in block text from left to right. Inside the state of New Hampshire are two colored sections, lots of text detailing the town names, and small symbols for the lakes, rivers, and mountains. To the left of the state is a large rectangle of text, titled "STATISTICS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE". In the top left corner is an illustration of the city of Manchester, and in the top right corner is an illustration of the "Concord State House".

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Maps & Charts

Railroad Map of New Hampshire 1890

1890

Rand Avery Supply Company

Caption:

Railroads first came to New Hampshire in 1838, and by the end of the 1800s, railroad routes criss-crossed all over the state. This map shows railroad lines in 1890, marked in red.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white drawing of a mountain region on white paper. There are several bolded red lines moving through mountain symbols and along lakes and rivers. The title of the map, place in the bottom left-hand corner in black text, reads "White Mountain/Region/OF THE/Concord and Montreal/Railroad."

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Maps & Charts

White Mountain Railroad Map

circa 1890s

Rand Avery Supply Company

Caption:

This map shows the railroad routes in the White Mountains in the 1890s. The Boston, Concord, and Montreal Railroad routes are marked in red, and other railroad companies' routes are marked with smaller black lines.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Objects in this Unit:

A woven basket with a baby doll laying down on a plush, white blanket. The woven pattern on the basket alternates thin strips of red and natural colored pieces of wood. The baby doll in the basket wears a white dress with red polka dots and a large red sash tied around the middle.

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Objects

Abenaki Handicraft Basket

circa 1930

Caption:

Tourists bought all sorts of souvenirs while visiting New Hampshire, like this Abenaki basket. Many Abenaki made baskets during the winter and sold them to tourists the rest of the year. They were able to continue the important cultural tradition of basket-weaving and earn a living.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Objects

Benjamin Champney's Paint Box

circa 1880

Caption:

Benjamin Champney was one of the most famous artists of the White Mountains. For many years, he lived and painted in North Conway, New Hampshire. He carried this box with him when he painted outside. It held his paints and brushes.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A puzzle of a wide street bordered by a row of houses to the left and a row of multi-storied buildings with a large parking lot in front to the right. There are a few cars on the road and parked in the parking lot. In the background is a large grassy area framed by rows of trees and a large mountain. In the left-hand corner the words "MAIN STREET, LOOKING EAST, BETHLEHEM, WHITE MOUNTAINS, N. H. 10" are typed in black ink. The puzzle's image is framed in white.

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Objects

Bethlehem Jigsaw Puzzle

circa 1920

TNL Novelty Puzzle Company

Caption:

Tourists bought all sorts of souvenirs while visiting New Hampshire, like this jigsaw puzzle.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A long piece of brown leather with a tear on the top and fringe on the bottom. Written in the center are the words "Book/like/friends/should/be few/and well/chosen", handwritten in black ink. Drawn beneath is a candle and thin lines of smoke that go up the sides of the piece of leather and frame those words. Beneath the candle are the words "Lake Sunapee/N.H." handwritten in black ink.

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Objects

Bookmark from Lake Sunapee

circa 1900–1920

Caption:

Tourists bought all sorts of souvenirs while visiting New Hampshire, like this leather bookmark.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A model of a train engine, placed at an upwards angle on a set of wooden tracks. The train engine has a black core and copper-colored wheels, gears, and smoke stack.

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Objects

Cog Railway Model

1865

Sylvester Marsh

Caption:

This model was built by Sylvester Marsh, inventor of the Cog Railway, to demonstrate how the train would work. Most trains use the friction of the wheels on the tracks to help them move along the rails, but this type of train wouldn't have been able to climb up Mount Washington. The cog railway uses a cog wheel, like a gear, on a central rail to pull the train. The cog allows the train to be pulled up really steep tracks. Marsh also designed special airbrakes to help the train descend the mountain more slowly. The Mount Washington Cog Railway was the first mountain-climbing cog railway ever.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Objects

Edward Hill's Sketchbook

1880–1882

Edward Hill

Caption:

Artists often visited the White Mountains during the summer and sketch with pencil or charcoal. Then they might return to their homes and studios in New York, Boston, or elsewhere and create large landscape paintings from their sketches. This sketchbook belonged to artist Edward Hill, a well-known painter of White Mountain art. It includes sketches of scenes in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York, in addition to New Hampshire.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

New Hampshire and Maine Themed Stack of Cards

A collection of playing cards, placed in two rows of three piles, with different scenes portrayed in photographs. The card box, placed in the middle of the first row of piles, is red with golden words engraved on top. These words read "FROM/SEA TO SUMMIT/SOUVENIR/PLAYING CARDS/WHITE MOUNTAINS, N. H./AND PORTLAND, MAINE/PUBLISHED BY/CHISHOLM BROS/PORTLAND, MAINE."

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Objects

New Hampshire and Maine Themed Stack of Cards

1903

Chisholm Brothers

Caption:

Tourists bought all sorts of souvenirs while visiting New Hampshire, like this deck of playing cards with pictures of different popular tourist sites on them.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A long silver tray with a narrow middle. Along the edges of the tray have raised curvy designs. Directly on the tray, on the right-hand side, is a raised engraving of a mountain edge that has the features of a face, including a forehead, a nose, and a chin. Underneath the engraving are the words "OLD MAN OF/THE MOUNTAIN."

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Objects

Old Man of the Mountain Souvenir Dish

1890–1920

Caption:

Tourists bought all sorts of souvenirs while visiting New Hampshire, like this small metal dish.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Pincushion Souvenir of Mount Washington Cog Railway

A wooden engraving of a train engine and one passenger car going up a very steep set of tracks on a mountain. The engraving is placed on a magenta colored piece of fabric, and has a faded pink ribbon in a loop at the top.

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Objects

Pincushion Souvenir of Mount Washington Cog Railway

circa 1880–1910

Caption:

Tourists bought all sorts of different souvenirs while visiting New Hampshire. This pincushion shows the Cog Railway.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A red pitcher with a white interior. On the fron of the pitcher is a painting of a blue and white sky and a brown, rocky mountain. The mountain's edge is shaped like the features of a face, including a forehead, a nose, and a chin. The painting is framed with gold paint. Along the bottom of the painting are the words "OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN."

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Objects

Pitcher with Old Man of the Mountain

circa 1910

Caption:

Tourists bought all sorts of souvenirs while visiting New Hampshire. This pitcher shows the Old Man of the Mountain.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A wooden cylinder with a lid. There is an etching of people standing along the shore of a beach on the front of the cylinder.

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Objects

Postage Stamp Box Souvenir

circa 1880–1910

Caption:

Tourists bought all sorts of souvenirs while visiting New Hampshire. This small box was used to hold postage stamps.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Objects

Profile House Pitcher

circa 1870–1890

Caption:

By the 1840s the Old Man of the Mountain had become a major tourist attraction. It gave its name to Profile Lake, Profile Mountain (now Cannon Mountain), and the Profile House hotel. This porcelain pitcher was made in England for use in the hotel.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Objects

Profile House Room Key

circa 1900

Caption:

This brass key and room tag was used at the Profile House, one of New Hampshire's grand resort hotels.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A tall drinking glass shaped like a cylinder. The glass and its handle are white. The center of the glass has a blue background and a white raised engraving of a two-storied house and fence placed along a road. Curved beneath the house are the words "Thomas Bailey Aldrich House" painted on in black paint. Engraved along the rim of the glass are the words "Portsmouth, N.H." colored in black paint. Below these is a raised, braided ribbon.

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Objects

Stein from Portsmouth

circa 1910

Mayer P. Alkon Company

Caption:

Tourists bought all sorts of souvenirs while visiting New Hampshire, like this stein, a large German-style mug for drinking beer. It shows two historic houses in Portsmouth, NH.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A small, pink cup with a wide top and narrow bottom. It has a gold rim and white interior, and the handle of the cup is circular and white. In the center of the cup is a sketch, drawn in black ink on a white background, of the New Hampshire State House . Words underneath the State House read: "STATE CAPITAL CONCORD, N.H.". Above the sketch are raised white flowers in an arch, and alternating white and yellow flowers circle the rest of the image.

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Objects

Tea Cup from New Hampshire State House

circa 1890–1910

Caption:

Souvenirs, like this teacup from the New Hampshire State House, were purchased by tourists when they visited a new place and wanted to bring something back home to remind them of their trip.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A wooden stick with carvings lying horzontally. Wrapped around the stick are small curving branches.

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Objects

Walking Stick

1903

John Vials

Caption:

Just like today, tourists in the late 1800s and early 1900s liked to buy souvenirs to help them remember their vacation in New Hampshire. This carved walking cane is a souvenir of the White Mountains that was carved by John "English Jack" Vials, the colorful hermit of Crawford Notch.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photographs & Prints in this Unit:

A black and white photograph of a large group of men, women, and children sitting and standing in front of a large circular tent. There are three dogs scattered among the group as well. The group poses facing the camera in a heavily forested area. The tent is held up by poles and by numerous ropes tied to the surrounding trees.

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Photograph/Print

A Group Camping in New Hampshire

circa 1870s–1920

Caption:

As tourism to New Hampshire grew in the late 1800s, people who didn't have the money to stay at a grand resort hotel or an inn or who preferred a more rustic experience often went camping instead. Camping was especially popular in the Lakes Region.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a woman standing to the right of a number of baskets placed on a four tiered display-stand. All of the baskets are different shapes and sizes. The woman is wearing an ankle-length dress with a high collar and short-sleeves. Her hair is done in two braids and she wears a headband around her forehead. There is a small white sign with black text placed in front of the basket display. Handwritten in white ink along the bottom border are the words "'Sipsis' (Bird) Flume Abenaki Indian Basket Maker ©1934 CIB."

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Photograph/Print

Abenaki Basket Maker

1934

C. T. Bodwell

Caption:

Once New Hampshire became a popular tourist destination, many Abenaki made baskets during the winter to sell to tourists during the warmer months. They were able to preserve the important cultural tradition of basket-weaving and earn a living. This Abenaki woman was selling baskets near the Flume Gorge in the White Mountains.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored drawing of a group of men, women, and children, who are standing and sitting in front of a small cabin. The cabin is filled with colorful bowls and other tools. A sign to the right of the cabin reads "ABENAKIE/INDIANS."

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Photograph/Print

Abenaki Trading Post

circa 1910–1920

J.V. Hartman & Company

Caption:

This photograph shows a group of Abenaki in front of their trading post or souvenir shop in the White Mountains. Tourists would stop and purchase a handmade item, usually a basket. Baskets were also sold in the gift shops of the grand resort hotels. Selling their handicrafts to tourists allowed these Abenaki to continue to practice the traditional art of basket making and earn a living.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

An Indian Summer Morning in the White Mountains

A colored painting of a small body of water, surrounded by brown and red mountains.

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Photograph/Print

An Indian Summer Morning in the White Mountains

1857

Jasper Francis Cropsey

Caption:

This painting is an important example of White Mountain art, showing New Hampshire's beautiful mountain landscapes and vibrant fall colors.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Currier Museum of Art

A colored, horizontal postcard of a group of multi-storied buildings. Many of the buildings have long front porches attached to the fronts of the buildings. In the left-hand corner of the postcard are several houses. Green bushes are scattered along the foreground of the postcard. In the upper right-hand corner, the words "Appledore House, Isles of Shoals" are typed in black ink.

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Photograph/Print

Appledore House, Isles of Shoals

undated

Tichnor Brothers, Inc.

Caption:

Located in the Atlantic Ocean about 10 miles off the coast of New Hampshire, the Isles of Shoals were a popular vacationing spot for tourists. Appledore House, located on Appledore Island, was a favorite hotel among well-known artists and writers.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A color postcard shows a picture of water, a dock, and more than six large buildings on land in a row. The buildings are houses or hotels, and have porches. There is a sailboat docked, and people walking up the dock to the lawn and buildings. Words in the upper left read "Landing, Appledore Island, Isles of Shoals, N.H."

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Photograph/Print

Appledore Island Boat Landing

undated

Caption:

Appledore Island is one of nine islands about ten miles off the coast of New Hampshire called the Isles of Shoals. This hotel burned down in 1914. Today the Shoals Marine Laboratory, run by two universities, is on the island.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white drawing of a man seated on stool in front of an easel and a mountain range. The easel is under an umbrella. A woman in a long dress stands to the man's left on a small hill, and looks over his shoulder at his work of art.

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Photograph/Print

Artist in the Country

1869

Engraving by John Karst after an original by Winslow Homer, printed in Appleton's Journal

Caption:

Many artists came to the White Mountains to be inspired by the beauty of the mountains and create works of art. Some artists only made short visits to New Hampshire, but others decided to return every summer for months at a time.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Artists Sketching in the White Mountains

A colored painting of three people sitting in a line painting the landscape of a mountain region. Two of the people paint underneath their own white umbrellas.

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Photograph/Print

Artists Sketching in the White Mountains

1868

Winslow Homer

Caption:

So many artists came to paint the White Mountains that Winslow Homer decided to paint the artists as well as the mountains! By 1868, when this painting was created, New Hampshire's White Mountains had become one of the most popular destinations in America for those who wanted to paint, sketch, or draw. The beauty of the mountains and rivers in the area inspired many works of art.

Image Credit: From the collections of the Portland Museum of Art

A colored drawing of a group of men and women on horseback. Two men with walking sticks walk among the horses. The group is on a curvy path that leads up a mountain. The women wear long skirts, jackets, and hats, and the men on horseback wear black pants, boots, jackets, and hats. One of the men walking wears a brown long-sleeve shirt and pants and the other man walking wears a gray long-sleeve shirt and pants.

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Photograph/Print

Ascending Kearsarge on Horseback

1875

Caption:

In September 1875, a group of young men and women from New York took a trip to the White Mountains. Wealthy people during this time often took a "grand tour" of the mountains in New Hampshire. One of the women drew scenes from their trip on a long parchment scroll. There are 21 scenes altogether on the scroll. This scene shows the group climbing Mount Kearsarge on horseback.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored postcard of the ocean and a curved sandy shore. Houses are seen in the background of the road's curve. The sand at the center and bottom forefront of the postcard is covered in seaweed. A large border and fence curves along with the road on the right-hand side of the postcard. A car and two people walking further ahead share the road.

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Photograph/Print

Beach at Little Boar's Head

circa 1908–1926

Thomson & Thomson

Caption:

Little Boar's Head is a low, steep hill on New Hampshire's seacoast that was formed by glacial ice thousands of years ago. In the 1800s it transformed from a sleepy fishing village to a tourist spot. Wealthy people built summer homes there, and a summer hotel opened in 1878.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of the interior of an art gallery. The walls are covered in paintings of many shapes and sizes. A man and a woman sit at a distance from each other along the right side of the photograph, each looking at a painting placed in front of them.

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Photograph/Print

Benjamin Champney's Studio

circa 1890

Walter E. Chickering

Caption:

Many artists came to the White Mountains in the 1800s to sketch and paint the beautiful scenery. Eventually these landscape paintings became known as "White Mountain art." Benjamin Champney was one of the most influential White Mountain artists. His studio in North Conway, NH, was visited by many artists and art lovers from all over the world.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Conway Historical Society Photo Collection

A colored postcard of three people standing on a rocky beach. There are several houses of different colors lining the back edge of the postcard. The words "Boar's Head & Cottages, Hampton Beach, N. H." are written in red text in the upper right hand corner.

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Photograph/Print

Boar's Head, Hampton Beach

circa late 1800s

Caption:

Little Boar's Head in Hampton Beach, NH, has been a popular tourist spot for many years. For people living in big cities like Philadelphia, Boston, and even Chicago, it was relatively easy to get to the New Hampshire seacoast by train.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored hortizontal poster of an amusement park. The poster shows several buildings, large grassy athletic fields, and a carousel. There are train tracks and several trolleys placed along a dirt road in the foreground of the poster. The park is located to the right of a body of water, which has several boats floating in the water and next to a dock. There are words in red and black text placed around the poster. The poster's title, located along the upper border, reads " BURGETT PARK." In the lower left-hand corner, another grouping of words read "On line of/Union Street Railroad/between DOVER and GREAT FALLS, N.H."

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Photograph/Print

Burgett Park

circa 1890

Century Lithograph Company

Caption:

Burgett Park in Dover, NH, was built by Henry Burgett in 1890. Burgett also bought a streetcar line so that people could get to his amusement park. He installed electric tracks so horses didn't have to pull the cars. Burgett Park had a dance hall, a penny arcade, a bowling alley, a track for bicycle races, athletic fields, and all sorts of other attractions. Later the park was renamed Central Park, and it operated until the late 1920s.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white drawing of a group of boys standing to the right of a large wooden cross. A tall man stands of their left, and another group of boys sit on the left side of the drawing.

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Photograph/Print

Camp Chocorua

1886

Illustration by William Allen Rogers in the magazine St. Nicholas

Caption:

Camp Chocorua on Squam Lake was the first children's overnight summer camp in New Hampshire and one of the first in the country. It was founded by Ernest Balch, a student at Dartmouth College, in 1881. This illustration shows Balch and the campers in the camp's outdoor chapel. Balch's ideas about summer camps were really important in helping to start the summer camp movement, and New Hampshire still has many summer camps today.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of two log cabins with a forested back-drop. In front of each of the cabins is a single tree, and then a clearing with various logs scattered in piles around the yard. The cabins both have a covered front porch and a set of stairs leading up to the front door. The cabin to the left has a woman in a long dress off to its left, a man sitting on the stairs of the porch, and a man with a hat standing to the right of the stairs. The cabin in the right-hand side has a young woman in a light colored dress sitting on the porch, next to an empty chair. Above her is a sign, reading “CAMP COZY”.

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Photograph/Print

Camp Cozy

circa 1922

Caption:

As tourism to New Hampshire grew in the late 1800s, people who didn't want to or didn't have the money to stay at a grand resort hotel or an inn often camped. Some families bought land in the lakes or mountains regions and built larger and larger cabins or "camps" over time. Their families have returned every year for generations.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of two women and one man standing in front of a camp site. The women are wearing long dresses and the man is wearing pants, a collared shirt, and a jacket, and holds his hat in his left hand. The camp site has two white tents. The larger tent, in the left-hand side of the photograph, has a dining room table with a tablecloth and has two chairs placed on either side of it. Towards the back of this tent, two beds can also be seen. The smaller tent, in the photograph’s center, is partially closed, and only a bench can be seen inside. Behind the two tents are tall trees, and in the right-hand corner, a body of water and a mountain are seen in the distance.

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Photograph/Print

Camping at Lake Sunapee

circa 1890

Caption:

As tourism to New Hampshire grew in the late 1800s, people who didn't have the money to stay at a grand resort hotel or an inn or who preferred a more rustic experience often camped. This photo shows the Sturtevant family from Concord camping at Lake Sunapee.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A color postcard of a three-story red building. The first two floors of the building have covered porches with a diamond design on the front railing. A sign positioned on the top floor reads “CANOBIE LAKE HOTEL”. The building sits above a small grassy area with a bench in the left-hand corner. To the right of the bench are a rock wall and a body of water. A man walks past the front of the building on ground-level, while a woman looks down from the second floor. The building is surrounded by large groupings of trees with blue and purple flowers. Words in the upper left corner read “Canobie Lake Hotel, Canobie Lake, N.H.”.

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Photograph/Print

Canobie Lake Hotel

circa 1907–1915

Caption:

This is a postcard for the Canobie Lake Hotel, located in Salem, NH along Canobie Lake.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored painting of a women in a white dress standing in her garden. The garden is full of red, pink, and white flowers, and in the background, a sailboat sails on a blue body of water.

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Photograph/Print

Celia Thaxter in Her Garden

1892

Childe Hassam

Caption:

The author Celia Thaxter lived on Appledore Island, one of the Isles of Shoals. She loved nature and had a beautiful flower garden. Her flowers were used to decorate the hotel on the island.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Champney Showcases a Painting to Other Artists

A black and white photograph of a man standing with a painting at his feet in a wooded area. There is a dog seated behind the him. The man faces three people who look at his painting.

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Photograph/Print

Champney Showcases a Painting to Other Artists

circa 1870

Photograph probably by Gabriella Eddy White, reproduced in the Bicentennial of Conway, N.H., Commemorative Booklet, 1965

Caption:

Many White Mountain artists gave art lessons to tourists and other visiting artists. One of America’s most famous 19th-century artists, Benjamin Champney, had a studio in North Conway, and often welcomed visitors in his studio and on short excursions.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Construction of the Mount Washington Hotel

A black and white photograph of a large, multi-storied building that is under construction. There are tarps and scaffolding covering different parts of the building. The building sits on top of a snow covered hill.

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Photograph/Print

Construction of the Mount Washington Hotel

1902

Caption:

Completed in 1902, the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods is one of only about 10 remaining hotels from New Hampshire's era of grand resort hotels.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored painting of a large, three-storied house in an open field in the middle of a mountain range. At the center of the painting is a woman on horseback and a man leading the horse towards the left-hand side of the painting. On the left side of the painting, there is a group of men and women all on horseback, entering a forest. The house is in the right side of the painting, and has several groups of people and horses standing in front of the house or gathered on the front porch.

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Photograph/Print

Crawford House, Crawford Notch

circa 1858

John Badger Bachelder

Caption:

Early visitors to the White Mountains stayed in taverns or inns. Visitors relied on the beauty of the scenery for entertainment, and only returned to these taverns to eat and sleep.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored painting of a forested landscape in a mountain region. There is a river in the painting's right-hand corner, and a small white house in the center of the painting. Dark gray clouds gather in the blue sky.

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Photograph/Print

Crawford Notch, Before the Willey Slide

1872

Thomas Hill

Caption:

Landscape artist Thomas Hill was inspired to recreate the moments before and after the powerful landslide that killed the Willey family, even 50 years after it happened. This painting shows the valley of Crawford Notch, as well as the Willey family home in the background, before the area was destroyed by the landslide.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a waterfall. The waterfall begins in the upper right corner of the photograph, falls through rocky terrain at the photograph's center, and finishes in the bottom left corner in a pool of water. A woman in a long dress stands watching the waterfall in the bottom right corner. Beneath the photograph, the caption reads in cursive writing "Crystal Cascade, White Mts, N.H."

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Photograph/Print

Crystal Cascade

1864

Bierstadt Brothers

Caption:

There are many beautiful waterfalls all throughout New Hampshire. Crystal Cascade is in Pinkham Notch and drops 100 feet.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Daniel Webster and the Old Man of the Mountain

A series of nine small boxes, three boxes wide by three boxes deep, in which animated stick-figures tell a story in a comic strip. The title of the comic strip is "DANIEL WEBSTER'S FAMOUS 'OLD MAN' QUOTE."

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Photograph/Print

Daniel Webster and the Old Man of the Mountain

2012

Marek Bennett

Caption:

There is an old story about how a famous politician in the 1800s, Daniel Webster, explained the Old Man of the Mountain. He supposedly said, "Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades. Shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch; and a dentist hands out a gold tooth; but up in the mountains of New Hampshire, God almighty has hung out a sign to show that there he makes men." There is no evidence that Webster actually ever said or wrote that, but it is a great story anyway!

Image Credit: Courtesy of Marek Bennett at livefreeandddraw.com

A black and white photograph of a man with a long white beard, sitting on a stool, looking off to the right. He wears a dark colored cap, and a vest, jacket, and pants made from heavy-looking cloth..

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Photograph/Print

English Jack

undated

Caption:

Tourists came to Crawford Notch from all over to hear stories from John "English Jack" Vials. English Jack had led a very colorful life. He was born in England and became a cabin boy when he was 12 and sailed all around the world. He once survived a shipwreck, and later served in the Royal Navy. He came to New Hampshire to help build the railroads and liked it so much he decided to stay. He lived in a cabin and sold souvenirs and homemade beer to the tourists who visited him. He died in 1912 at the age of about 88.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Rick Russack, whitemountainhistory.org

A black and white photograph of a family of six having a picnic on the side of a road in a forested area. The family, from left to right, has two women in long dresses; a boy in a collared shirt, a jacket, and a cap; two men with beards and mustaches in pants and long-sleeved shirts; and a women in a long skirt, a blouse, and a bonnet. They all sit in a semi-circle on a floral carpet.

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Photograph/Print

Family Picnic on Isle of Shoals

undated

Caption:

Tourists visiting New Hampshire in the 1800s were often looking for a quiet, peaceful vacation away from the crowds, dirt, and noise of large cities. There were many activities they could enjoy, like having a picnic.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a Ferris Wheel in a wooden area. There are groups of people gathered around the base of the Ferris Wheel, with several groups of people walking towards and away from the Ferris Wheel. There is a sign above the entrance to the Ferris Wheel, which reads "Honeymoon Express."

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Photograph/Print

Ferris Wheel at Pine Island Park

circa 1925

Ulric Bourgeois

Caption:

Pine Island Park operated from 1902 to 1962 in Manchester, NH. The amusement park had many attractions, including a Ferris Wheel.

Image Credit: Courtesy Manchester (NH) Historic Association

A black and white drawing of a multi-storied house, with large front porches off of the first and second floors. A stagecoach pulled by four horses travels on a tree-lined road to the left of the house, and two other horse-drawn carriages wait directly in front of the building. Words in black text are placed around the drawing. The words "WHITE MOUNTAINS" are placed sideways along the left side of the drawing, and the words "NEW HAMPSHIRE," are placed sideways along the right side. In bolded black text, the words "FLUME HOUSE, FRANCONIA MOUNTAINS." followed by a small paragraph of text in smaller font, are placed along the bottom border of the drawing.

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Photograph/Print

Flume House Advertisement Card

undated

John W. Orr

Caption:

This advertisement card for the Flume House, a grand resort hotel in the White Mountains, shows some of the attractions available for guests.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white postcard of a two-story, gabled house surrounded by a forested backdrop and individual trees scattered around its front and side. The house is decorated with wood paneling and has a wrap-around porch with a railing. Sitting on the porch, from left to right, are two women, a man, and a man with a small child. Everyone on the porch pose looking toward the camera.

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Photograph/Print

Follansbee House, Newfound Lake

circa 1900s

Caption:

As tourism in New Hampshire grew in the late 1800s, visitors had many choices of where to stay, including grand resort hotels, campgrounds, or smaller inns or hotels like this one.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Franconia Notch, White Mountains, Echo Lake and Profile House

A colored painting of a valley between tall mountains. In the foreground is a person looking out onto the valley, surrounded by several cut trees. In the valley is a small body of water. In the distance, there is a large white building with a red roof, and a train with steam coming out of its smoke stack.

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Photograph/Print

Franconia Notch, White Mountains, Echo Lake and Profile House

1887

Edward Hill

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

A vertical document with black text on white paper on the top half of the document, and a black and white photograph of a large two-storied house. The front of the house has porches that stick out from the house on the first and second floors. The first floor has four windows with shutters, and the second floor has four windows without shutters. There is a large grassy yard in front of the house. Centered beneath the photograph are the words "GILMAN FARM."

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Photograph/Print

Gilman Farm Advertisement

1905

New Hampshire State Board of Agriculture

Caption:

Many people left New Hampshire in the 1800s as they discovered cheaper, better farmland further west. The railroads also made it easier and cheaper to travel to the west. Many farms were abandoned during that time, so the state government used to publish a brochure encouraging people from big cities like New York and Boston to buy them as summer homes.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored postcard of a populated sandy beach. The men wear dark colored suits and the women wear long dresses, or shirts with long skirts. In the background there is a gazebo and a building with several towers and a large porch attached to its front. The title of the postcard, located in the upper left-hand corner, reads "Hampton Beach, N. H. In Front of the Casino."

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Photograph/Print

Hampton Beach and Casino

circa 1904–1909

Hugh C. Leighton Company

Caption:

This postcard shows people at the beach in front of the Hampton Beach Casino in Hampton, NH, in the early 1900s. Back then, the word "casino" didn't mean a place to gamble or place bets. It is an Italian word meaning "summer house" and casinos were large open rooms for meetings, dancing, concerts, and other entertainments. A Massachusetts businessman who owned a trolley line paid for the Hampton Beach Casino to be built in 1899 so that people would have somewhere fun to go when they traveled on his trolleys. People who were not wealthy were just starting to be able to take vacations then.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored photograph of a woman with her back to the viewer, sitting on the edge of a cliff. She overlooks a valley with a lake and mountain range filled with multi-colored trees.

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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

A black and white photograph of three people sitting on a rocky surface, facing a tall, pointed mountain.

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Photograph/Print

Hiking on a Mountaintop

1916

Caption:

Hikers have many choices of mountains in New Hampshire, not just the White Mountains, but places like Mount Monadnock in the southwest part of the state or Mount Kearsarge in the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee region.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Black and white photograph of four women and one man sitting around a table playing cards on a large porch.The woman seated at the photograph's right-most corner has a tennis racket resting against her chair.

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Photograph/Print

Hotel Guests Playing Cards

1888

George W. Perry Scrapbooks

Caption:

Although New Hampshire was known for its grand resort hotels, almost every town had a boardinghouse or inn where tourists could stay. Inns usually had guest rooms, a dining room or restaurant where guests could have meals, and a few activities, like tennis, though not as many activities as grand resort hotels. This photograph shows guests playing cards on the porch of the Perkins Inn in Hopkinton.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A color postcard of a train with one passenger car has a caption reading "Jacob's Ladder, Mount Washingon Railway, White Mountains, N.H." The train is descending from a very steep part of the tracks on the side of a mountain, which is covered with shrub and rocks. The part of the track the train is on is built up on a small bridge made of timber to keep the track as consistent as possible.

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Photograph/Print

Jacob's Ladder on the Cog Railway

circa 1876–1938

Chisholm Brothers

Caption:

This postcard shows the Mount Washington Cog Railway at Jacob's Ladder, the steepest point of its route. Special airbrakes help the Cog Railway descend slowly.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored postcard of a wooden steam boat on a body of water. The boat has one small flag at the front, and a large American flag on the back. In the background are trees and open grassy areas. Orange and pink clouds mix with white clouds on the blue sky. At the top-left corner are the words "'KEARSARGE,' LAKE SUNAPEE, N. H."

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Photograph/Print

Kearsarge on Lake Sunapee

circa late 1800s

Caption:

Lake Sunapee was, and still is today, a popular tourist attraction. People enjoyed traveling along the lake on a wooden steamship.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a rocky shore and a body of water. There is a small boat in the water at the center of the postcard, and it rests against a small dock. Lining the rocky shore are fence post, and behind this, various single-storied houses are mixed among large trees. In the top left-hand corner, the title reads “Mai’s Cabins on Lake Winnisquam between/Tilton-Laconia, N. H. on U. S. Route 3”.

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Photograph/Print

Mai's Cabins on Lake Winnisquam

circa 1920–1950

Caption:

As tourism grew in New Hampshire in the late 1800s, visitors had a lot of choices about where to stay, like grand resort hotels, smaller inns or hotels, campgrounds, or cabins like these in the Lakes Region.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored postcard of a man standing in the doorway of a small wooden shack with a cat in his arms. The shack is surrounded by shrubs and trees. The words "THE HERMIT AND HIS PET. MANCHESTER, N. H." are written in red text along the base of the postcard.

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Photograph/Print

Manchester Hermit with Pet

1909

John B. Varick Company

Caption:

The "Hermit of Mosquito Pond" was Charles Alan Lambert, who was born in England around 1823 and emigrated to Manchester as a teenager. For 60 years he lived on a large plot of land on Mosquito Pond (now Crystal Lake) and grew crops. He became famous, and hundreds of tourists visited him each summer. He sold his poems, vegetables, and herbs to the visitors.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored photograph of a large rocky ledge jutting out over sand and a body of water. Three people, two women and one man, sit atop the rock, overlooking the water. On the bottom left hand corner are the words "Miss Underhill's Chair, Star Island, Isles of Shoals, off Portsmouth, N. H."

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Photograph/Print

Miss Underhill's Chair

circa late 1800s

Caption:

Miss Underhill's Chair is a natural formation of rocks that create a seat above the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. This rock became a popular tourist destination after the tragic death of Nancy Underhill, after she ventured too close to the rock's edge and was swept out to sea.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored painting of a small waterfall and two pools of water. The water is framed by rock walls and trees. There are few large boulders placed throughout the water.

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Photograph/Print

Morss' Falls, Franconia Mountains

circa 1855–1875

John Badger Bachelder

Caption:

John Badger Bachelder was a New Hampshire native and a painter, photographer, and military historian. He did most of his painting before the Civil War, and he had a studio in Manchester, NH.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A daguerreotype of a large house and barn set in a valley of a mountain range.

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Photograph/Print

Mount Crawford House

circa 1840–1843

Samuel A. Bemis

Caption:

The Crawford family owned some of the most famous taverns in the White Mountains, including this tavern, called Mount Crawford House.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gilman Collection, gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation

A colored painting of a valley of open green space and trees. A large, pointed mountain sits in the background of the painting. There are three white houses in the center of the painting, and in the foregound, two women - one standing and one sitting in the right-hand side of the painting - face a group of brown and white cows over on the left-hand side.

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Photograph/Print

Mount Monadnock

circa 1890

Caption:

This landscape painting by an unknown artist of Mount Monadnock in the distance shows how tourists from the big cities valued the quiet, peaceful experience of rural life.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored postcard of a mountain landscape. The postcard mainly shows a green landscape, filled in with trees of slightly different colors. In the background, a group of tall white mountains frame the top part of the postcard. The title, placed in the top left corner, reads “MT. WASHINGTON, WHITE MOUNTAINS, N. H”.

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Photograph/Print

Mount Washington

1938

Tichnor Brothers, Inc.

Caption:

Postcard of Mount Washington in the White Mountains, NH. Postcards were a way for tourists to show people back home all the places they were visiting. A message on the back of this one from E. P. Sondrol to Mrs. N. G. Palmer in Verona, PA, states they are enjoying their vacation.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a horse-drawn carriage travelling along a dirt road. The road curves through the sloped side of a mountain. The road is lined with downed trees and large rocks. The photograph is outlined in orange, with black text placed along the bottom orange border. Those words read: "No. 505. Looking up MT. WASHINGTON CARRIAGE ROAD,/ Near Half-Way House, N.H./JOHN P. SOULE, BOSTON, 199 Washington St."

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Photograph/Print

Mount Washington Carriage Road

circa 1861–1882

John P. Soule

Caption:

The Mount Washington Carriage road opened in the summer of 1861 and is America's oldest man-made attraction. It is 7.6 miles long and goes to the summit of Mount Washington. It was originally used by horse-drawn carriages. Now it's used by cars and called the Mount Washington Auto Road.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Mount Washington Cog Railway at Jacob's Ladder

A black and white photograph of a train with one passenger car. The train is descending from a very steep part of the tracks on the side of a mountain, which is covered with scrub and rocks. The part of the track the train is on is built up on a small bridge made of timber to keep the track as consistent as possible.

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Photograph/Print

Mount Washington Cog Railway at Jacob's Ladder

circa 1892–1906

Caption:

An inventor named Sylvester Marsh loved the views from the top of Mount Washington, but he thought there must be an easier way to get to the top than climbing up 6,000 feet. He developed a special kind of train, called a cog railway, that could climb such a steep terrain. This photo shows the Mount Washington Cog Railway at Jacob's Ladder, the steepest point of the route.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a large building. The building hasa long covered porch, and several circular and rectangle towers. In front of this building is a grassy area and several bushes.

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Photograph/Print

Mount Washington Hotel

circa 1902–1987

Caption:

The Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH, was one of many grand resort hotels throughout the state from the mid-1800s to 1920. It was built in 1902 and is still open today.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored vertical painting of a mountain range. There is a large gray mountain with white and gray clouds floating in front of it in the background of the painting, and the sloped side of another mountain in the foreground. There is a curving path carved into the sloped mountain side, on which a small horse-drawn carriage travels along the left side of the painting.

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Photograph/Print

Mount Washington Road

1872

Engraving by Samuel V. Hunt based on an original by Harry Fenn

Caption:

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white steroscope image shows a rocky summit of a mountain. Beyond the mountain are layers of clouds below the viewer.

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Photograph/Print

Mount Washington Summit View

circa 1844–1900

S. F. Adams

Caption:

Mount Washington is 6,288 feet high. If you are on the top, or summit, you are so high that you might be above the clouds.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A horizontal poster showing a black and white photograph of farmland and various out-buildings in a valley surrounded by mountains. The photograph is showcased in an oval frame, surrounded by a colored drawing of apple trees. Above the photograph are the words "NEW HAMPSHIRE FARMS," and below the photograph are the words "YOUR OPPORTUNITY."

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Photograph/Print

New Hampshire Farms: Your Opportunity

1920

New Hampshire State Board of Agriculture

Caption:

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Photographic print of the Northwood Express stagecoach with passengers in Northwood, NH.

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Photograph/Print

Northwood Express Stagecoach

1898

M. M. Montgomery, George W. Perry Scrapbooks

Caption:

Before trains, tourists had to travel by stagecoach, wagon, or even on foot. Even after the railroads came, travelers sometimes had to take stagecoaches from the train stations to their hotels.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a large front porch. A number of people are sitting and standing around the porch, and there are several empty benches and chairs placed underneath the covered part of the porch. A set of stairs leads down to a path and grassy area in the right-hand corner. Two tall lanterns stand at the end of the stairs at ground level. The title of the photograph, which appears in the top right corner, reads “Veranda of The Oceanic, Isles of Shoals, N. H”.

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Photograph/Print

Oceanic Hotel Veranda

circa 1873–1915

Caption:

Postcard containing an image of the veranda of the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island, part of the Isles of Shoals, NH. The Oceanic Hotel opened in 1873 with space for 300 guests and had the first elevator in an American hotel.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A color postcard of several attached and free-standing white buildings of varying sizes and red roofs. A tall flag pole and American flag flies over the building, and a large raised and covered porch circles the four right-most buildings. The two stand-alone buildings each have raised and covered porches. The foreground of the postcard shows a curved road in the left-hand corner and white rocks scattered in the grass. The painting is mounted on white paper. Words along the bottom edge of the postcard read "Oceanic Hotel, Star Island, Isles of Shoals off Portsmouth, N.H."

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Photograph/Print

Oceanic Hotel, Star Island

1915

Caption:

Star Island is one of nine islands about ten miles off the coast of New Hampshire called the Isles of Shoals. The Oceanic Hotel, which still stands, was one of two grand resort hotels on the islands.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored postcard of three groups of buildings, and their surrounding green landscape. Two of these groups of buildings contain a long covered front porch. The main building, to the right-hand side, has an American flag on top of a tall flag pole. Clusters of colorful flowers dot the landscape and road, which curves from the left-hand side of the postcard and continues off to the right-hand side.

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Photograph/Print

Oceanic House, Star Island

circa 1873–1915

Robbins Brothers Company

Caption:

Star Island is one of nine islands about ten miles off the coast of New Hampshire called the Isles of Shoals. The Oceanic Hotel, which still stands, was one of two grand resort hotels on the islands. It opened in 1873.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored postcard of the edge of a rocky mountain. The overhanging edge of the mountain is shaped in the face of a man, with a high forehead, a pointed nose, a mouth, and a chin. Behind the mountain is a blue sky mixed with white clouds. Leading up to the mountain from the bottom left corner is a hill of green shrubbery.

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Photograph/Print

Old Man of the Mountain

1920

Detroit Publishing Company

Caption:

Postcard of the Old Man of the Mountains at Franconia Notch in the White Mountains, NH. Postcards were a great way for tourists to show friends and family back home all the places they visited. This postcard was sent to Bristol, CT.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Photograph/Print

Old Man of the Mountain Carte de Visite

circa 1850s–1904

John P. Soule

Caption:

Carte de visite photographs were a nineteenth-century innovation for sharing photographs. Small photographic prints were mounted on heavy paper cards that typically measured 2 inches by 4 inches. They were inexpensive and could safely travel through the mail.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

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Photograph/Print

Old Man of the Mountain Painting

1879

Edward Hill

Caption:

Well-known landscape painter Edward Hill was the artist-in-residence at the Profile House hotel for 15 years. During that time, he created this painting of the Old Man of the Mountain. The painting was printed on ceramic plates, teacups, and other items—a new type of souvenir for 19th-century tourists.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of two women and a man sitting eating a picnic in the woods. There is a low table placed in front of the group, and on the table is a bag of food. The woman on the left and the man eat bananas. The two women wear shirts with puffy sleeves and long skirts and hats.

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Photograph/Print

People on a Picnic

circa 1887–1920

Caption:

For a more rustic and less expensive vacation, many visitors to New Hampshire set up family camps along the shores of New Hampshire's many lakes.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a large, three-storied building. There is a large front porch in the front of the building, and a tower attached to the left end of the building. Several people sit or stand on the front porch.

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Photograph/Print

Perkins Inn

1888

George W. Perry Scrapbooks

Caption:

As tourism to New Hampshire grew in the late 1800s, visitors had many options for where to stay while on their vacation. Many chose to stay in small hotels or inns, like the Perkins Inn in Hopkinton, which were less expensive than grand resort hotels.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white print shows various rides at an amusement park. Scenes upper left to lower right are a wooden roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, a go-kart race, carousel, and roller coaster riders. People are seen on all of the rides, having fun. In the upper center, it reads "PINE ISLAND PARK", and in the lower center, "MANCHESTER, NH, 1902-1963."

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Photograph/Print

Pine Island Park

1902–1962

Paul A. Archambault, created in 1990

Caption:

Pine Island Park operated from 1902 to 1962 in Manchester. It was very popular with people who lived in and around Manchester, as well as tourists coming from far away. A trolley car line ran out from Manchester to Pine Island Park so that people could get there quickly and easily.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A vertical document with black text on white paper on the top half of the document, and a black and white photograph of a large barn and house with three chimneys on the bottom half. The barn faces the direction of the camera, while the house is turned sideways. The barn and house are attached by a long, one story extension of the house. There is a large field of grass in front of the barn. Centered beneath the photograph are the words "PLATTS FARM."

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Photograph/Print

Platts Farm Advertisement

1905

New Hampshire State Board of Agriculture

Caption:

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Presidential Range in the White Mountains

A color landscape painting is done in oil on canvas. It shows a view of the Presidential Range from a nearby valley. There are barns on treelined property in foreground, with a wood pile at left. Two horse-drawn carriages approach on a dirt road at the center foreground. There are people along the roadside at right and center. The mountains across the background are lavender, backed by a bright blue sky with white clouds. The peaks, from left to right, are Mount Madison, Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson, and Mount Washington. There is a dark spot on left shoulder of Mount Washington which is the headwall of the Great Gulf. The painting is signed at lower left in black: "Edward Hill. / 1886".

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Photograph/Print

Presidential Range in the White Mountains

1886

Edward Hill

Caption:

The Presidential Range is part of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. It is very scenic because it contains the highest peaks of the White Mountains. It also has some of the worst weather on Earth, due to high wind speeds and whiteout conditions. Because its weather is so unpredictable and dangerous, mountain climbers use the Presidential Range to train for higher peaks, like Mount Everest.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Presidential Range with Mount Washington Hotel

A colored postcard of a large white building with red roofs capping its two main towers. The building sits towards the back of the postcard, with a mountain range in the background. In front of the building, a green and rocky landscape surround a river, which runs through the postcard’s center. The title of the postcard, displayed along the base of the postcard, reads “THE MOUNT WASHINGTON AND PRESIDENTIAL RANGE, BRETTON WOODS, WHITE MTNS., N. H”.

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Photograph/Print

Presidential Range with Mount Washington Hotel

circa 1915–1953

American Art Post Card Company

Caption:

This is a postcard of the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH, with the Presidential Range in the background. The Mount Washington Hotel is a grand resort hotel that opened in 1902 and is still open today.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of several buildings surrounded by trees. All of the buildings are three or four stories tall.

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Photograph/Print

Profile House

circa 1853–1870

Franklin White

Caption:

Profile House was one of the many grand resort hotels throughout New Hampshire from the mid-1800s to 1920. It was named after the Old Man of the Mountain, which looked like the profile of a man's face, and stood near the Old Man in Franconia Notch. Profile House was built in 1852 and burned down in 1923.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of two men in a hammock in a forest. The men have white beards, and wear button-down shirts with vests, pants, and summer hats. Behind them is a canvas tent whose doors are held open by rope. Two low bunks are seen inside.

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Photograph/Print

Relaxing in Camp

circa 1870s–1920

Caption:

As tourism to New Hampshire grew in the late 1800s, people who didn't want to or didn't have the money to stay at a grand resort hotel or an inn often camped. Some people preferred the more peaceful, relaxed experience of camping.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored painting of a wide river and a mountain range in the background. Along the river bank are raised flat grasslands covered with trees. A group of cows crosses the river in the center of the painting.

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Photograph/Print

Saco River, North Conway

1874

Benjamin Champney

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

A colored postcard of a group of people clustered in front of a three-storied building. The building has a tower and large front porch, above which an American flags flies from a tall pole. The title of the postcard, located in the upper left-hand corner, reads: "SHIRLEY HILL HOUSE, SHIRLEY HILL, N. H."

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Photograph/Print

Shirley Hill House

circa 1920

Caption:

Guests at the luxurious Shirley Hill House in Goffstown, NH, enjoyed activities on the front lawn of the grand resort hotel. Located in the Merrimack Valley, Shirley Hill House offered summer visitors all sorts of entertainment, including hiking, boating, carriage rides, concerts, games, and excursions to see local sites. Although most grand resort hotels were in the White Mountains or along the seacoast, some were located in other regions of New Hampshire.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Goffstown Historical Society

A colored drawing of a group of men and women looking up at mountain range to the right, and a man standing with two horses and a carriage to the left. The women wear long skirts, jackets, and hats, and the men wear black pants, boots, jackets, and hats. Some of the men and women use binoculars to view the mountains.

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Photograph/Print

Sightseeing in the White Mountains

1875

Caption:

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white postcard of two rocky islands, one large and one small. The largest island, placed in the lower half of the postcard, has a few buildings clustered together in the middle of the island. The words "2657 STAR ISLAND AND THE OCENANIC/ISLES OF SHOALS, OFF PORTSMOUTH, N. H." in black text are centered along the bottom border of the postcard.

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Photograph/Print

Star Island, Isles of Shoals

circa 1876–1915

Caption:

Star Island is one of nine islands about ten miles off the coast of New Hampshire called the Isles of Shoals. In the 1600s, it was the busiest fishing port on the east coast. In the 1800s, it became a popular tourist destination. The Oceanic Hotel, a grand resort hotel, opened on Star Island in 1873.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Black and white photograph of a rocky landscape. In the upper right corner, a small building sits half hidden in the rocks. Three people stand on top of a large pile of rocks. A single person stands alone further to their left.

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Photograph/Print

Summit of Mount Washington

circa 1850s–1907

Bierstadt Brothers

Caption:

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A large boulder is caught between two rock walls in a gorge in a black and white photograph. The walls are steep, and there are some trees in the background. The photograph does not show the ground.

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Photograph/Print

Suspended Boulder at the Flume

circa 1850s–1883

Caption:

This is a picture of the suspended boulder at the Flume, a gorge that rises 800 feet in Franconia Notch. In 1883 a heavy rainstorm created a landslide that washed the boulder away. It has never been found.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Black and white photographic print of the a waterfall cascading through a small gorge with many rocks and trees around it. There is a a bridge at the center, and a group of unidentified individuals in the lower left corner.

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Photograph/Print

The Flume

1917

Edwin Jay Roberts

Caption:

In 1808, a 93-year-old local woman named "Aunt" Jess Guernsey found the Flume Gorge when she was fishing, and it's been famous ever since. It is now a popular hiking spot in the White Mountains.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white postcard of a rocky canyon. Two walls of rock, each topped with trees and shrubbery, frame the postcard. A wooden foot bridge with a handrail carves its way through the center of the photograph. Below the foot bridge, a small stream passes over the rocky landscape. Written in white ink along the base of the postcard are the words “The Flume Gorge/© 1938 CTB”.

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Photograph/Print

The Flume Gorge

1938

Caption:

Photograph postcard of the Flume Gorge, a popular hiking spot in Franconia Notch, NH.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored painting of a boulder stuck between two walls of rock. Along the tops of the rock walls are a few trees. Beneath the boulder is a small waterfall and stream.

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Photograph/Print

The Flume Painting

1882

Samuel Lancaster Gerry

Caption:

This painting of The Flume was done by a well-known White Mountain artist, Samuel Lancaster Gerry. It shows the Flume with the boulder suspended between the natural stone walls of the gorge. The boulder was washed away by a landslide in 1883.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a narrow, wooden foot bridge, placed over a rocky floor, with two walls of rock on either side.

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Photograph/Print

The Flume—Looking Up

circa 1850s–1883

John P. Soule

Caption:

In 1808, a 93-year-old local woman named "Aunt" Jess Guernsey came upon the Flume Gorge when she was fishing, and it's been famous ever since. At the time, a large, egg-shaped boulder was suspended between the two natural stone walls of the gorge. The boulder was swept away in a landslide in 1883.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored painting of a narrow, wooden foot bridge placed over a rocky floor, with two walls of rock on either side. Trees sit atop the two rock walls and partially fall into the valley. Groups of people are seen walking along the bridge.

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Photograph/Print

The Flume, Franconia Mountains

circa 1855–1875

John Badger Bachelder

Caption:

John Badger Bachelder was a New Hampshire native and a painter, photographer, and military historian. He did most of his painting before the Civil War, and he had a studio in Manchester, NH.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a small waterfall and two pools of water. The water is framed by rock walls and trees. There are few large boulders placed throughout the water.

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Photograph/Print

The Pool, Franconia Notch

circa 1850s–1904

John P. Soule

Caption:

There are many refreshing swimming holes in the White Mountains that are popular with tourists. This one, in what is now Franconia Notch State Park, was formed by natural granite slopes.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Black and white photograph of a group of people in front of a small, two-storied building with a pointed roof. Some people stand on the raised platform in front of the house, while others sit in either a chair or on the steps leading up to the house from the ground-level. To the left of the house is a larger building, and to the right is a low stone wall along the grass. Behind and attached to the smaller building is a one-story "L" shaped building and shed. Behind the buildings is forested area. The photograph is mounted on plain white paper.

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Photograph/Print

Tourists at the Willey House

circa 1839–1870

Caption:

These people are standing in front of the Willey House in Crawford Notch, NH. The Willey House became a popular tourist attraction in the White Mountain region after the tragic deaths of the Willey family during a landslide in Crawford Notch in 1826. In 1845 a local businessman bought the house and turned it into a hotel.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a group of people waiting in front of four trolleys. All of the men wear dark colored suits and bowler hats and the women wear long dresses and large, broad-rimmed hats.

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Photograph/Print

Trolley Cars from Manchester

circa 1910

Caption:

Trolley lines allowed tourists to take day trips to enjoy their leisure time. This trolley ran between Manchester and Goffstown. Passengers rode the trolley to a base station and then transferred to the Uncanoonuc Incline Railway, which traveled to the top of the Uncanoonuc Mountains.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Goffstown Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a passenger car sitting on a set of railroad tracks in front of a row of houses. The car has a roof, which is attached to a suspended wire by a tall metal stick. The sides of the car are opened, and the inside of the car is lined with benches. Two men stand on either side of the car on a raised platform.

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Photograph/Print

Trolleys in New Hampshire

1894

Caption:

Many amusement parks had a trolley car line that ran straight to the amusement park from a major city or a railroad stop. This allowed visitors to easily travel to the amusement parks for a day trip.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a trolley filled with people, traveling up a steep mountain side on a set of railroad tracks. Painted onto the side of the trolley are the words "UNCANOONUC INCLINE RAILWAY."

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Photograph/Print

Uncanoonuc Incline Railway Car

circa 1910

Caption:

The Uncanoonuc Incline Railway opened in 1907 in Goffstown. Each car was pulled up the steep incline of the Uncanoonuc Mountains by a giant cable. The Uncanoonuc Incline Railway was New Hampshire's second railway that climbed mountains. The other was the Cog Railway, which scaled Mount Washington, but the Cog had a different design to climb the mountain.

Image Credit: Courtesy of the Goffstown Historical Society

Uncanoonuc Incline Railway Climbing the Mountain

A colored horizontal postcard of a trolley filled with people, traveling up a steep mountain side on a set of railroad tracks. In the background, there is a deep valley filled with green trees and a large mountain in the distance. Above the mountain is a blue sky filled with white clouds.

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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

A black and white photograph of a large group of people looking at the camera, who are standing in front of a two-storied building. The first floor of the building is built out of rocks. In front of the group of people are piles of large rocks.The photograph is framed by an orange border. Beneath the photograph are the words "No. 516. TIP-TOP HOUSE, Mt. Washington, N.H./JOHN P. SOULE, BOSTON/199 Washington St." written in black ink.

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Photograph/Print

Visitors to Tip-Top House

circa 1850s–1904

John P. Soule

Caption:

This photograph shows visitors to Tip-Top House, a hotel on the summit, or top, of Mount Washington. Tourists came to hike Mount Washington as early as the 1820s, and it became really popular in the mid-1800s. In the 1850s, two hotels opened at the summit so that people would have a place to stay overnight in case they couldn't hike up and down the mountain in one day. Tip-Top House was the second hotel to open, in 1853. It is now a museum that you can still visit today.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored drawing of a group of men and women standing outside a train station. Two of the women and a man stand on the train tracks, and two women and a man stand on the platform. The women wear long skirts, jackets, and hats, and the men wear black pants, boots, jackets, and hats. Some of the men and women carry umbrellas and are standing among large suitcases.

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Photograph/Print

Waiting at the Train Station

1875

Caption:

In September 1875, a group of young men and women from New York took a trip to the White Mountains. Wealthy people during this time often took a "grand tour" of the mountains in New Hampshire. One of the women drew scenes from their trip on a long parchment scroll. There are 21 scenes altogether on the scroll. This scene is the last one on the scroll, and it shows the group on their way home at the India Point train station in Providence, Rhode Island.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored watercolor of a large white building with three towers and flags atop a hill surrounded by a body of water. At the base of hill, there are two one-story buildings near the edge of the water with a long wooden road crossing the body of water and leading up to the building. There are two sailboats in the water and, behind the sailboats, a steam-boat pulls into a dock. The words “THE WENTWORTH AND ITS SURROUNDINGS” are written in the bottom right corner.

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Photograph/Print

Wentworth Hotel

1874

Joseph Becker

Caption:

This is an advertisement for Wentworth-by-the-Sea, a grand resort hotel in New Castle, NH. Advertisements like these were published in newspapers and magazines to showcase all of the different activities people could do while on vacation in New Hampshire.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored painting of a lighthouse standing on top of tall and jagged rocks. Waves crash onto the rocks in the right-hand corner of the painting.

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Photograph/Print

White Island Light

1890

John Burgum

Caption:

While many artists went to the White Mountains to create landscape paintings of the mountains, others visited the seacoast and created works of art based on what they saw while staying along the coast and on the Isles of Shoals.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a light house sitting atop a mound of rocks. The rock mound is surrounded by a body of water. Behind the lighthouse, to the left, are three small buildings. At the center, waves crash onto the rocks in front of the lighthouse. The photograph is framed on white paper. Words written in white along the base of the photograph read "SURF OVER WHITE ISLAND LIGHT. ISLES OF SHOALS, N.H."

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Photograph/Print

White Island, Isles of Shoals

circa 1878–1930s

Caption:

White Island is one of nine islands about ten miles off the coast of New Hampshire called the Isles of Shoals. The lighthouse on the island would help guide boats carrying tourists to the Oceanic Hotel and the Appledore Hotel. It was also the childhood home of Celia Laighton Thaxter, a famous New Hampshire author and poet.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white drawing of a multi-storied house, with a large front porches off of the first floor. A horse-drawn carriage waits directly in front of the building. Words in black text are placed around the drawing. The words "WHITE MOUNTAIN HOTEL" are placed along the upper border of the drawing. Beneath the drawing, the words "WHITE MOUTAINS, N. H./JOHN H. WHITE - - - - - PROPRIETOR." are placed, followed by a small paragraph of text, typed in smaller font.

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Photograph/Print

White Mountain House Advertisement Card

undated

John W. Orr

Caption:

This advertisement card for the White Mountain House, a hotel the White Mountains, explains some of the modern features guests could enjoy.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A black and white photograph of a mountain region.The forefront of the photograph is framed with tall pine trees.

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Photograph/Print

White Mountains

1934

Ralph C. Larrabee

Caption:

Landscape photography became popular in the early 1900s. Like painters before them, landscape photographers found the White Mountains very inspiring.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A drawing of a hillside shows a dark hill with four rock slides. Each rockslide looks like a river at the top of the hill, but resolves into individual rocks as it descends. The rightmost rockslide encircles a small house at the bottom of the hill. Along the bottom of the drawing, nine people are seen running in a line away from the house. Some are taller than others, and some wear skirts while some wear pants. The four rockslides end all along their path. There are three lines of small writing below the drawing which describe the drawing which read "The Willey family consisted of 9 persons, Capt. Willey, his wife, and children, and two men by names of Nickerson and Allen. All were buried beneath an avalanche or slide from the mountains attended by the awful calamity of the destruction of a whole family on the 28th of August, A.D. 1826."

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Photograph/Print

Willey Slide

1854

Franklin Leavitt

Caption:

The Willey family died in 1826 trying to escape a landslide in Crawford Notch, but their house was not damaged. This strange tragedy made their house a tourist attraction. People came from all over the world to see the place where they died. This image is from one of Franklin Leavitt's tourist maps of the White Mountains.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A colored postcard of a body of water surrounded by open green space, trees, and mountains. In the water are two green islands. The words "WOLFEBORO BAY. WOLFEBOROR, N. H." are written in black text in the top left-hand corner.

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Photograph/Print

Wolfeboro Bay

circa 1898–1952

Caption:

Wolfeboro, NH, is known as "The Oldest Summer Resort in America" because in the 1770s the royal governor, John Wentworth, built a summer home there. The house burned down in 1820, but the Lakes Region is still a popular tourist destination.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

A color watercolor painting shows a water level view of Lake Winnipesaukee. A steam paddle wheel boat approaches a small town in a harbor bordering the lake in center ground. There are a group of figures on right, getting into a rowboat. It is signed and dated in the lower left by the artist.

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Photograph/Print

Wolfeboro Town on Lake Winnipesaukee

1873

John Badger Bachelder

Caption:

Wolfeboro's town motto is "The Oldest Summer Resort in America" and it has been a popular tourist site for more than 150 years. In 1771, the colonial governor, John Wentworth, built his summer home there next to a lake.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

Secret Found...
Color Mason The Moose!

GAME SETTINGS

Find It! Tourism in New Hampshire

Find It! Scavenger Hunt

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Secret Found... Color Mason The Moose!

SECRET FOUND!

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Find It! Tourism in New Hampshire

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Secret Found...
Color Mason The Moose!