MT. SUNAPEE STATE PARK

A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY

Donald E. MacAskill REep 796 May 18, 1981 FOREWARD

Mt. Sunapee State Park did not develop in a vacuum. There

have been countless influences that have had their effect on

the park we know today. For this reason an Indian and early

settler history, a Mt. Sunapee land-use history, and a history

of the tourism on have been included in the

following pages.

As this project points out, Lake Sunapee and Mt. Sunapee

are somewhat inseparable. If it had not been for the lake's

large tourist business, there would not have been a support

group of hotel and resort businesspeople to lobby for the park development on the mountain. For this reason Lake

Sunapee's booming tourist trade is described.

The following description will help the reader obtain

a feel for Mt. Sunapee State Park. The park is a major

recreation area located at the southern end of Lake Sunapee.

Within its boundaries are a large ski area and a bathing beach. The ski area is situated on 1,800 heavily forested acres. The lake waterfront offers crystal clear water and a

l,OOO-foot sandy beach.

The summit of Mt. Sunapee is 2,743 feet above sea level.

During the summer glassed-in gondolas transport park visitors

to the mountain summit. At the summit park users may hike a mile-long trail to Lake Solitude, a wilderness lake, or they

ii iii may simply take in the scenic views from the summit lodge and

surrounding area. In addition, a 47-mile-long hiking trail begins at the summit of Sunapee which leads to Mt. Monadnock.

This trail is known as the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway. Near the base of the mountain a newly-opened group campground has been developed.

In the winter months Sunapee offers twenty well-groomed ski trails with varied terrain. There are five double chair- lifts, a J-bar, a T-bar, and a rope tow. Located around the base of the various lifts are a number of picnic tables which can be utilized for summer outings. Sunapee is a unique state park due to the fact that swimming, fishing, hiking, picnicking, foliage viewing, and skiing are all offered at this recreation area. Sunapee truly is "a park for all seasons." PREFACE

The following history of Mt. Sunapee State Park is just

the tip of the iceberg. There is much more information and

data which could be gathered. For example, the state park

deeds should be searched, and the agreement for the land

transfer at Mt. Sunapee between the state and the Society for

the Protection of Forests would be useful to

obtain. In addition, it would be of interest to pinpoint

the year that Abija Johnson, the earliest farmer on the

mountain, acquired his land and from whom he obtained it.

This information could be found through a deed search at the

Merrimack County Seat in eon cord. There is practically an

endless amount of further research which could be done on

this history.

One of the main problems which arose in the preparation

of this report was the discrepancies that were found between different sources. For example, in an interview it was reported that the Sunapee Mountain House, a hotel owned by the Johnson family, burned before it ever had a guest. Other interviews and written sources disagreed with this saying that the hotel was operated for about nine years before it burned. As best as possible these discrepancies were resolved by further research.

The intent of this author was to have the information

iv v contained in the following pages be as accurate as possible.

Along the way in my search for historically correct information many people have offered their assistance and given of their time. Therefore, I would like to thank all of those who helped especially Richard Parker, Robert Sullivan, and the members of the Johnson family who were kind enough to allow me to interview them. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

1. "WILD GOOSE WATER"--THE EARLY DAYS . . .. 1

2. MT. SUNAPEE--FROM A FARM TO A RESERVATION 9

3. SUNAPEE'S TOURISM--A BOOMING BUSINESS .•.• 19

4 . A PARK IS BO RN ...... • • 25

FOOTNOTES ______...... •..•.•. 34

APPENDIX A . . . . _ _ . • • . . • • . • • 37 APPENDI X B . . . • . . . . . • • • • • • • • . • • 42

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... • . • . . • • 46

vi CHAPTER I

"WILD GOOSE WATER"--THE EARLY DAYS

Ye say, they all have passed away, That noble race and brave, That their light canoes have vanished From off the crested wave; That mid the forests where they roamed There rings no hunter's shout; But their name is on youryaters Ye may not wash it out. Lydia Sigourney

In our state today many of our water bodies as well as mountains and towns recall through their names the age of

Indian ancestry. Such words as meaning "the long river"; Kearsarge, "the high place"; and Monadnock, "at the silver mountain" are derived from Algonquin words. In addition,

Sunapee is said to be an adaptation of two Algonquin words which roughly translated mean "wild goose water. "2

As legend has it, Lake Sunapee was a favorite hunting spot of the Pennacook Indians especially during the autumn months. It was in the fall that migratory wild fowl heading southward from arctic summer homes rested in countless thousands upon the waters of the lake. As far as can be determined, the

Pennacooks never had a permanent settlement in the area of

Lake Sunapee, but they did camp in the region during their hunting and fishing expeditions. Arrowheads, gun barrels, stone mortars, and tomahawks have been unearthed around the

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TIm INDIANS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE Approximate location of Indian tribes in the leventeenth century 2 lake substantiating this theory. Who were these native people known as the Pennacooks?

The Indians in the Valley were usually called Pennacooks by the early English settlers. For many

years the Pennacooks had occupied the rich intervales along

the Merrimack in the areas today known as eoncord, Bow, and 3 Boscawen. At sometime prior to the arrival of the Europeans,

a confederacy of tribes began devel.oping in New Hampshire under the leadership of Passaconaway, the famous leader of the

Pennacooks. By the end of the seventeenth century the Pennacook

Confederacy, as ~t was known, was functioning rather well, and

representatives from many allied tribes throughout New Hampshire,

southern Maine, and northeastern often convened 4 for councils and ceremonies. (See map on following page for the location of Pennacook Confederacy.) The pur.pose of the

confederacy was to secure peace through unity and council.

The Pennacook Confederacy actually belonged to the Algonquin

linguistic group which once occupied an area vaster than that of any North American tribe.

The Pennacooks' lifestyle was an adaptation to the geography and climate of the New Hampshire area. Their time. was chiefly employed either in providing for their subsistence by hunting, fishing, and planting, or in guarding against and surprising their enemies. Their houses and canoes were made of light and perishable materials such as birch bark. Choosing to take all possible advantage of water carriage, the Penna- cooks generally traveled from place to place in canoe on the 3 waterways of the state. The wigwams of this native tribe were

said to look like domes or upside-down bowls. They were

constructed by driving eight ~r ten saplings into the ground

enclosing the circular floor space of the wigwam, and then bending these poles together and attaching them at the top.

The crude frame was then covered on the outside with tree bark or animal skins and lined on the inside with embroidered mats composed of rushes or bark. There ~as a hole in the top of the shelter to allow smoke to escape. These Indian houses protected the Pennacooks from New Hampshire's harsh winters.

As a rule the Penna cooks spent the months of December,

January, February, and March at their winter headquarters along 5 the Merrimack River. At their winter homes the natives had corn, beans, and smoked dried fish stored up to carry them through the cold weather. It was during the warmer months that the Indians traveled north to the "wild goose water" to catch fish and hunt water fowl. Fishing was accomplished by entan- gling the fish in weirs, dipping for them in scoopnets, or sticking them with spears. Hunting consisted of taking larger animals in wooden traps, snares, pitfalls, shooting them with bow and arrow, or sticking them with spears. eanoes were essential especially in the hunting of water fowl. It was not until the Europeans came to the continent that the Indians were introduced to guns and metal traps which made hunting much easier.

Thus in the spring the Pennacooks journeyed to Sunapee's shore of rock in quest of the spotted trout. There are also 4 indications that they traveled further west to the eonnecticut

River. At the basin below the rapids of Bellows Falls, an annual assembly of Indians was said to take place in order to scoop up the sea-run shad and salmon which were in great num- . h . 6 bers ln t e Connectlcut. On the eastern shore of Lake Sunapee north of the town

of Blodgett's Landing in an area which later came to be known 7 as Soo-Nipi Park, Indian utensils have been found. It is

inferred that the aborigines had a temporary settlement among

the giant pines which were said to line this half-mile sandy

beach. The Pennacooks are also believed to have built a

summer village on the eastern shore of Little Sunapee Lake.

From their settlement at Soo-Nipi Park a trail led directly

to Keyser Pond in Sutton. Near this pond arrowheads, gun

barrels, and tomahawks have been recovered. As late as 1897

the remains of Indian hearths and an Indian burial place were 8 still visible. Undoubtedly the most noted Indian leader in New Hamp-

shire history was Chief Passaconaway of the Pennacook eonfederacy 9 who lived from approximately l575 to 1665. His name roughly

translated means "Child of the Bear." Passaconaw~y was said

to be loved and respected as well as feared by his enemies.

Passaconaway was chief of the Pennacook tribe for over fifty

years, and he followed a policy of conciliation with the white

settlers to the point of deeding vast amounts of land to them.

The great chief felt that the only hope for his race was

peace with the white men. 5 In l660 Passaconaway retired as chief of the Pennacooks,

and his last wish was that the policy of peace with the white

men would continue to be followed. Wonalancet, the son of

Passaconaway, remained faithful to his father's wish while he

reigned as Pennacook chief until about 1677.l0 During this

time hostilities began to break out between the colonists and

Indians in southern New England. But during these hostilities

the Penna cooks remained neutral or ~ook sides with the colonists.

However, the colonists became suspicious of all Indians, and

the Pennacooks suffered the consequences. Some of the Penna-

cooks were slain by settlers who mistrusted them, and some were murdered by hostile Indians.

Kancamagus, or John Hogkins as he was often called by

the English, was leader of the Pennacooks from when Wonalancet

retired in l677 to about 1692.l1 Kancamagus was a grandson

of Passaconaway. Kancamagus did not follow the will of his

grandfather to keep peace with the white men. He became a

fierce and warlike leader. There can be little doubt that

Kancamagus and most of the Pennacooks wished to live in peace with the English. However, in l684 Governor Cranfield of the

Province of New Hampshire began employing the Mohawk tribe from the west to fight against the Indians of the province.l2 Thus

Kancamagus and his people who remained were forced into a situation of self-defense. This was just prior to the begin- ning of the French and Indian Wars which lasted from 1689 to l763. These wars were actually one long struggle between

France and Great Britain for possession of North America. 6 Both France and Great Britain enlisted the help of the Indians

with most Algonquin tribes siding with the French and the

Iroquois siding with the British.

It was during the French and Indian Wars that the

following legend was to have taken place. A white man named

Timothy Corliss was taken captive by the Pennacooks at Weare

Meadows, was carried to Lake Sunapee, and was held prisoner

until the fall of Quebec. On Suna~ee Mountain his captors

showed him a vein of galena or lead sulfide which they had

discovered. They drew are from the vein and molded it into

musket balls. After his release Corliss returned to the lake

on a trapping expedition and relocated the vein. He then drew

off some of the ore and molded a bar of lead which he buried

at the mouth of a brook in Newbury Harbor. Corliss soon died without disclosing the location of the vein. The local people began to speculate that the lead vein could very well be rich in silver. The discovery of the lead bar where Corliss reported he had buried it stimulated a massive search for the deposit. During the nineteenth century it was the dream of scores of "knights of the pick and drill" to catch a glint of the lost vein and to achieve wealth through the silver of l3 Mt. sunapee. As might be imagined the vein was never found.

On November 27, l778, the town of Fisherfield was incorporated by an act of the General eourt of New Hampshire l4 then meeting at Exeter. Fisherfield was located at the very southern tip of Lake Sunapee. The town name was later changed to Newbury, the name we know today. Prior to the date of 7 incorporation the first land grant was made in Fisherfield in l5 l753. At this time dense forest covered the entire region

as well as the area of Sunapee Mountain. The dense woods made

travel into the area by settlers quite difficult.

Throughout New Hampshire, Indian trails provided the colonists with protection and safe passage especially in time of winter. These paths also showed the settlers the shortest distance and most accessible routes between two points as well as led them to the choicest hunting and fishing grounds. The Lake Sunapee area had several prominent Indian paths.

One such path was called the Sunapee Trail. It left

Lake Sunapee on the western shore where Sunapee Harbor is today.

Following the banks of the Sugar River the trail ended at the mouth of the river where it reaches the eonnecticut River.l6

Another path was said to have led from the Pennacook winter home in Concord to Charlestown located on the eonnecticut

River. This trail passed through the area of Newbur~ followed the lakeshore to about where the state park traffic circle is today, and then headed west to Charlestown.17

Many Indian trails later became bridle paths, ox team paths, and even country roads. The Indian path between the'

Pennacook base and eharlestown was no exception. On March 16,

1769, a bill was passed in the New Hampshire House to build a road between Charlestown and Boscawen. This was at the request of the selectmen of Charlestown who wanted a nearer and easier passage to Concord and to Portsmouth. The road came to be known as the "Province Road" as this was the only 8 carriage road in western New Hampshire built under provincial legislation of this character. The Province Road was built l8 in l769 and l770.

The Province Road was a route commonly used by troops before and during the Revolutionary War. More importantly the

Province Road made settlement into the Lake Sunapee area much easier for the colonists. With the end of the French and

Indian War and the white men migrating further north, the

Pennacooks left the Merrimack Valley and the "wild goose water" and withdrew to Canada. The Indians left the wilderness which they had once hunted and the lakes and streams they had once fished to the newcomers of this continent.

No sound disturbed the midnight calm, But, when the morning broke, In all the region round about There curled no wigwam smoke, And on its silver-crested wave And on its pebbly shore, The lovely Wild Goose wfger knew The Pennacooks no more. CHAPTER II

MT. SUNAPEE--FROM A FARM TO A RESERVATION

Prior to the l820's Mt. Sunapee was still densely

forested. Sometime between l823 and l829 Abija Johnson, a

Quaker born in Weare, New Hampshire, in 1799, obtained a land

parcel on the north side of Mt. Sunapee in Newbury, New Hamp-

shire, from a proprietor. The land is located just north of

the base of what is now the Northeast Bowl chairlift. (See

map on following page for the location of the Johnson Farm.)

Why did Abija Johnson choose this land to farm? The

site undoubtedly was quite desireable as farmland. Because

of its elevation, the area was relatively frost free compared

to the low lying valleys. This made for a longer growing

season. Also the land was sheltered from harsh winds due to

the fact that it sets down in the natural bowl that the moun-

tain forms on its north side. In addition the site was

apparently quite stone-free making the fields easier to clear

and cultivate. The land was thought to be stone-free because

of the lack of stone walls at the abandoned farm site tOday.20

Possibly one of the most attractive features of the land was

the fact that it had only a gradual slope. Indeed the land which comprises the state park group campground today is a massive flat plateau. This plateau is located just south of where the barn and house were located and slightly above the

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II1t(I'AR(O IY DRfD GRAPHIC ."'S SLCTION- JUNf ,." lO buildings in elevation. Apparently improvement took place 21 on the plateau from north to south. In other words, the area closest to the buildings was cleared first. With its desireable characteristics it is easy to understand why

Abija Johnson chose to settle at this site.

One of the first chores which needed to be accomplished was the construction of a road up into the farm. Due to the gentleness of the mountain's slope ~n its north side, the road did not require any switchbacks. The road begins close to the state park traffic circle and is almost completely straight for its entire length of one mile to where it reaches the Johnson Farm. As one walks up the road today, it is quite overgrown especially for the first half mile as well as being heavily eroded below its original level. The upper portion of the road is cut into the sidehill. Because of this the downhill or easterly side of the road is built up with a large amount of rocks and cut granite forming a retaining wall. This wall must have required many man-hours to construct. It is unclear whether Abija Johnson and his sons built this retaining wallar whether it was built by loggers who used the road in the early twentieth century.

Among the next tasks to be undertaken by Abija Johnson were the building of a barn, a large farmhouse, and the clearing of the fields. Also, at some point a large dam was built in the brook east of the farm site in order to provide waterpower for a sawmi 11. At present evidence of where the barn was located can II be seen on the west side of the road. (See map on next page for diagram of farm.) A rock foundation which was probably the house can also be seen above the area of the barn. From the site of the barn a road leads down to the brook to the sawmill site where the dam is located. What remains of the dam indicates that it was a large structure some 20 feet in height. The sluiceway appears to have been located on the west side of the brook which is the .side closest to the farm.

The dam is primarily composed of cut granite blocks of odd sizes. Today the middle of the dam is broken away, but the sides remain intact. The sawmill was utilized to saw lumber which was needed to build the farm buildings and later the 22 Johnson's hotel. The area north and west of the farm buildings was

cleared pasture. Also fields were cleared on the plateau where the state park campground is today. The fields were

used to pasture sheep, cattle, and horses as well as to grow potatoes, corn, beans, and hay.23 These fields were cleared

in rather a unique manner. Instead of using the stone taken from fields to build stone walls, the rocks were simply

placed in piles which evidently grew year after year. Several

of these large rockpiles can be seen on the edge of the state

park campground. One can surmize that each spring when the

fields were plowed, new rocks appeared which were hauled to

an existing pile where they were deposited. Also located in

the present group campground was a large well 10 to 15 feet

in diameter and at least 30 feet deep.24 When the campground ~.tuf <. Ptll'l.c;. , (; rQ" f . :/ J l { a ....f J" '..."J.

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D i"'J l'r1rA 0 + , JDhY\~o", 12 was built, the well was filled in.

The view of Lake Sunapee and the surrounding hills

from the Johnson Farm was superb as pictures of this era attest. ~ As time went on, others were apparently attracted to~is

view, and as a result the Johnson family began to ta~~ in 25 boarders in their large farmhouse. Nathan J~nson (l829-

19l3), son of Abija, continued to farm the homestead, and in

addition he opened a hotel located west of the farmhouse in

1867 or 68. This hotel was known as the Sunapee Mountain

House.

"The area around the lake was fast becoming a popular summer resort, and not the least popular of the hotels was the Sunapee Mountain House which stood six hundred feet above the surface of Lake Sunapee and commanded a fine view of the lake and the surrounding mountains. It was built by Nathan Johnson and was opened for business in the spring of 1867 or 68. The hotel was about 70 feet long and 30 feet wide, three stories high in the front and two in the back. As there was no stage or public conveyance, the Johnsons sent teams to Mt. Sunapee to meet the guests. The first road up to the hotel started near where the traffic circle is today. The charge for room and board was $8.00 ~er week. The hotel burned in the spring of 1876." 6

The hotel foundation is clearly discernable today.

The foundation is situated on a sidehill which would account for the hotel having three stories in the front and two in the back. Some of the stones remaining today at the founda- tion site are cut granite while others seem to be simply rough field stones. Another reference to the Sunapee Mountain

House and the Johnson Farm is contained within the following early description of Mt. Sunapee:

"... eompletely forest clad, stern and savage l3

of aspect except when touched by the tender lights of evening, it is not merely a mighty mountain, but a rerrmant of the primeval wilderness. At one point, only, has civilization encroached upon it. On a little knob of the northern slope, nearly 600 feet above the water, a patch of light green speaks of the presence of a grassland and a large building glimmers whitely, visible from all the northern portion of the lake and the country for miles beyond. Here, a number of years ago, stood a large and quite popular summer hotel, known as the Mountain House. It was destroyed by fire, and has never been replaced, but its name survives. The building, which now so attracts the eye, though merely a very large farmhouse, is the "Mountain House" in the common parlance of Sunapee. The spot is a most charming one, and the view from it superb. The lake is spread beneath like a map; and in addition to a number of neighboring peaks, Mt. Washing- ton, and almost the entire may be seen distinctly in favorable weather. "27 .

The same year that the hotel burned Ralph Johnson

(1876-1953), son of Nathan and grandson of Abija, was born on the mountain farm. Ralph Johnson was the father of Jack

Johnson, Polly Johnson Davis, and Jim Johnson who were all interviewed as part of the research for this study. After the fire which destroyed the Sunapee Mountain House the

Johnson family continued to take boarders at their large farm- house and also farmed the land for approximately 30 more years.

During this time the tourism business on Lake Sunapee grew rapidly; this will be discussed in the following chapter.

Prior to the Johnsons leaving the farm site three members of the current generation were born. They are Jack Johnson of

Walpole, N.H., (1901- ) i Hope Johnson Leone of Sunapee,

N.H., (1903- ); and Polly Johnson Davis of Warner, N.H.

(1905- ).

Thus in 1906 the Johnson family left the mountain 14 farm.28 At this time Nathan's health was beginning to fail, and Ralph had a desire to go into contracting work. Upon leaving the mountain in 1906, the Johnsons moved to a house near where the present state park traffic circle is today.

For several years Nathan worked as proprietor of a newly opened hotel known as the Runal's House located on Lake

Sunapee. Ralph quarried granite on the mountain near the farm site and used the granite in the construction of various cottages and stone structures around the lake. Some of

Ralph's masonry work can still be seen today on the shores of Lake Sunapee.

Even after the Johnsons left the farm, they still cut hay and grew some vegetables up on their former land.

In 1928 Jim Johnson, Ralph's youngest son, grew the last crop of potatoes on the mountain farm and cut the last crop 30 of hay.

Immediately after the Johnsons moved off the farm, logging interests moved in. Two companies did most of the logging on Mt. Sunapee. These two companies were the Emerson

Paper Company and Dratper Company. These logging companies bought the Johnson land and much of the other land on the mountain. The Drap'er Company used the Johnson's farmhouse . 31 as a logg~ng camp.

Extensive logging took place on the mountain's north side from 1906 to about 19l0.- Logging in this era was primarily accomplished using the clearcut method. Virtually every tree would be cut, and slash would be left behind resulting l5 in a site very unpleasant to the human eye. Hardwood was cut into log lengths and hauled down to the mountain base by draft horses where it W3S loaded onto railroad cars to be

taken to sawmills. The Drapper eompany ran a sawmill on the

mountain located on the Johnson Brook above the site of the

old Johnson dam. At the sawmill spruce was cut for transport.

Hemlocks were cut down and stripped of their bark. The hem-

lock bark was shipped to tanneries. to be used in the tanning

process. After these large hemlocks were stripped of their 32 bark, they were left on the mountain to rot. The massive

clearcutting was the catalyst for the preservation movement

which began about 1909. It was in the fall of 1909 that lumbermen began to

cut off the remaining timber that covered the north side of

Mt. sunapee.33 Many summer residents as well as year round

people felt that the beautiful mountain, with its primeval

timber of remarkable size and beauty, was being ruined. Many

trees on the side of the mountain facing the lake had already

been felled which prompted area people to take action. One individual in particular was instrumental in

getting the movement rolling to save Mt. Sunapee. This person

was Herbert Welsh of Philadelphia, who for over twenty years

had been a summer resident on Lake Sunapee. Mr. Welsh urged

the people from around the lake to help save the mountain.

After organizing the people from around the lake, Mr. Welsh

enlisted the aid of the society for the Protection of New Hatlll:'-

shire Forests. The society was asked to lend its aid in 16 technical forestry and in negotiating for the acquisition of the private land and timber with money collected by summer residents and townspeople under the direction of Mr. Welsh.

The group formed to save Mt. Sunapee had raised $8,000 to purchase the land and what little timber remained on the north side of the mountain. The initial purchase in 19l1 • included 656 acres.34 This included the summit and Lake Soli- tude, a small tarn west of the main ~urnmit, and almost the entire north side of the mountain above the Johnson Farm.

When the initial 656 acres were purchased, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests was designated as trustee of the land making the land holding on Mt. Sunapee the Society's first reservation.

It should be emphasized that most of the land which the Society purchased on Sunapee was unsightly logged over land. The land was acquired to save it from being logged again and in a sense was purchased more for the enjoyment of future generations rather than for the people of the day.

As a movement to set aside forest lands for future generations, the purchase on Mt. Sunapee was one of the first of its kind occurring at the beginning of a new era. In the same year that the Sunapee reservation was established the Weeks Law

(1911) was passed which can be considered the organic act of the Eastern national forests. The Weeks Law provided for the purchase of forested, denuded, or cut-over lands within navigable stream watersheds.

In 19l2 Herbert Welsh's group was formally organized 17 as the Sunapee Branch of the Society for the Protection of

New Hampshire Forests. In the same year Welsh's group raised

$1,200 for building trails, opening springs, cleaning slash, and other work on the mountain. 35 An early Society publication predicted that Sunapee Mountain "... will become one of the 36 most famous mountain parks in this country.1I Soon eight miles of hiking trails had been constructed, and a log shelter and fireplace had been built at Lake Solitude for persons wishing to stay overnight on top of the mountain.

A superintendent of the Sunapee Reservation, Archie O.

Gove, was employed and lived near the base of the mountain close to the present state park traffic circle. The Society maintained a dock on the lake slightly south of the present state beach. Boats could deposit hikers at this dock from where they would begin their ascent up the mountain. Also trails originated from the Sunapee Lake Train Depot, north of

Newbury on the west side of the lake, and from the Edgemont

Train Depot, slightly west of the present state park traffic circle. The Society continued to negotiate to purchase more

land on the mountain. In 1922 the Society purchased from the

Emerson Paper eompany the land which had formerly been the

Johnson Farm. After several more purchases, by the year 1934

the Society had acquired 1,185 acres on Mt. Sunapee. The

total land area of l,185 acres had cost the Society only

$l2,52l.50 or $10.57 per acre.

The famous hurricane of 1938 blew many trees down on l8

Mt. Sunapee which blocked the Society's hiking trails. In the summer of 1939 Mr. Richard Parker, who later became manager of Mt. Sunapee State Park, and several other young men were 37 hired by the Society to relocate and repair the hiking trails.

At this time there w.:.tsno longer a local superintendent employed

to oversee the reservation. The cabin at Lake Solitude was

also rebuilt, and lO-foot by 10-foot wooden trail maps were

installed at the base of each trail. According to Mr. Parker

during the late 1930's it was not uncommon to see lOO hikers

a day on the mountain when the weather was pleasant. Most of

the hikers were summer residents of Lake Sunapee.

During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth

century a phenomenon was occurring on Lake Sunapee which

staggers the imagination. The lake had changed from the quiet and serene hunting and fishing grounds known only to the

Pennacooks. All of a sudden hundreds of tourists were coming

to the rocky shores of Sunapee to relax and vacation. The

following chapter will explore the tourist trade of the lake. .. -

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LAKE SUNAPEE r I£W IAIiPSHIR£ ..,...... ,.~u.tIQ. .... "JI;m"Y ,,_ ) ... "TlU I. IOIU.I.t ...... -. ., SJI'lI1T I Ct,lIl1llll'U ..... • • CHAP'I'ER III

SUNAPEE'S TOURISM--A BOOMING BUSINESS

Approximately a century ago the arrival of warm

weather in the Northeast set an affluent breed of city folks

in Boston and New York to packing huge trunks and traveling

by train to New Hampshire for the summer. Many of these

tourists would check into one of the big resort hotels and

stay put for the entire summer.

For a large number of these individuals their last

stop was the Lake Sunapee Station which was located slightly

north of Newbury Harbor. At the train depot huge steamboats would meet the trains and shuttle passengers and their trunks

to the various hotels on the lake's edge. The railroad-steamboat

combination was the best way to reach Lake Sunapee's resorts right into the 1920's.

"The Sugar River Railroad from elaremont Junction to

Newport, and on through Sunapee and Newbury to Bradford was completed in 1871. The first train to complete the run from

Concord to Claremont went through on November 22, 1871.,,38

As the Province Road opened up the Lake Sunapee area to the early settlers, the Sugar River Railroad provided the means for early tourists to reach the lake. Eventually three rail- road stations were built on the lake. They were Newbury

Station, Lake Sunapee Station, and Edgemont Station which

19 20 was near the present state park traffic circle. (See map on following page.) The railroad gave rise to the Sunapee steamboat era.

In 1876 there was the launching of the little steamer "Penna- cook" by N. S. Gardner and the "Lady woodsum" by three 39 woodsum brothers from Harrison, Maine. The "Lady woodsum" was 50 feet long, carried 50 passengers, and pulled a trailer barge for freight. The "Lady woodsum," which was the first of five steamboats built by the Woodsurn brothers, was in its second year when disaster struck. The small craft exploded during

one of its summer runs and sank in the lake with only the top

of the pilot house extending above the surface of the water.

One of the passengers aboard was blown through a window on

the boat, and Elias Woods urn, one of the three Woodsurn

brothers, was burned so badly by the explosion that he died

two hours after be~ng taken ashore. Elias Woodsurn was the sole fatality, but his death coupled with the loss of the ship

nearly marked the end of the steamboat era on Lake Sunapee

just two years after it had begun. '::::l~l(.~

The Boston and Maine Railroad, owners of the Sugar

River Railroad, recognized the value of the steamboats on the

lake in terms of the tourist trade from New York and Boston.

Therefore, the B. & M. offered to help the remaining two

woodsurn brothers raise the "Lady Woodsurn" from the lake bottom

and finance the cost of replacing the boiler and making other

repairs. The offer was accepted. Within a year the repairs 2l were completed, and a second deck was added to the "Lady

Woodsum. ,,40

Other ships began to appear on the lake during this period when the tourist business in the area was to reach its peak. In 1885 the 90-foot "Edmund Burke" was built with a

600-passenger capacity. Two years later, in 1887, the Woodsum brothers launched the lOl-foot, 650-passenger capacity

"Armenia White.,,4l The "Armenia White" was the largest ship ever to sail Sunapee. Shortly thereafter the Woodsurn brothers launched three 250-passenger capacity ships. They were named the "Kearsarge," the "Weetamoe," and the "Ascutney."

Throughout this era the tourist trade on Lake Sunapee was reaching unprecedented figures. "In 1888, the 'Edmund

Burke,' the 'Lady Woodsum,' and the 'Armenia White' sold a total of lS,OOO tickets.,,42 'rhe Sugar River Railroad was also doing a record-breaking business. The Lake Sunapee Station was equipped with a ten-car siding, a turntable, a large steamboat wharf, and a coaling station. earrying passenge.rs, loads of mail, fresh meat, and provisions for the hotels around the lake, the trains would be met at the depot by steamboats.

The "Lady Woodsum" was usually the first ship of the season to greet vacationers, with the larger boats coming into service as the season reached its peak.43 A steamboat schedule for September of 1914, shows that the Woodsurn fleet that fall made no less than 19 stops around the lake each day to deliver and p~c. k up passengers. 44

Certainly just as luxurious as Lake Sunapee's First railroad stallon - 1892. Woodsum brolhers' - LoId1 Woodsum on rlahl

TIl. Woodaum Fillt, from I.ft - Aacutn.y, K.. rllrl" Wlltlmoi, Arm.nl. Whit• ••rlyll00'.

0:.- ,ot

•.. ,l ••

~. . " '\ ..~"'t.....,. .... " . .; ...... ' .. iIr'ilt'"\'I..- ..s..•..•

Second lillroold stalion. Thi, burned in 1907 and another on. buill. Thl, Ihlrd ataUon Wit di,molntled in th. Ii Ie 1930',. THE liEN MERE INN.-Sleamer "Armenia While" leavine her wharf. 22 steamboats were its hotels and resorts. The history of Lake

Sunapee as a summer resort began in l875, the year in which

Mr. N. S. Gardner, owner of the steamboat "Pennacook," built

a house and bowling alley on a small island on the lake.45

Also, that same year the first summer cottage was built on the

lake by a Mr. Love of Claremont, and the first hotel was

erected known as the Lake View House.46

After the initial developments, the hotels and cottages on the lakeshore sprung up at a rapid rate. Cottages were built by many wealthy and prominent people. Large and elaborate hotels were constructed. At Sunapee Harbor the Ben Mere Inn was opened with lOO guest rooms and all the modern improvements of the day. Burkehaven Hotel was built south of Sunapee Harbor.

Across the lake on the eastern shore, a tourist village was developed known as Blodgett's. The village had been a part of the George W. Blodgett farm. By 1896 Blodgett's was the seat of over 100 cottages, a dance hall, and an unpreten- tious inn, known as Forest House.47 Other early hotels included the Granliden Hotel, Grand View Hotel, Sunapee Harbor

Hotel, and the Lakeside House.

One of the more renowned resorts on Lake Sunapee was the Soo-Nipi Park Lodge which was located on the eastern shore of the lake north of Blodgett's. An early description of the lodge follows:

Life at the Soo-Nipi Park Lodge is charmingly uncon- ventional, every suggestion of a hotel being kept in the background. The house is not open to the public. There is no bar. The atmosphere is refined and Christian. Guests are required to keep the Sabbath. The management 23

provides, at reasonable rates, all the luxuries and priveledges of home for cultured and moral pat~ons only, who will find Soo-Nlpi Park Lodge an ideal summer residence, combining the attractions of rustic and forest life with modern comforts and rare social advantages. The coarse otherwise undesireable elements of society are rigidly excluded.48

At the turn of the century one could vacation at this elite

inn for $l2.50 per week with meals included.

Lake Sunapee also came to be known for its good fishing.

In 1883 the New Hampshire Fish Commission established a hatching house on the lake. Between 1883 and 1897 upwards of five million trout and salmon were propagated and released into 49 the lake and its tributary streams. Fishermen would travel from throughout New England to try their hand at Sunapee's black bass, salmon, and native trout. A. N. eheney writing in the July 28, l892, issue of Forest and Stream wrote, "Lake

Sunapee has become the greatest angling resort in New England or the Middle Atlantic States."

Lake Sunapee's tourist trade had become a well"'; established business by the time of World War I. During the

1920's and 1930's, however, the automobile became increasingly popular which resulted in people taking more mobile type summer • vacations. It became less and less common for vacationers to spend an entire summer in one location. Also people did not rely nearly as much on the trains or the steamboats for trans- portation since they had their own method of conveyance. In a very short time the steamboat business on Lake Sunapee had slid into oblivion. By 1930 all the once elaborate steamboats had been retired. The ship vJhistles which were once so common 24 were no longer heard. In addition, business began to slump at Sunapee's hotels and resorts. with the new independence which the automobile brought, tourists began to seek out new areas and locations to spend their leisure. CHAPTER IV

A PARK IS BORN

With the advent of the automobile the tourism industry

was forced to provide additional attractions in order to draw

the more mobile vacationers. The hotel and resort owners of

the Franconia Notch area of New Hampshire carne to realize the

need for more attractions due to their slumping tourist trade.

Thus Franconia Notch businessmen lobbied for a state-funded

aerial tramway to take summer visitors to the summit of Cannon

Mountain. Hotel and resort owners felt a tramway would give

their declining business a needed shot in the arm. As a

result House Bill No. l31 was passed in 1935 to provide for

the construction and operation of an aerial tramway on Cannon

Mountain. In 1938 the Cannon tram opened.

It was the opening of the eannon Aerial Tramway which

provided the impetus for a similar movement at Mt. Sunapee.

The hotel owners and businessmen of the Sunapee area were some- what jealous of their counterparts in Franconia Notch. The

Sunapee people felt they should be entitled to a state-funded 50 tramway also.

A movement began to try to get a tramway for Mt. Sunapee.

Mr. Hawes Hallett, who owned a marina and some tourist cabins 51 in Newbury Harbor, was a primary force behind the movement.

Hallett enlisted the help of many local businesspeople who

25 26 depended on the lake for income in lobbying for the Sunapee

tramway. The lobbying effort proved successful, and in 1941

Chapter 190 was passed which authorized the construction of

an aerial tramway on Mt. Sunapee. (See Appendix A for a copy of Chapter 190 Laws of 1941.) A sum of $375,000 was allocated for the project.

It should be emphasized that the primary reason for building a tramway was not for wint~r skiing but was to support the slumping summer tourist trade. Among the main objectives were to revive the steamboat business as well as to increase revenue for the hotels and resorts. Therefore, the original plan called for the tramway station to be located right on 52 the water's edge in Newbury Harbor. This would allow people to take a steamboat to the tramway station, board the tramway, and ascend the mountain.

This plan never became reality for a variety of reasons.

In the 1940's World War II became a focus, and many projects such as this one were set aside or became pigeonholed. Bills such as ehapter 190 have a statute of limitations, and if not carried out within two to three years, they became invalid.

Fortunately, however, the Sunapee movement had enough support to obtain extensions on the original bill. Chapter l55 of the

Laws of 1943 gave the Sunapee Tramway bill its first extension.

Then in 1945 Chapter 153 extended the original bill again and also amended it. The amendment stated that there would be constructed at Mt. Sunapee in the town of Newbury a tramway

"or other lifting device." Since during the early 1940's 27 chairlifts had become popular, this amendment was of great

significance in that it did not limit the Sunapee lift to

being an aerial tramway. In addition to chairlifts becoming

popular, by 1945 a great commercial interest in skiing had

developed.

As a result of the growth of commercial interest in

skiing, by 1946 two separate groups pushing for a lift on 53 Mt. Sunapee had evolved. The first or original group still

advocated having the lift start at the lakeshore. This group was not interested in winter use of the mountain. Being somewhat narrow-minded the first group was only interested in rejuvenating the lake economy. The second group was more broad-minded. Their goal was to find a spot to install the lift on the mountain where it could be utilized in both the summer and winter seasons.

While this controversy was occurring, the State High- way Commissioner was conducting further studies into the

Sunapee Project. In the years since 1941 the original $375,000 had shrunk due to inflation, and a tramway to depart from the lake's edge was determined to be far too expensive.54 New studies found that a feasible project would be to build a road into what is now the present park area and construct a chairlift to the north peak of the mountain.

Thus a single chairlift was erected. Today this lift is known as the North Peak Lift. Three ski trails were also constructed at this time. Two state highway engineers,

Fred Hansenand MalcOlmChase, were enlisted to design the ski 28 trails. These two engineers developed a new method of trail

design. Since Hansen and Chuse were used to grading and

leveling highways, they decided to remove all tree stumps

and to grade and seed their trails. Up until this time stumps had never been removed from ski trails. Normally the trees were just cut close to the ground which made for a very rough skiing surface. Previous to the construction at Mt.

Sunapee the land which had belonged to the Society for the

Protection of New Hampshire Forests was transferred over to the state to become Mt. Sunapee State Park.

On December 26, 1948, Mt. Sunapee's facilities opened-- included were the new 3,200-foot single chairlift, three main ski trails (Chipmunk, Flying Goose, and Hansen-Chase), and two rope tows. There was also a modern building at the base and a lodge at the top of the chairlift. The first park manager at Sunapee was David Heald. Arrangements were made for an elaborate opening day ceremony, and everything took place as planned except for the fact that Mother Nature failed to provide any snow.55 (A copy of the opening day program is on the following page.)

One interesting fact about the park at Mt. Sunapee is that according to the initial bill, Chapter 190 - Laws of 1941, the operation was supposed to be self-supporting. However, for four out of the first five winters very little snow fell, and the ski business did not produce revenue enough to put the park in the black. During these lean winter years the summer operation did well. An average of 30,000 people per summer 1.55 ill

re~tlon Commie.loa ·Ster. ot tmC 'l'eJ.eY1e10D

2.30 UI

NOni' An.z. toha tiring ot t"e mutes aD a1rp1ue td~ ~. 0'fW tiM I\re& drop;?io,g taleb!"OU tl"om all OYV ,,,- ...tI7.

Doi aled v1ll be op8ratiDi azooUDdthe 'parktor the o1tu,... .

'l'UEllE JIIJ.. Dl:. ItO C,il/.HG~ Oll Tffi~ ca.ua LIft JQI VlSI'IOBS !fIX' nAft. 29 rode the chairlift to the top of the North Peak.56 Special events were scheduled during the summer months. Clambakes were held on Tuesday and Friday evenings at the top of the

North Peak Chairlift, and outdoor symphony orchestra concerts were conducted on Saturday evenings at the mountain base.

In 1950 the state acquired land on the lakeshore and opened the bathing beach. Later in 1953 Chapter 254 was passed allocating $150,000 for the construction of the 2,500-foot

Summit T-Bar. The Summit T-Bar followed the line of the present Northeast Bowl Chairlift. This T-bar was significant because it was not until the lift opened that the winter income of the park began to exceed the surnnlerincome. The Summit

T-Bar raised the operational overhead by only 15%, yet it doubled the area's income capacity.57

Most of the other Gapital improvements at Sunapee fell under ehapter 263 of the Laws of 1961. ehapter 263 was a nine-million-dollar capital development bill pushed through by then Governor Wesley Powell in order to promote more tourism in New Hampshire. At the time that ehapter 263 was passed the Industrial Park Authority, a group representing the private sector, felt they were entitled to some of the funds from the bill as loan guarantees. The bill went to the State

Supreme Court for interpretation. The Supreme Court ruled that the entire nine million dollars was to go to the State

Park System. Of the nine million Sunapee received close tl two million for improvements. It is clear that Chapter 26 was primarily responsible for making Sunapee the major 30 recreation area that we know today.

Chapter 263 stated that, because of the benefits

which would come to the state through income and to the economy

of the community, the ski facilities at eannon Mountain and

at Sunapee should be expanded. The expansion at Mt. Sunapee

as a result of Chapter 263 is as follows:

Preliminary Engineering $ l5,l79 Scale Model 1,366 Telephone System 13,267 Equipment 21,287 North Peak Chairlift Conversion 35,000 J-Bar 24,007 Summit ehair-Gondola 496,487 Duckling ehairlift l38,477 Ski Shop & Shelter Building 50,773 Trail Construction 64,698 Land Acquisition 381,308 Park Access Road 210,265 Summit Lodge 245,50l Chairlift Safety Switches 19,136 Power and Substation 33,704 Sewage System 35,575 Province Chairlift 154,903 Province Slope Construction 30,728 Province Lift Line Survey 1,485

Total $1,973,146

(For the dates of these various developments see Appendix B--

ehronological Notes on Mt. Sunapee's Development.)

ehapter 263 was landmark legislation for the New Hamp-

shire State Park System. The fact that the bill passed on the

last night of the legislative session in 1961 was at least a

minor miracle. 58 The original bill was to call for only one

million dollars worth of capital improvements, but Governor

Wesley Powell informed Russel B. Tobey, Director of the

Forestry and Recreation Department, that the bill should be

increased to ten million dollars. The State of New Hampshire 31 had lost much of its ski business to by the late 50's

and early 60's. Governor Powell had run for his office on

the platform that he would rejuvenate the state's tourist

trade; therefore, he called for the large ten-million-dollar

bill. The Director of Forestry and Recreation informed

Richard Parker, who had become the Sunapee Manager in the

mid-l950's, that an expansion plan should be submitted to

allow for optimum summer and winter .income potential at Sunapee.

Mr. Parker had long been aware of various locations on the

mountain where ski lifts and trails could be located to take

advantage of the natural terrain.59 In several days Mr. Parker

submitted his expansion plan. When Chapter 263 was passed in

1961, it was reduced by the legislature by a mere one million

dollars to the nine-million-dollar figure. Also in 1961,

ehapter 264 was passed allocating $204,000 to Mt. Sunapee for

the construction of the present two-story base lodge. Mt.

Sunapee saw a banner year in 1961.

The lifts at Mt. Sunapee provide for all types of

skiing from novice to expert. The following is a summary of the lift development at Sunapee taken from an interview with

D.R.E.D. Engineer Robert Sullivan.

Year Lift Length

1948 North Peak Chair 3200' 1953 Summit T-Bar* 3000' 1957 Poma Lift* lOOO' 1960 Elliot T-Bar 1400' 1962 Summit Chair/Gondola 7000' 1962 Duckling ehair l800' 1962 Sunny J-Bar 530 ' 1965 Province Chair 1900' 1967 Northeast Bowl Chair 4226' *These lifts have been removed. 32

The State Beach on the lake is also a major component

of the recreation area. The beach development has been an

ongoing process over the years since 1950 when it opened. The

area where the beach is situated was a large swamp. Much fill

was required to construct the access road and parking lot.

In addition, a brook had to be diverted to develop the swim-

ming area. When opened to the public in 1950, the beach was

only 300 feet long with parking for. 200 cars.60 Whenever

surplus funds were left over from projects on the mountain,

they would be used to lengthen the beach or to make minor

improvements. Presently the beach is just over l,OOO feet long

and has modern bathhouses and a concession.

The development at Mt. Sunapee is somewhat different

from what its original supporters had conceived. The initial

idea of an aerial tramway as proposed by ehapter 190 of the

Laws of 1941 to leave the lakeshore at Newbury Harbor and

transport tourists to the mountain summit is known only to a

handful of present park visitors. The primary objective of

ehapter 190 was to revive the slumping Lake Sunapee hotel and

resort business. However, today most of the lake's hotels and

resorts have long been closed and torn down. If one wishes

to judge the success of Mt. Sunapee State Park by its original

objective, it must. be admitted that the park did not achieve 61 what its initial supporters had hoped. Nevertheless, the

state park has done much to benefit the area and the state.

Partly because of the attractiveness of the park, many vacation

and year-round homes have been built in the region. These 33 homes have helped to broaden the tax base and provide revenue for assorted area businesses and professional services.

In order to accurately evaluate the success of

Mt. Sunapee State Park, however, one must look beyond simple dollars and cents. One must visit the recreation area and ski its trails, swim at its beach, picnic under its pines, or hike its wilderness paths. Only after these experiences will one realize what the true success story .of Sunapee is all about.

The success of Mt. Sunapee State Park can, in the end analysis, only be judged in terms of human experiences.