USA > New Hampshire > Carroll County > Sandwich > Sketches of Sandwich, New Hampshire, past and present > Part 1
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 03585 1044 Gc 974.202 Sa57sa
Sketches of Sandwich, New Hampshire, past and present
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SKETCHES · OF SANDWICH NEW · HAMPSHIRE PAST . AND · PRESENT
Character : Skill : Service
PUBLISHED BY QUIMBY SCHOOL CENTER SANDWICH, N. H. 1928
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SKETCHES OF SANDWICH, NEW HAMPSHIRE
.. A Foreword ..
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HIS PAMPHLET CONTAINS A COLLECTION OF GRADUATION ESSAYS OF STUDENTS OF QUIMBY SCHOOL IN THE CLASSES OF 1927 AND 1928. IT IS ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS AND HAND SKETCHES SECURED OR DRAWN BY MEMBERS OF QUIMBY SCHOOL
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SKETCHES OF SANDWICH, NEW HAMPSHIRE
ANDWICH- The Beautiful
The Sandwich Range
THE ESSAYS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS SECTION ARE THOSE OF THE GRADUATES FROM QUIMBY
10. SCHOOL IN THE CLASS OF 1927
..
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SKETCHES OF SANDWICH, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mountains Near and Dear to Sandwich People
FRANCES A. MARTIN, '27
ALTHOUGH there are a great many mountains in and about
Sandwich, I am not going to tell you about all of the mountains in the Sandwich Range, but just the ones with which you people are most familiar and the ones that you love best.
Mt. Israel is the only mountain of the Sandwich range which is wholly in Sandwich.
Its name was derived from the name of an early settler, Israel Gilman, who lived on one of its slopes. The summit of this moun- tain is a highly inclined ledge.
Sandwich Notch is a pass which separates Mt. Israel from Dins- more Point. There is a rugged road running thru it from Sandwich to the Mad River Valley, a distance of about ten miles.
Seventy-five years ago quite a few people made their homes on one of the slopes and established two school districts. Also a tav- ern, owned by a man named Durgin, was built at the height of the land there.
In the fall, it was a common sight to see forty teams coming from the Notch to Portland, for supplies, bringing with them whatever products the people might have to sell, and exchanging them for other goods. In the winter the teams went to Dover, across Lake Winnepesaukee.
Even tho a drive thru this notch may strike fear in ones' heart, he is well repaid for the trip, for there is a type of beauty here rarely seen.
The northern view from Mt. Israel is shut out by Sandwich Dome. Across the waters of Guinea pond, behind Mt. Israel, is a part of this mountain over which is the blanched crest of Sachem peak. The high plateau which forms the summit of Sandwich Dome is nearly north of Mt. Israel. It is known to most people as Black Mountain, but this name has been given to so many mountains in New Hampshire, that the name of Black Mountain was changed to Sandwich Dome, by the Appalachian Club.
From many of the towns it gives the appearance of a flattened Dome.
At the right of Mt. Israel are the comparatively low ridges of Flat Mountain, over which can be seen the three peaks of Tripyramid, marked by the great slide.
Whiteface is one of the chief summits of the Sandwich Range. Its name is derived from the color of the cliffs on the south side of the peak, especially in the winter, when the white ledges show much more brightly.
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Its peculiar appearance was caused by a great landslide in the year 1820, which covered the whole of Whiteface Intervale. Huge boulders came crashing down from the mountain top, and a story is told that during this landslide water and sand came into the McCrillis barn in which there was a pig. The water kept rising until it had reached the scaffold, carrying with it the unfortunate creature. As the water reached its greatest height the pig reached safety on one of the scaffolds, and then the water began to go down slowly, leaving the pig high and dry upon his refuge.
Whiteface Mountain
This landslide covered the Intervale with three feet of sand and rocks, changing the course of the brook which was near Mr. Am- brose's home. This brook now flows beside the main highway.
A huge boulder came down behind the Ambrose house, which is the next rock in size in this locality to the Great Madison Boulder.
In the early days, two or three settlers made their homes on the east slope of White Face. Near these places, which are only cellar holes now, is a huge flat rock on which the farmers used to thresh their grain.
At the summit of this mountain is a vault about one foot square,. drilled into the solid ledges, in which were placed the ashes of a prom- inent business man, Louis S. Tainter. He was very much inter- ested in forestry and owned 40,000 acres of timber in this section .. Whiteface seemed to be his favorite mountain, and his wish was that after his death his ashes be buried on Whiteface.
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Brief services were held on the mountain peak and attended by a few friends of Mr. Tainter. This day happened to be very snowy and dreary. A moving picture was made of this small procession as it marched up to the top of the mountain. The vault is sealed with a bronze tablet, bearing the date September 19, 1920.
The ledge is a three sided affair, and before Mr. Tainter died, people built their camp fires here. This is no longer done, as Mr. Tainter's resting place is very near.
At the right of Whiteface is the massive dome of Mt. Passacona- way. It is named for a famous Indian Chief, and is the loftiest mountain of the Sandwich Range, exceeding both Whiteface and Chocorua in height.
During the time that Chief Passaconaway lived, the Pennacooks were the strongest and most highly developed of the New England Indians. This was because of their powerful leader, Passaconaway. To him all the tribes looked for leadership, for all the qualities of a leader of men were found in this great chief.
The reason why Passaconaway is not widely known among peo- ple today is because he was a friend of the white people and not a destroyer of them. Historians seem to write many books about the lives of some Chiefs who brought great disaster to the whites, but all seem to overlook the peaceful ones.
With the coming of the white men the Pennacooks' lands was taken, piece by piece, by the English Government. With a great deal of his land already gone, Passaconaway began to see that soon he would not have enough left on which to stand. Heartbroken, the great chief met his fate, and the wealthiest chieftain in New Eng- land became a beggar and poverty stricken. Soon after this his son, Wonalancet, became the recognized chief.
At the age of 120 Passaconaway died, beloved by everyone. In order to show great respect for this man, the people prepared for the largest funeral service ever held among the Indians. Indians for many miles came to the mountain for the burial. An enormous amount of game and animals was brought by the Indians as a funeral offering. He was buried at the foot of this mountain in a rocky cave. On the door of his tomb the Indians rudely carved these words :
"Present useful; absent wanted; Lived desired ; died lamented."
Let us now think of a few of the things which preserve this In- dian's memory and bear his name. In the Edson Cemetery in Low- ell, Mass., there is a statue of the Great Chief. In Concord, N. H., there is a Passaconaway Club House. Also numerous other things have been named in his memory.
Just beyond Passaconaway lies the wild and formidable Paugus. The south side appears to be a great jumble of rocks, trees and
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ledges. There is one beautiful ledge in the center of the mountain. It is shaped like a kite, and apparently of white granite; it is the whitest ledge in the entire Sandwich Range.
The most picturesque physical feature of Paugus is the falls of a little brook which are found among the rocks on the southern slope. If the volume of this brook was increased twice its present size, it would probably be the most beautiful in New England.
Paugus derived its name from that of an Indian Chief, who quite unlike Passaconaway, was one of the wildest and worst fighters known in history. In the year 1725 a bounty of 100 pounds was offered by the English government for every enemy Indian scalp.
The people were delighted to receive such an enormous sum, and all went in search of Indians, especially "Paugus".
After a great battle, in which many men were killed on both sides, Paugus was wounded and soon died. This fight forever broke the power of the Indians in New Hampshire, and now the shattered remains of what was known as the Pequaket tribe that formerly lived in this section, is found in a little Indian village in Canada.
The next time that you look at the Sandwich Range may you think of the life that used to be in the Sandwich Notch; of the leg- ends of Passaconaway and Paugus, and of the man whose ashes are resting in a vault on Whiteface Mountain.
Homes and How They Add to Sandwich
LENA THOMPSON, '27
The northern countryside of Sandwich was settled in the years between the close of the Revolution and the end of the eighteenth century by men and women who had experienced the long war with England. Soldiers were among the settlers, many of whom were from the southern part of New Hampshire.
All of them lumbered more or less, and most of them were build- ers of roads and walls. There have been notable weavers of linen, and makers of rugs among the women, and there are still a number of heirlooms to be found in the families today.
The homes in the northern section of Sandwich had many other things attempted in them also, such as work in leather and fur and dyeing and hooking rugs.
Guns stood always at hand in these homes, and game always had its place on the table.
The first homes were made out of logs, but they were often re- placed within a few years, and almost all of them within a genera- tion of their building; by the one story and a half house of clap- boards, typical of New England.
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Most of the furniture in these houses was made in the neighbor- hood, by a local chairmaker or by a travelling cabinet-maker.
There were certain pieces of mahogany, tables mostly, and a few oaken chairs, of the seventeenth century type, that had come with the Puritans from England.
The china of a hundred years ago in these homes was generally from England. The glass was apt to be American, a good deal of Sandwich glass coming from Massachusetts.
Many of the homes have been changed from the old-fashioned to the modern type. Instead of adding modern furniture to their homes, some of the people have kept to the old fashioned type of furnishings.
The Fireplace in Clifton Lunt's Home
We are glad to say that more are keeping their homes as they were in the olden days. Let us take a peek into some of the homes in Sandwich. First we will look into some of the homesteads in the North Sandwich district.
The Clifton Lunt place is a real old fashioned type, which is probably a little more than a hundred years old, and is now used as a summer home.
The interior of the house is graced by old-fashioned double fire- places, and the living room is made spacious by a high open ceiling built of unfinished rafters.
An interesting feature of this house is the fact that the front faces Ossipee Mountain instead of the main highway.
On the small, level plateau that lies beyond the house, and stretches away toward the old barn and Ossipee Mts., beyond, are found small cedar trees set here and there, and many varieties of old fashioned flowers peeping up to greet you.
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Homewood, another home in the North Sandwich district, as it stands today, is the work of two leading builders of Sandwich, Jo- seph Quimby and Larkin D. Weed. It was built just before the Civil War and remodelled by Mr. Weed for the present-day owner.
The outside of the home is much the same as it was originally except for the addition of a sun parlor to the left, and an open porch to the right, making the house both modern and Colonial in type.
The same kind of top curve is carried out in lattice work above the door, and in low, curved dormer windows built in the second story. The doors have brass knockers and old fashioned latches.
The grounds contribute a great deal toward making this home beautiful. Here are found wild flowers, -- violets, Jacks in the pulpit,
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The Old-Fashioned House of Professor Weygandt
and painted trilliums growing in the shade of huge, spreading maples.
Weygandt's, another Colonial type of home, is located near the residence called "Homewood." It has one of the finest views of mountain ranges in that section.
The outstanding feature of this house is the observation porch. The right wing of the house has been made into a very unusual type of sun porch that has open arches upon three sides, facing the Ossi- pee Range, Chocorua, and the rest of the Sandwich Range.
The Ambrose farm at Whiteface, which is over 120 years old, is owned and occupied by Langdon C. Ambrose and his son Jesse L. Ambrose.
Mr. Ambrose, Sr., moved into this place in 1868 and has lived here ever since. The farm is one of the best in Sandwich; it con- sists of one hundred and sixty acres and produces about sixty tons of hay and sixteen hundred pounds of sugar every year.
A more recent feature is market-gardening, and the Ambroses have a good market for their vegetables at Wonalancet. A large
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electric-light plant furnishes light for some of the farm buildings nearby, as well as power for many of their own farm and household appliances.
Many of the rooms in this home are of the huge, high-posted type, and contain precious pieces of furniture over 75 to 125 years old. The summer kitchen has an old fashioned arched fireplace with a brick oven. At one time 30 to 40 boarders were accommodated at this residence.
Mrs. Ambrose has in her possession six homespun blankets which were made by hand on the place from local wool.
One sleeping room that is very interesting in this home is called the "round room." This room has only 3 sides, one of which is semi- circular. This peculiar side is formed by a round hall which circles about the house and comes back to the main staircase from where it starts.
An interesting feature in the living room is the old fashioned Franklin fireplace, which is over 90 years old. Several generations of the same family have been rocked in front of it.
Another old family relic is a desk more than 125 years old, which Mr. Ambrose's great grandfather used when he was Postmaster. It was bought at Center Sandwich second-hand, and has been in the family ever since. The family Bible always had a place in this beautiful old desk.
As an ideal modern farm, I have chosen the Hutchins' place in the Red Hill section.
The Hutchins' cattle barn, which can be seen here is, no doubt, the most modern and best equipped barn in the town of Sandwich.
The entire floor is of cement, while the walls and ceiling are pure white with gray trimmings.
The cattle in this wing are all registered shorthorns, and each animal is in a separate swinging stanchion, which gives full freedom of movement. Automatic drinking fountains are in front of each stan- chion. The bowls are so designed and constructed that an even flow of fresh water enters when the nose piece is operated by the cow.
An automatic ventilation system is used throughout the entire cattle barn, also.
Near the barn stands the garage, which has one small apartment made of stone on each side of the automobile compartment. All the rooms in one unique apartment face the barn and the beauties of Red Hill, and the rooms in the other face Squam Lake and a part of the Sandwich Range.
One of the most interesting things on this large estate is the old barn which has been furnished and makes a very livable and roomy living room and dining room combined. The mows are left as they were, even to the old rafters which are overhead, and used as bal-
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conies. Even the ox yokes and sap buckets are all in their usual place.
There are groups of four large windows on three sides of the room, and an old-fashioned tavern table is in front of the main win- dows. Many pieces of furniture came from abroad and are so unique that they add much beauty to the room.
An immense fireplace is at one end of the living room and extends to the roof.
A ship's wheel forms the base for a beautiful electric chandelier that is hung from the center rafter. Being made of oak. this blends very well with the other furnishings.
The sleeping rooms are found in the little old fashioned farm house, which is left practically the same as in former days.
Stone-House, the Home of the Late Prof. Archibald Coolidge
On the Coolidge estate, near the shores of Squam Lake, is "Stone House." This house is an English type of mansion, and is made of granite blocks. At one entrance is a covered portico with doors of heavy oak.
The interior of the manor is most beautiful, with high posted rooms, the walls and ceiling being of natural finished wood.
The lights conform to the same type as the house; overhead lights hang from the massive rafters and are inclosed in brass.
The main living room is very lofty, being of the same height as the house. Reading nooks that are surrounded by book shelves are on each side of the fireplace.
The bedrooms upstairs are built around a balcony which sur- rounds the main living room. The furniture is of heavy English type,-many of the chairs being high backed. elaborately carved settles.
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The large enclosed sun porch at one side of the house faces the beauties of Squam Lake.
This building is, no doubt, the most costly and unusual in this towni.
The Wentworth Homestead is a Colonial house which has been in the Wentworth family for over one hundred years. With its stately, pillared front, it lends a great deal of dignity to the hilltop, where it is located.
Here are found various kinds of gorgeously colored flowers, for the Wentworth gladiolas are far famed.
It has one of the finest views of the mountain ranges in the state of New Hampshire, offering a panorama of the entire Sand- wich and Ossipee Ranges.
Many summer residents always plan to visit Wentworth Hill before leaving Sandwich.
In describing the different homes here in Sandwich, I have tried to bring out the modern, Colonial, old fashioned, English and New England farm types. I have by no means mentioned all the types, nor covered all the fine homes that are in Sandwich.
All of these homesteads add as much in their way to the beauty of Sandwich as the natural scenery already here before the works of man.
Sandwich, The Beautiful
FLORA E. MUDGETT, '27
In the state of old New Hampshire, Up among the sentinel hills Lies the tiny town of Sandwich So silent, hushed and still.
All about her, and around her, Are the mountains, calm, serene, All so silent, yet so watchful; Solemn, guarded, in their mien.
Sunsets, many lakes have gilded With their wondrous golden shades; But to us Old Squam is fairest With a beauty that ne'er fades.
Bear Camp River lends its glamour To each glen and niche and dell, Sings a song in its quick passing, With its music weaves a spell.
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Winding woodpaths call and beckon Lead you on to splendors newc. Lofty hilltops wave you greeting, Bid you come and see the viewc.
Sandwich for its beauty's noted, Far and near thru town and hedge. Tourists rave about Mt. Israel And the scene from Diamond Ledge.
Mother Nature has most freely Strewn her gifts upon this town; In return let's pause and thank Her As we claim them for our own.
Chocorua, The Sentinel FRANCES E. PIERCE, '27
There are many of nature's wonders within my home town and state that are dear to me. The flowers, birds, the deep woodlands, the wonderful scenery, the rushing rivers and brooks, the clear lakes and rugged mountains are all fine, but most endearing to human hearts are the inspiring and noble hills.
Mount Chocorua is probably the most picturesque and beautiful of the mountains in New England.
Starr King says, "How rich and sonorous that word Chocorua is ! Does not its rhyme suggest the wildness and loneliness of the great hills? To our ears it always brings with it the sigh of winds through- out the mountain pines. No mountain of New Hampshire has in- terested our best poets more. It is everything that a New Hamp- shire mountain should be. It bears the name of an Indian chief. It is invested with traditional and poetic interest. The forests of its lower slopes are crowned with rock that is sculptured into a peak, in whose gorges huge shadows are entrapped, and whose cliffs blaze with morning gold."
The most popular trail up this mountain is the Hammond Path, which starts about two miles beyond Chocorua Hotel. The most fa- miliar trail to me is the Liberty Trail. When planning to climb Chocorua I like to start out early in the morning, when the air is crisp, the sun is shining brightly, and the dew is sparkling on the grass. So we will begin vur ascent up Mount Chocorua, fanned by the cool morning breeze, up the Liberty Trail. You will probably get a little damp going through the tall grass which surrounds the Half-way House.
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Chocorua, The Sentinel
The Half-Way House still looks quite respectable on the out- side, but on the inside it is rapidly decaying. Until within a few years, this house has been occupied by people who took an interest in selling refreshing home-made root beer and other tonics to the climb- ers. At one time there was a road here which was passable for auto- mobiles and teams, but now it has been washed by rains and over- grown by bushes.
After leaving the Half-Way House you enter a thicket and immediately cross a bubbling brook. A little farther on you pass a clear, cool spring which has ready, for the tired travelers coming down the mountain, a very refreshing drink. I know every time I have come down the trail to the spring it seems as though I could never drink enough of its water.
Our path goes through several pretty pine groves which scent the morning air, and to me there is nothing sweeter than the scent of the pines. The path for a short way leads us along beside a brook, which has several pretty pools and one waterfall, dropping about twenty-five feet.
After hard toil the open ledges are reached and the summit ap- pears before us. The first open ledge of importance is a huge, flat rock. A very good view of the lake at the base of the mountain and
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the surroundings may be seen from the ledge. In a very short time we come to a camp which now stands where Mr. Knowles' Peak House was built. This substantial house was not located at the sum- mit, but at the base of the cone. This building, though strongly cabled, was blown down on Sept. 26, 1925. The boards and beams were torn down, one from another, and wafted out like straws over the valley. Today there is a well equipped cabin here which serves as a shelter for those who wish to camp or stay overnight on the mountain. The summit is not far away and there is a short flight of stairs with an occasional railing leading to it. At last the summit is reached and what a wonderful view one gets of the ledges on Mount Paugus, the top of which is nearly level, with no peaks to break it up. Beyond its right side is the dark, prominent Passacon- away, with Whiteface nearly west and adjoining it, and beyond its south flank across the upper clearings of Sandwich is Mt. Israel, rising behind the low cone of Young Mountain and Mt. Wonalancet. On the right of Israel and much higher is the dark mass of Sandwich Dome.
Turning to the north one can look over Swift River Valley, which is very pretty with the sandy colored river lazily flowing through it. To the northwest, as if upheaved by a mighty athlete, lie the mountains of the Presidential Range, which gradually slope down to plains dotted with villages and ponds, diversified here and there by low ridges. The white Conway road leads north along the base of the mountains, dotted with farm houses. The villages of Conway, Fryeburg and Madison can be pointed out, also the broad oval of Silver Lake, and beyond this lake the blue sheet of Ossipee Lake.
In the plain beyond Chocorua Lake are the hamlet of Tam- worth and the West Ossipee Range, filling the horizon from south to southwest. On the right of the Range is Lake Winnepesaukee. Be- vond the white village of Center Sandwich is the exquisite beauty of Squam Lake, its blue bosom dotted with wooded islands.
On the verge of the eastern slope of Chocorua is a cubical shaped rock, which is called the "Cow." I don't think this rock has any re- semblance to a cow. Many people think it should be called "Liberty Cap." Such a name would commemorate the one who made a trail up here, and who first tried the experiment of carrying on a peak house.
After drinking in the wonderful view, let us eat our dinner in the shelter of the "Cow," where we are protected from the cold winds on the summit. Here amid the sunshine we may turn our attention to an entirely different feature of the mountains, without which no mountain is really complete, its history or its thrilling legends.
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