White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire: Edward Tuckerman and Tuckerman Ravine

Posted on 5 October, 2015 by Janice Brown

Tuckerman Ravine 2Tuckerman Ravine has been described as a “tremendous gulf in the southerly side of Mt. Washington.” This so-called gulf is actually a glacial cirque “carved by the movement of the great New England ice sheet into the side of the Northeast’s highest mountain (Mount Washington).”  Today the area is a skiing mecca of sorts, with the steepest single ski slope in the east found at the Tuckerman Headwall. Tuckerman Ravine was named in honor of Edward Tuckerman who explored the White Mountains to learn about, and catalog, its high altitude lichen and flora. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Missing Places: Camp Otter in Pittsburg, Coos County

Posted on 1 October, 2015 by Janice Brown
View of Camp Otter from the water, from an old post card, Pittsburg, NH

View of Camp Otter from the water, from an old post card, Pittsburg, NH

“Every once in a while it is nice to get away . . . from the discontent of big cities and tramp through the mountains, gun in hand, with none but the birds, the trees, the fallen leaves, the lilt of trickling streams and the strange noises that only a forest can produce for companions.

This place is within a stone’s throw of the Canadian border, up beyond the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire. Here hills roll in great waves, receding into the blue haze of distance. Down in the valleys are lakes of the purest water. Upon the peaks winter has already donned its white caps of snow. Through the valleys the wind whistles and bites, even through flannel shirt, red undies, two sweaters and hunting coat.”

These words were written in 1939 by the famed Boake Carter, [printed in The Ogden Standard-Examiner] national news commentator and writer, about a trip he made to the  town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire.  He stayed at Camp Otter, and he describes his adventure, with hunting guide, “Long Tom” Currier as follows:

Continue reading →

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A Child of The Civil War: Nettie Dimond of Manchester NH (1864-1916)

Posted on 27 September, 2015 by Janice Brown
Gem sized tin type photograph of Nettie Dimond of Manchester NH

Gem sized tin type photograph of Nettie Dimond of Manchester NH

The sweet face of Nettie Alberta Dimond looks out from the delicate, gem-sized tintype photograph. In her arms she holds a doll, probably one considered a China doll, with a glazed porcelain china head.  Unglazed dolls were called Parian dolls. Most China dolls had molded painted hair, as Nettie’s doll does. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Tidbits: Manners and Customs of Olden Time [1760s]

Posted on 23 September, 2015 by Janice Brown
A colonial kitchen fireplace. From "Colonial Life in New Hampshire," by

A colonial kitchen fireplace. From “Colonial Life in New Hampshire,” by James H. Fassett, 1899.

It may be amusing and entertaining to have some account of the customs and manner of living, of the people, sixty-five, seventy, and seventy-five years ago [i.e. 1760’s]. As to what took place in sea-port towns, and places which had a dense population, I can give no account; but in the town where I was brought up, (which I suppose was not materially different from the general state of other country towns) I will attempt to describe. Continue reading →

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The face of Claremont New Hampshire’s Mary Farrar Jones (1789-1879)

Posted on 19 September, 2015 by Janice Brown
Mary Farrar Jones of Barre MA and Claremont NH

Mary Farrar Jones of Barre MA and Claremont NH

Mary Farrar Jones gazes out at you from the photograph. It was taken at the Stephen Piper Photography Studio in Manchester, New Hampshire, between 1866 and 1879, when she died. (The Piper photography studio opened in 1866 and continued until 1887). She wears a well made post-Civil War dress, with a cameo at her throat. Her hat seems to be that style worn starting in 1858 and later.

She would have been between 77 and 90 years of age, depending on the exact date of the photograph. Her face is greatly wrinkled, and her expression placid. Her dress may have been black, as it seems dark, but it could also have been brown or a dark blue or green. Her husband, Ezra Jones died in 1841. Normally black mourning clothes would be worn for a full two years following the death of a spouse, however it could also be worn longer. Her dress, if black, would have been typical of a mourning dress worn at that time.  Her waist was small, indicative of her wearing a corset.

Continue reading →

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