Brief history of Hersey Mtn, NH

[RoySwkr]

Went to historical talk last night, this is what I learned, sort of:

Glaciers recede and leave erratic boulders

Indians mostly die from white man's diseases so area unpopulated when settlers arrive, peak named for local surveyor

Peak considered unsuitable for farm lot so left as undivided common land, Mountain Road N of peak is main stage line from North Sanbornton to Bristol with stage stop near town line

Mountain cleared for pasture during sheep boom of early 1800s, but with greater use of cotton and competition from Midwest it turns to bust

Farming dies out and peak grows up and is logged occasionally, Mountain Road goes into disuse

Owner in 1990s drops prefab cabin on summit with helicopter

New England Forestry Foundation acquires much of area, summit and higher elevations permanently protected as wild land while lower areas are managed forestry

Lecture notes by Daniel Heyduk
http://www.lanetavern.org/Publications/HerseyMountainForest-2010-11-15.pdf

 

[Becca M]

very cool reading!!!!!

 

[J&J]

We hiked/whacked up Hersey Mt. back in 1997 from Mountain Rd. The cabin was there then and on the front porch the owner had a Tupperware box with a log book in it so people could sign in. We thought that was pretty nice of him. With NEFF taking over, does anyone have any idea if the cabin is still there or will it be removed?

 

[1HappyHiker]

Roy . . . thanks for posting! The link contained in your posting contains the statement shown below. It's unclear to me if the "views" are from Hersey Mountain itself, or from some other location(s) within the area once known as the "Salmon Brook Mountains".
Was this something that was addressed at the talk that you attended, or that you know from personal experience?

"The area, once known as the Salmon Brook Mountains, includes several other summits along ridges extending from the central peak. Views extend to Franconia Notch and the White Mountains in the north, to Mount Cardigan in the northwest and Mount Kearsarge in the southwest, to the Belknap Mountains in the southeast, to the Ossipee Mountains in the east, and include Newfound Lake, Lake Winnisquam, and Lake Winnipesaukee."

Thanks!

 

[RoySwkr]

With NEFF taking over, does anyone have any idea if the cabin is still there or will it be removed?

They are leaving it for now, presumably not replaced if vandalized

It's unclear to me if the "views" are from Hersey Mountain itself, or from some other location(s) within the area once known as the "Salmon Brook Mountains".
Was this something that was addressed at the talk that you attended, or that you know from personal experience?

Views are from ledge outcrops on Hersey and elsewhere, not bare summit like the 1800s

A well-known hiker used to lead a wildflower hike up Sanbornton Mtn from the S every spring