Once around the park ...

...virtually.

Our last blog we started with an arch, again an arch,

A more modest arch can be seen today at nearby Schouler Park.

For directions, map see theclio entry here.

Framed with the arch is the North Conway railroad station

The station is featured on the cover of my book North Conway. (All proceeds from the sale of this book benefit the Conway Public Library).

train station on national register text here and photos here.

different fencing

and change over time

horse to car

series of maps helps

start with 1860 map

Notice no railroad in the overall above

The detail below shows the S.W. Thompson "Kiarsarge" House and the North Conway Academy across from Lucy's Saloon.

1885 map from The White Mountain Echo, June 27, p. 12.

text from p. x

heart of North Conway

we will compare and contrast over time and over space/geography

This map shows Kearsarge House and the Academy south of Seavey Street across from the Masonic Hall. Grove Street only a path then.

detail below shows

two train lines at this point named Eastern RR Depot on the left/west. FMT on the Eastern Railroad see here and it's relationship to the Boston and Maine here.

On the right/east is the P&O R.R. Depot. P&O stands for Portland and Ogdensburg see here.

names for the lines changed over time

1892 map

The train line on the left/west Boston and Maine ..

below shows the Kearsarge, but not the Academy

Around the park are many historical gems we will explore

we will actually lead you around the park twice

safety issue, walk the outside edge of the park first, then cross the street at the train station and use crosswalks to do the shops, etc. (so it is actually two loops around the park)

safety first

secondly practical, walk inside the park, build up a hunger, and desire to shop

shop and don't have to carry your stuff any farther than necessary

You can actually start anywhere you can find parking, but for the sake of the narrative, we will start at the arch and look across the street to see one of the most interesting buildings, now Zeb's Country Store.

extensive, but not comprehensive tour of the area around the park

hit the highlights,

any questions or comments feel free to contact us

see the black notebooks of rt 16 survey,

photo pile of notebooks so folks know what we have at hhr

fast scan those at chs

include at least a few of these scans here?

or post to archives.org?

call state nh have they scanned them?

also tie any/all of the national register buildings to this blog such as train station and 5 and 10 cent store

we will get back to the train station as we go around the park, but wanted to start at the arch and begin with one of the most interesting buildings, now Zeb's General Store. FMI see here.

We will lead you in to the building later, but for now we will stay within the safety of the park and look at the buildings from across the street to get a broader perspective, point of view

examine the building carefully and compare with the photos

text

Nathan Pease Photograph Shop, 1905. A sign to the left reads Public Library. It seems that public libraries migrated in the past. Pease came from Cornish, Maine, in 1858 and started in the photo business. In 1863 he built this building. In 1965 Bob Duncan moved his camera business here. In 1991, it became Zeb’s Old Tyme General Store. In 2007, Zeb’s Charitable Fund was established to make charitable contributions. (Nathan W. Pease photo, Conway Historical Society)

note the continuity in the placement of fenestration (windows and doors), window frames, cornice returns, and decorative triangle applied molding on the southern eave, show detail of that

look at the small sign at the top of the column on the very left

here is a detail

This building served as a public library

1908 Sanborn map shows this building as library

insert pic

Bob Duncan Camera and Record Shop

P32, #036

Bob Duncan Shop, 1965. Left to right: Mike Greene, Jeff Carr, Brook Duncan, Bob Duncan.

You can see that by this time the original porch had been removed and replaced by a one story addition.

Duncan moved his camera shop into the old Pease building in 1964. In 1970 he moved next door to the Old Colony Restaurant building. A few years later, they literally raised the roof and added a second floor. It later became the Mountain Tops Resort Wear store and today is empty awaiting its next incarnation. (Bob Duncan Photo. Conway Historical Society)

now look down at your feet, at the sidewalk

commemorative stones,

insert pic that

we will compare and contrast over time and over space/geography

002

x feet south of the arch (bring tape measure?)

You can find a similar, if not the same, watering trough look at detail, could be the same trough? perhaps with a different base?

another in previous blog payson tucker here.

much more decorative

003

different fencing

horse drawn coaches transitioned to gasoline powered automobiles.

008

then to auto parades, still active Glidden tour

However, horses still popular and the Eastern Slope Horse Show was performed in Schouler Park

x feet? south is a marker/sign

The park was purchased by the town in 1924 and in 1961 after considerable public lobbying by Miss Helen Nute, Conway's then unofficial, but dedicated historian managed to have the park named for Dr James Schouler.

For more on Dr. Schouler see this link here.

For more on Helen Nute see our previous blog here.

Schouler (pronounced as “schooler”) in honor of a local doctor, James Schouler.

see references in these years in our online reporter news

The

space has been used for baseball, football, ice skating, concerts, art shows, and the annual Bark

in the Park dog festival. (Henney History Room, Conway Public Library.)

insert pic of schouler and his summer house, which you can stay in

Schouler was a historian, a mugwump historian

ask new owners wildflowers if ok to include them in this blog

from this corner see the New England Ski Museum,

insert pic

was the site of the North Conway Academy

006

P14, #006

Academy. With its distinctive four pronged tower, this building is useful in identifying North Conway in White Mountain Art.

The growth of newly planted trees, seen along the boardwalk behind, can be traced in photographs over the years and a few remain today.

Organized in 1828, the Academy continued until 1874 (some sources say 1885) when the building was torn down. Now the site of the New England Ski Museum.

(Henney History Room, Conway Public Library)

south of the ski museum is a gazebo,

need photo

plaque on gazebo?

photo where the blue cabin was

then the Harvey Dow Gibson playground

At one entrance to the playground is a plaque set into a split granite boulder

Hounsell, p 408

lists over 135 individuals and businesses who in 1987 contributed toward new equipment and other improvements.

see reporter news on that, or cdsun

there was a blue "cabin" here

see the form on it from the black notebooks

just before the North Conway Community Center is the splash area

then to the
North Conway Community Center,
insert pic,

this was the location of the Kearsarge House, 004

P12, #004

Just south and east of the train station, a farm house became the Kearsarge Tavern as early as 1860 (then spelled Kiarsarge). It was expanded four times to become the largest downtown hotel with accommodations for three hundred guests. Nearly encircled by a wide veranda furnished with rocking chairs the hotel offered numerous places to see and be seen. One advertisement celebrated its location on a high ledge overlooking the wide floodplain of the Saco River as a spot with “positively no hay fever.” Like many hotels of the era, heated by wood and later coal, it burned in 1917. The hotel was connected to the depot by a raised wooden boardwalk that can be seen leading off on the right of the picture through a line of evenly spaced shade trees. The boardwalk made it easier for guests to walk to and fro and for baggage wagons to be rolled to the hotel. The Kearsarge was owned and managed early on by North Conway hotel men S.W. and S.D. Thompson. (Henney History Room, Conway Public Library)
insert link to nhhs bachelder sketches, feature of much wma over the years

009

insert picture of the burning of the Kearsarge, flaming steeple

Hounsell p. 379,

reported October 18, 1917, see our online collection of the reporter news for this here.

Cottrell noco pp. 18

is from the academy? or the Kearsarge House,

see Emerson p. 27

perhaps photo after the academy gone?

Hounsell pp. 81-82

log that text from The Conway Register 1905, pp. 21-22

see previous blog here.

good view of park when called Railroad Park, now called Schouler Park, is seen here from the tower of the Kearsarge Hotel.

(or is it from the academy?)

link to the huntington sketches? with the Thompson Barn you can see there.

On the right is the steeple of the First Baptist Church, which is still in the same location. Several

other buildings also remain, allowing the village to keep its original look and charm.

Beyond

the village setting, the vast panorama of mountains to the north includes, from left to right,

Humphrey’s Ledge, Mount Washington, Pear Mountain, Thorn Hill, Thorn Mountain, and

the foothills of Mount Kearsarge.

can you see any of this today from here? or anywhere?

south of the noco community center

crosswalk

look across the street to the east

Gibson Center, was home of Harvey Dow Gibson

he was born not far from here

insert that?

had a place on Long Island, possible site great gatsby? breakfast on yacht to wall street, NYC, austrian ski Hans Scheidner and the Nazis.

more on him, his autobiography,

compare with google street view here.

P24, #022

Harvey Dow Gibson and his wife lived across the street from the golf course and park in their home, Moat View, now the Gibson Center for Senior Services. Gibson was at the center of much of North Conway’s activities and organizations. An avid horseman, original owner of Cranmore Mountain Resort, successful businessman and community leader are just a few roles he played during his life in North Conway.

(North Conway Public Library)

P24, #023

Gibson Center for Senior Services. In 1973, volunteers began providing senior services. In 2000, the old Gibson House was purchased and added on to. The Center offers a wide variety of programs such as meals, ballroom and belly dancing, Zumba, Tai Chi, lectures, and bus trips to Boston for Flower Shows, Red Sox games, etc. The original carriage house is now a thrift shop helping to support the center. (Conway Historical Society).

P25, #024

George Cleveland, Grandson of President Grover Cleveland. Cleveland is the Executive Director of the Gibson Center for Senior Services. He frequently dons the apparel of his grandfather and presents a living history program in the persona of his grandfather, most recently at a celebration at the Statue of Liberty in New York City. Known as The Voice of the Valley on Conway radio, he has conducted over 3500 interviews with newsmakers from all parts of the world. George has spoken with most major Presidential candidates, a representative of an interplanetary confederation and many noted authors and musicians. One of George's more unusual fundraising endeavors was posing wearing only a hat in the 2003 "Tamworth Men In Hats" calendar that raised more than $75,000 for local charities. George Cleveland has been guiding tours throughout the White Mountains for more than 20 years. He is a well known local guide and an avid collector of tales and legends. He has frequently written for local publications on people and places of interest, including a North Conway bird walk with David Allen Sibley. (Henney History Room, Conway Public Library)

several connections to explore here

Schouler bio mugwump historian

campaigned for Grover Cleveland

previous blog here Cleveland one of the most unique and appropriate memorials.

Compare Gibson's summer house with the mansion he owned on Long Island, New York here.

just past the crosswalk, notice on the right

then road steep down, come back to this and detour there later, but first go ahead south and stop and look at the log cabin on the right

compare with google street view here.

The sign over the porch in this photograph reads, “Mrs. E. M. Masson & Daughter. Homemade Candies and Preserves.”

Another reads, “soda, home made flavors, ice cream.” According to local tradition, it was built as a gift shop and moved here from near the Kearsarge Hotel.

It now houses Richard M. Plusch Antiques. (Henney History Room, Conway Public Library) For my previous ice cream blog here.

do picture same angle to match the historic photo

Just a bit further south, White Birch Books, can buy books on local history, outdoor exploration, etc.

insert photo of white birch

now back north towards steep road down, name of road on map?

continuation of Grove Street? no,

see on older maps, 1860, 1892, etc.

on the right pass church

goes down to magnificent stone arch railroad bridge

wma paintings of this

do not trespass onto the golf course,

instead go to the mudbowl and then back up to the community center

x look for this arch

however think about (insert pics) Babe Ruth playing golf here

insert here or say more on that later when we go back up the hill?

P20, #015

North Conway Golf Course. View looking over the golf course towards Moat Mountains to the west. Here can be seen the high ledge on which North Conway was built over the flood plain or “Intervale” of the winding Saco River. In 1899, the newspaper Among the Clouds, reported that “the golf craze is over-running the mountain resorts as none of its sportive predecessors has done.” (Henney History Room, Conway Public Library)

p21, #016

Babe Ruth and Harvey Dow Gibson. Through his connections and promotional activities, Harvey Dow Gibson brought many famous people to North Conway. Here Gibson enjoys a game of golf with none other than the great Babe Ruth. The swing sets of the village playground can be seen in the background. (James M. Bray photo, North Conway Public Library)

P21, #017

Babe Ruth Testimonial, Summer 1945. Along with numerous other famous and prominent people, such as film maker Otto Lang, and travel commentator Lowell Thomas, Babe Ruth’s praise for North Conway were published in local Chamber of Commerce publications such as the Eastern Slope Regionnaire magazine. (Henney History Room, Conway Public Library)

P22, #018

Babe Ruth’s daughter, Julia visited North Conway with her father and was active in the social and cultural scene here. She gave programs on two of her books, "Major League Dad: A Daughter's Cherished Memories" and "Babe Ruth: A Daughter's Portrait” at local book stores. Proceeds from the book sales were donated to the local Babe Ruth league. (Henney History Room, Conway Public Library)

now for another sport, go to the mudbowl and back up to the community center

fun with mud.

fun with mud, snow, fireworks, parades, baseball, scenic train rides

an interesting tale that trees tell (link to blog) here.

View of Railroad Park (now Schouler Park) as seen from the tower of the Kearsarge Hotel. On the right can be seen the steeple of the First Baptist Church which still exists in the same location. Several of the other buildings also remain allowing the village to retain its original look and charm. Beyond the village setting is seen the vast panorama of mountains to the north starting with Humphrey’s ledge on the left, Mt. Washington, Pear Mountain, Thorn Hill, Thorn Mountain and ending with the foothills of Mt. Kearsarge on the right. The park was purchased by the Town in 1924 and in 1961 was renamed Schouler (pronounced “school” “er”) in honor of a local doctor and serves as Conway’s “Central Park.” Events ranging from baseball, football, ice skating, concerts, art shows, and the annual “Bark in the Park” dog festival have been held here. (Henney History Room, Conway Public Library)

Note the set of buildings at the far end of the park.

These buildings can be seen in a number of sketches by Daniel Huntington now at the Cooper Hewitt Museum (or not?)

insert here

add copy text for 14, etc.

x

P19, #013

Aerial view of the Kearsarge Hotel site. The Harvey Dow Gibson playground named for a local boy made good, can be seen with its swings, slides, teeter totters, and so on.

To the left is the site of the mudbowl’s “Hog Colliseum.” To the right is a band stand.

Towards the back is the original North Conway Country Club House and the golf course beyond. Originally the Kearsarge House Links, installed about 1895, this golf course became the North Conway Country Club after the hotel burned in 1917.

To the left of the golf course crops (probably corn) can be seen growing in the fields. The row of trees that once shaded the board walk from the train station to the Kearsarge hotel can be seen to the right of the club’s parking lot along the road to the train station which is just off the photo on the right. The fenced in field between the country club and the playground was used at times for horse shows organized by Gibson. (Henney History Room, Conway Public Library)

P20, #014

Eastern Slope Horse Show, Summer, 1941. In the summer of 1938, Gibson founded this event. Mrs. Gibson, riding Gray Star, can be seen in the middle clearing the stone wall riding side saddle escorted by two traditionally attired gentlemen. In the background can be seen spectators on the playground’s swings and jungle gym. Mr. Gibson co-wrote a book on fox hunting. (James M. Bray photo, North Conway Public Library)

x
P23, #020

P23, #021

Just north is the famous “Hog Coliseum” current home of the annual Mud Bowl football competition played in the area since 1975. The Mount Washington Valley Hogs was formed by a small group of bartenders and friends in the area. Teams had played before in muddy cornfields off West Side Road and Cranmore Mountain Resort. The Hog Coliseum was built in 1981. This unusual form of football helps raise money for local charities. The event includes a full weekend of events including the Mud Bowl Parade. Below is the mascot for the “Valley Rats” at the Hog Coliseum, complete with rat tail. Some of the teams that have played include North Shore Mudsharks of Peabody, Mass, Nashua Mud Gumbys, Mt. Washington Valley Hogs, Merrimack Mudcats of Franklin, N.H., and the Cumberland Muckaneers of Cumberland, R.I. (Conway Historical Society)

go down the amphitheater you can find the stone arch of the railroad bridge

insert photo here