Frankenstein in the White Mountains

Happy Frankenstein Day!

National Frankenstein Day is a holiday celebrated annually on August 30, coinciding with the birthday of Mary Shelley, (born Aug 30, 1797), the author of the novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus published in 1818, and its significant influence on modern culture.

To check out the book and related works at the Conway Public Library follow this link here. 

However, this blog is actually about our Frankenstein in the White Mountains. The Conway Public Library's Henney History Room is involved in a project with the Jackson NH Historical Society to put on a display and series of public programs that will focus on Crawford Notch. 

We will kick off our first program entitled "From Terror to Tourism" on Thursday, September 25 at the White Mountain Museum and Gallery in North Conway (click on image to enlarge and download it).  

As part of this project we will look at Frankenstein cliff named for the painter Godfrey Frankenstein, by Dr. Samuel Bemis, a contemporary who owned land in the area and named the cliff after his friend, the artist. 

Described by J.W. Ocker as "a monster of a cliff" that soars 1,400 feet above sea level, this ledge is popular with climbers in all seasons. FMI follow this link. 

The Conway Public Library houses a number of letters between Bemis and Frankenstein. FMI see this link here. 

Ocker explains "He wasn’t always Godfrey Frankenstein. His name used to be Godfrey Tracht. His father changed the family name after immigrating to the States from Germany. That’s right. They doubled-down on the heritage when they got here, wanting a name that sounded even more German to remember the homeland every time someone addressed him. He chose Frankenstein because they lived near a castle by that name in Germany."

As Ken Zurski put it, "Godfrey Nicolas Frankenstein, despite the name, was no mad scientist. Quite the contrary, he was a painter. But like the fictional Dr. Victor Von Frankenstein, he also had a vision that consumed his thoughts, his passions, and his ambitions for nearly two decades of his professional life."

Some of that obsession can be seen in a portrait of him by his brother, also an artist. FMI follow this link here. 

The 500' long, 80' high Frankenstein train trestle adds to the eeriness of the area. 

There is a highway history marker near the Frankenstein Trestle. 

FMI follow this link here. 

This month we celebrated the 150th anniversary of building the railroad through Crawford Notch with costumed reenactors and a cannon firing. FMI see this link here. 

This is a well known lithograph of Mount Washington From Frankenstein, by the Gray Lithography Company after a painting by Harrison B. Brown (1831-1915), 1890. The view is looking north with Frankenstein Cliff on left and snow-capped Mount Washington in distance. 

A number of other white mountain artworks depict the railroad going through the notch. See this link here.