Fleming Flume, Elephant Head Brook – While doing some research, I came across a water feature in the 1907 Guide to the Paths and Camps in the White Mountains (first edition AMC Guidebook) referred to as Fleming Flume in Carroll, New Hampshire. The write-up also mentions a Fleming Fall. I finally had the chance to visit and photograph this little flume.
I have never heard of Fleming Flume or Fall and have found limited mention of them in old books. From what I can find, they were only mentioned once in the AMC Guidebook, the 1907 edition. However, the flume does appear to be marked on the Mt Washington map in the 1940 and 1960 AMC Guides but disappears from the maps completely in the 1960s. The marks are hard to see on these maps, but they are there.
The directions in the 1907 AMC guidebook are very precise and have Fleming Fall being located on Elephant Head Brook just 3 minutes off the Webster-Jackson Trail. I won’t give all the directions away so you will need to do a little more research before visiting this flume. But following the directions for Fleming Fall leads to the above cascade, which is just about at the top of what I believe is Fleming Flume.
I suspect some have noticed the piping in the lower section of the Webster-Jackson Trail. Well, I now know where the shutoff valve (above) is for that piping. At Fleming Flume there are remnants of what looks to have once been a small dam, and this appears to be where the piping begins. I am unsure what this water system was used for, but it seems to end in the area of the old N.H highway department camp (Route 302 / Webster-Jackson Trail area).
It is not possible to capture all of Fleming Flume in one image, so it has to be photographed in sections. Just a guess on my part, the flume might be around 200 feet long. The bottom half of the flume is tough to reach unless you go directly up or down the brook.
As you can see in the included photos, the water levels are extremely low here in the White Mountains. And because of this, I didn’t bother to photograph the lower section of Fleming Flume. But after a good rainstorm, and during the spring months, I think this flume will look good.
To license any of photos in this blog article for publications, click on the photo. And you can view more images of this unique flume here.
Happy image making..
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References:
Appalachian Mountain Club. Guide to Paths and Camps in the White Mountains, Part 1. Boston, MA: N. Allen Lindsey & Company, 1907.
Appalachian Mountain Club. Guide to Paths in the White Mountains and Adjacent Regions, 11th Edition. Boston, MA: Appalachian Mountain Club, 1940.
Appalachian Mountain Club. Guide to Paths in the White Mountains and Adjacent Regions, 16th Edition. Boston, MA: Appalachian Mountain Club, 1960.
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ScenicNH Photography LLC
Specializing in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, Erin Paul’s photography and writing focuses on the history of the White Mountains, and telling the story of abandoned places and forgotten historical sites.