Village of Wildwood, New Hampshire – When it comes to the abandoned villages in New Hampshire, the logging village of Livermore is often included in the conversation. But the story of the lesser known village of Wildwood is a fascinating piece of White Mountains history. The area known as Wildwood is located along the Wild Ammonoosuc River in the general area of the junction of Route 112 and Tunnel Brook Road in Easton, New Hampshire. Today’s Route 112 travels through Wildwood.

Easton was incorporated into a separate township by an act passed in July 1876. The section of Easton known as Wildwood was once part of Landaff and before that part of Lincoln. And the scenic Wild Ammonoosuc River, known for the early log drives done on it, flows through Easton.

During the mid-1800s, before the Fall Mountain Paper Company took over Wildwood and before Easton was a township, Wildwood had operating sawmills. The Fall Mountain Paper Company would purchase a large tract of land in this area and at least four of these sawmills in the late 1880s-1890s. One of the sawmills purchased was Eastman Lumber Company’s water-powered sawmill, which employed twenty-five men.

In March 1893, the New Hampshire Senate and House of Representatives approved an act that allowed the Fall Mountain Paper Company to make improvements to the Ammonoosuc River and its tributaries in the towns of Bath, Haverhill, Benton, Landaff, Easton, and Woodstock for river logging. The Fall Mountain Paper Company would become part of the International Paper Company in 1898.

Dams were needed on the Wild Ammonoosuc River to control the flow of water during the log drives. There were at least three dams on the Wild Ammonoosuc in the Wildwood area – Upper Reserve Dam known as “Little Dam”, Upper Bunga Dam (above), Lower Bunga Dam; and there was a fourth dam downriver at the village of Whitcherville, the Whitcherville Dam.

The log drives were done during the spring, and a large crew of men worked the log drives. They began on the Wild Ammonoosuc River, and the logs were driven down to the Ammonoosuc River and then to the Connecticut River. The last log drive was in 1911.

Wildwood was a typical logging village; it had a schoolhouse, post office, sawmills, and a handful of other dwellings. Today, little remains of Wildwood, but hidden along the edge of Route 112 old cellar holes can still be found. In the above photograph, the depression is an old cellar hole.

River logging and railroad logging are similar in that both relied on the woodsmen to harvest the timber from the mountainsides. Logging camps were setup on the mountainsides to harvest timber from Mount Moosilauke, Mount Blue, and other mountains in the area. And teamsters would drag the logs down the mountains to the river. Artifacts (above) from International Paper Company’s logging camps can still be found in the forest.

If you look closely at the above photo, you will see old cribbing in the Wild Ammonoosuc River. All the known dams in Wildwood are accounted for so what this cribbing was part of is unknown. It could be remnants of an old bridge or an unknown dam. And there is also the possibility that it has something to do with the building of Route 112, which is about 40 feet away.

Wildwood is the site of the first authorized Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in New Hampshire. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a successful public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States. The CCCs built many of the bridges, roads, and trails in the White Mountains region. The Wildwood Camp was open from 1933-1937.

Today, the area surrounding Wildwood has recovered from the logging era, and the Wild Ammonoosuc River and its tributaries are incredibly peaceful. And the new craze is panning for gold on the Wild Ammonoosuc. But with the exception of the schoolhouse, now a private residence, almost nothing remains of this logging village.

A campground and picnic area bear the Wildwood name, and a few private homes now occupy the area, and in 2006 a state historical marker (first photograph) was placed at Wildwood. But as one drives this lonely stretch of Route 112 in Easton, there is little reason to pull over. And most drive through a piece of White Mountains history without evening knowing it.

To license any of the above photographs of Wildwood, click on the photograph. And you can view more abandoned villages here.

Happy image making..

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Bibliography:
Blaisdell, Katharine. Over the River and Through The Years, Book 3, Farming and Logging. Bradford,VT: Courier Printing Company, 1981.

Leland, Warren Gilliatt. Life in Wildwood: A CCC Camp in Wildwood New Hampshire. North Reading, MA: Cheshire Group, Inc., 2011.

New Hampshire Legislature. Laws of the State of New Hampshire, Passed January Session, 1893: An Act relating to the improvement of the Ammonoosuc River and its tributaries in Bath, Haverhill, Benton, Landaff, Easton, and Woodstock, Chapter 229. Concord, NH: Edward N. Pearson Public Printer, 1893, pp. 205-206.

Town and city atlas of the state of New Hampshire: Easton [map]. Boston, MA. D.H. Hurd & Co., 1892.

Towne, Ruth W., Jerome, Chris M. Looking Back at Easton. Easton, NH: Easton Centennial History Committee, 1976.

Erin Paul Donovan

Owner of ScenicNH Photography LLC

Erin Paul is a professional photographer, writer, and author who specializes in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the New Hampshire White Mountains. His work is published worldwide, and publication credits include: Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Backpacker Magazine, and The Wilderness Society.