Fabyan Guard Station, Carroll – Located along old Cherry Mountain Road in Carroll, New Hampshire is an interesting piece of White Mountains history. Old Cherry Mountain Road is a seasonal road maintained by the Forest Service; the road has dispersed roadside camping, and it is closed during the winter season. It originally opened in 1811 as the Jefferson Turnpike, a short-lived toll road that was abandoned after a rainstorm in August 1826 destroyed parts of the turnpike.
Clifford L. Graham built the Fabyan Guard Station (also called the Fabyan Cabin) in 1923; he would eventually become Supervisor of the White Mountain National Forest. Built of spruce logs from the surrounding area, the one-room log cabin is 16 feet by 20 feet. A horse corral and a barn were at the site, and the water came from a stream near the cabin.
The Fabyan Guard Station was the first administrative building built by the Forest Service on White Mountain National Forest land. Guard stations, like the Fabyan Cabin, housed employees of the Forest Service called Forest Guards. The job of the Forest Guard was to protect the forest. They had numerous responsibilities throughout the year, but the main objective was to protect the forest.
In 2014, HistoriCorps, a 501(c) nonprofit that focuses on restoring historical structures, did restoration work and repairs to the Fabyan Cabin. The work done included replacing the bottom logs of each wall, which can be seen in the above photo. And in May 2018, the cabin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today, the Fabyan Guard Station is the last remaining guard station in the White Mountain National Forest. What a great piece of White Mountains history!
To license any of the above images for usage in publications, click on the image.
Happy image making..
© Erin Paul Donovan. All rights reserved | Historic Information Disclaimer | Purchase Prints of This Cabin
Bibliography:
Donovan, Erin Paul. “Fabyan Guard Station, White Mountains.” ScenicNH Photography LLC, 16 Sept 2011, https://www.scenicnh.com/blog/2011/09/fabyan-guard-station/ .
“Fabyan Guard Station Restoration, 2014". United States Forest Service, https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3807692.pdf .
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.
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.