North Fork Spur Line, Thoreau Falls Trail - Located along the Thoreau Falls Trail, deep in New Hampshire’s 45,000-acre Pemigewasset Wilderness, is an interesting piece of East Branch & Lincoln Railroad history. In operation from 1893-1948 and originally owned by James E. Henry, this was a logging railroad in the towns of Lincoln and Franconia. Just before the North Fork Branch of the railroad crossed the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River at North Fork Function, a spur line branched ...

Woodstock & Thornton Gore Railroad - Incorporated in March 1909, this short-lived logging railroad, operated by the Woodstock Lumber Company, a subsidy of the Parker-Young Company, began at the Woodstock Lumber Company’s sawmill (built in 1906 by the Publishers Paper Company) on the western bank of the Pemigewasset River in Woodstock, New Hampshire. From the mill it traveled roughly 7 miles into the Eastman Brook drainage; traveling through the northern portion of Thornton, known as the “Gore”, eventually ending in ...

East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, Utility Poles - Telephone wires were strung from utility poles along the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad to the numerous logging camps. In some areas along the railroad, side mounted wooden telephone peg holder pins nailed directly to trees were used in place of utility poles. Today, these utility poles are considered artifacts of the logging era....[Continue reading] ...

Lincoln Woods Trail, White Mountains - There isn’t a grand story about how the Lincoln Woods Trail came to be, and the trail isn’t named for any famous person. However, this trail is the direct result of J.E. Henry’s historic East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, and that is what makes it so unique....[Continue reading] ...

East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, Trestle 17 - Built in the early 1900s, probably 1906-1908 (one reference states 1908) trestle 17 was located along the Upper East Branch of the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad. It spanned the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River near the site of logging Camp 17. Camp 17 was located on the south side of the trestle. This trestle is within today’s Pemigewasset Wilderness...[Continue reading] ...

East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, Narrow Gauge Line - The EB&L Railroad was a standard gauge railroad, but in 1901 J.E. Henry and Sons attempted to use a narrow gauge railroad to harvest timber. With the exception of a May 1902 article by Albert W. Cooper and T.S. Woolsey, Jr. in Forestry & Irrigation little is known about this short-lived railroad. There are only a handful of photos (above) of this railroad, and over the years the actual location of ...

Beebe River Railroad, New Hampshire - In 1917, the Publishers Paper Company sold the Beebe River land tract (around 22,000 acres) to the Parker-Young Company. And in March 20, 1917, the New Hampshire legislature approved the incorporation of the Beebe River Railroad. Also in 1917, the Woodstock Lumber Company, an affiliate of the Parker-Young Company, built the Beebe River sawmill and mill village in Campton...[Continue reading] ...

1907 Owl's Head Mountain Fire, White Mountains – During the late 1800s and early 1900s, logging activities from railroad logging contributed to a number of forest fires in the New Hampshire White Mountains. Sparks from locomotives were responsible for starting fires along the railroads. And the logging slash (unwanted part of the tree left behind after an area is logged) left on the moun...[Continue reading] ...

East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, Trestle 7 - During the days of the East Branch & Lincoln (EB&L) Railroad, there were two trestles built at this crossing of Franconia Brook (above). And each trestle serviced different areas of today’s Pemigewasset Wilderness. The first trestle built serviced the Franconia Brook and Lincoln Brook Valleys. And the second trestle, built just below...[Continue reading] ...

Can You Identify These Artifacts - When documenting historic sites in the New Hampshire White Mountains one of the biggest challenges I face is trying to identify some of the artifacts I photograph. In the big picture of my historical work, identifying what the artifact is and its purpose is important. And because of this, I have to do an extensive amount of research on some artifacts....[Continue reading] ...