Portsmouth NH Homes Condos Real Estate

              New Hampshires Beloved Old Man of the Mountains

Each Sunday, I usually do my 'Seacoast Sunday Scenes post, but today, I wanted to pay tribute to New Hampshires beloved state logo - our 'Old Man of the Mountains.

Five years ago yesterday, May 3rd, the rock formations that created the 'Old Man of the Mountains profile slid into history and fell at the basin of Cannon mountain.  Sometime between midnight and about 2-3am on the morning of May 3, 2003, he slid down the slopes, and when the fog lifted that morning, he was really gone. 

It may seem trivial to some, but for those who make New Hampshire their home or who came to love our 'Old Man in the Mountains on their visits to NH, this came as a total shock to those who cherished him.  Many remember just where they were when the got the news that wed lost our Old Man, just as they do when JFK was shot or Martin Luther King was shot, or when the terrible events of 9-11-2001 took place.  Obviously this was nowhere near as tragic as those events, but momentous to New Hampshire lovers all the same.

The 'Old Man is believed to have been formed between 8,000 and 20,000 years ago, before the dawn of recorded time, and before there were any humans in the Americas. The mountain range it is located in is over 2 billion years old - an impossible number to contemplate.  To put it in perspective, if these mountains had been formed in the years that Christ lived, the Rockies would have been formed in 1995.

Sure, its just 'a rock. But it was a rock that had been around 'forever.  And to have it disappear overnight had a tremendous affect on the psyche of both New Hampshire residents and those from all over the world who had come to see it.

Hes the logo on many of our symbols here in New Hampshire, some are pictured below.

Generations of families have visited the Old Man on family trips, many school children over the years were there for school field trips, and certainly millions of tourists from all over the world have seen him, especially during glorious fall foliage trips.  I know Ive been there many times over all the years Ive lived here in New Hampshire. 

My first trip to see him is the one I probably remember the most - Id never seen rock formations, never mind one that was as revered as this one was, and one that I came to love as well.  Every trip through the Notch - Franconia Notch - was marked with who could spot the Old Man first, and then wed crane our necks trying to keep him in our view for as long as we could, until we couldnt see him anymore.

To read some great history on our beloved, and never forgotten, New Hampshires Old Man in the Mountains, be sure to check out these articles.  Theres some great reading here, and youll soon see why all who live here miss his presence.

'The Old Man of the Mountains, also known as 'The Great Stone Face

'The Old Man of the Mountains - the old man fell from the mountain today - an account from one persons perspective about the loss of our Old Man

'The Old Man of the Mountains - New Hampshire Poems and Verses  - this site has some great poems about New Hampshires Old Man of the Mountains

'The Old Man of the Mountains - That Great Natural Curiosity - a wonderful timeline and history-telling about our Old Man

Here are some pictures & postcards depicting the 'Old Man of the Mountains in New Hampshire - enjoy them!

Gone, but never forgotten - New Hampshires Old Man of the Mountains¦

                                  
  Ann Cummings, New Hampshire and Maine REALTOR
  Real Estate Broker - NH and Maine
  RE/MAX Coast to Coast
  Portsmouth NH
  ann@anncummings.com
  888-349-5678 x 3839
  Servicing the Coastal Areas of NH & Southern Maine                    



                                    

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