1896 Map of Crawford Notch

About this map

Crawford Notch serves as the dramatic centerpiece of this late 19th-century survey, a landscape defined by sharp elevation changes and the emerging mountain tourism of the era. The presence of the Crawford House and the Willey House along the narrow corridor of the Maine Central Railroad highlights the importance of rail travel in opening this part of the White Mountains to visitors. Outside the main travel corridor, the map reveals a rugged industrial reality where the Lumber R. R. pushes into the drainage of the Swift River and Sawyer River, indicating active timber operations within what would become protected lands. From the heights of the Bethlehem Mountains to the depths of Zealand Notch, the map records numerous water features such as Silver Cascade, Glen Ellis Falls, and Thoreau Falls before large-scale recreational development fully transformed the region.