Page 94 - John Anderson

&KDSWHU:KLWH0RXQWDLQVRI1HZ+DPSVKLUH

The White Mountains of New Hampshire were not settled until the
late 18th century, long after the sea-coast and most other parts of
New England were settled. It was not until the end of the French and
Indian War, in 1763, that towns were granted and settlers began
arriving. Most arrived with few possessions; many arrived on foot,
and most had little, if any, meaningful funds.
The early settlers found rugged mountains, many rivers, lakes and
streams, and virgin forest covering nearly the entire area. The
mountains made travel difficult; there were only a few passages
through the White Mountain range. The first European settlers had to
clear land for homes and farming. They build crude cabins, grist mills
to grind their grain and saw mills to cut timber for lumber. Early
settlers carved rough roads through the valleys and gorges as they
expanded settlements into heavily forested mountains.
By the first quarter of the 19th century, many prosperous, but small,
towns existed and the population was rapidly expanding. Much of the
prosperity came from utilizing the abundant forest resources.
Over the next 100 years, enormous changes took place. The
Industrial Revolution forever changed the rural nature of the area.
Tourism developed into a major industry. It’s during the latter part of
this period that John Anderson reached his formative years and
became a part of this transformation in the White Mountains of New
Hampshire. John became familiar with many valleys, mountain
ranges, and primitive mountain trails as he explored this area with his
grandfather, father and uncle. John was privy to the many stories
about the monumental effort by his father and uncle to push the P&O
Railroad through Crawford Notch and further on to Fabyan. During the
summers of 1880 – 1889, John Anderson returned from Ormond to
Crawford Notch and worked on the railroad as it pushed towards
completion. In later years, John would be called on to manage the
Mount Pleasant House, along with Joseph Price, during the summer
months and further experienced the majestic White Mountain
environment during these early development years.

82