When Did Whitefield Nh Get Train Service

Contemplative in Whitefield

A town that remembers times gone by

Usa, New Hampshire, Whitefield,

The Mountain View G is i of the few remaining thousand hotels among the many that once flourished in the White Mountains. Photography by Stillman Rogers

Whitefield lies in a vale between two hillsides. Approaching either from the due south on Route 142/116 or from the north on Route iii, you lot drib into the heart of town. The valley was a natural choice for the railroads making their fashion through the White Mountains, and the boondocks became a hub for freight and passengers.

The Boston & Maine Railroad, Maine Central, and the Concord & Montreal Railroad all passed through Whitefield, served by 3 split depots. Take a close look at the current Dunkin' Donuts on Matrimony Street and y'all'll see the unmistakable shape of the former station.

Not quite so obvious is a second i, moved from its previous trackside location and now the American Legion Hall, next to the fire station on Route 142/116. A third station was at Hazen, virtually the current Mount Washington Regional Airport.

All these train lines converging in one town, with their junctions and sidetracks, required some coordination. Alongside Union Street, where the Boston & Maine and Maine Key tracks intersected, y'all can still see the brawl betoken that indicated whether information technology was safe to pass through. Erected in 1875, the ball was still being used 100 years after, and was the last of these signals in use in the The states.

Union Street (Route 3) is Retention Lane for more than rail enthusiasts. Two shops between the erstwhile depot and the ball signal will interest fans of vinyl and vintage stereos. Chris'south Nostalgia Shop sells vintage records, cassettes, movies, CDs and other music memorabilia. If yous long to hear Lena Horne in the original-bandage anthology of "Jamaica" or the Bee Gees' 20 greatest hits, or to throw a Motown trip the light fantastic toe party, Chris's is the place to look.

For the equipment to play those 78s, 8-tracks and VCR tapes, cross the street to Blake's Electronics. A fan of electronics since childhood, owner Eric Blake'due south store is an ever-irresolute collection of new and vintage audio, stereos, televisions, environs-sound equipment and guitars.

Marriage Street leads to Whitefield's Common and King's Foursquare where, like the rail lines, three routes intersect — 116, 142 and U.S. 3. This is where the village of Whitefield began in 1815, when Asa King bought the lot that included what later became the Mutual. His son and son-in-police deeded the Common to the town equally a playing field in 1833, and in 1875 the bandstand was added. By 1907, a 15-member band played summer concerts for locals and increasing numbers of tourists.

Unlike many New England village centers, King'southward Foursquare does not include the typical church building. Instead, the two most prominent with their white spires, St. Matthew and the Customs Baptist Church, stand on a rising overlooking Jefferson Road. Trinity Methodist is at the corner of Maple Street and Lancaster Road, and the tiny Episcopal Chapel of the Transfiguration on Elm Street has held services here each summer since 1895.

The about prominent building overlooking King's Square is the mauve façade of the once-m Allard Hotel, now empty, a reminder that tourism played a large role in Whitefield's history. At the opposite side of the foursquare is a lodging identify more in tune with contemporary tourists, the Fine art Gallery Hostel. Loved by hikers, climbers and cyclists for its low-key air, upkeep rates, and common areas where guests tin can share their 24-hour interval'due south adventures, the hostel is run by artist Dave Holmander. His paintings hang throughout the hostel, which doubles as his studio and gallery.

Usa, New Hampshire, Whitefield,

A view of the White Mountains from the terrace of the Mountain View Grand Hotel. Photography by Stillman Rogers

Tourists looking for more luxury, fine dining and a few rounds of golf with a view gravitate to the Mount View Grand. Both the hotel and the view are chiliad indeed. This sprawling resort is the prototype of the m hotels that in one case flourished throughout the White Mountains, the summertime refuges of wealthy families escaping the cities' heat.

They arrived by train and were met by a omnibus that brought them up the hill to revel in the view of the Presidential Range spread out earlier them. The hotel's story is a long 1, and seeing this beautiful building today seems like a miracle to those of us who remember it in the 1990s, porches sagging, windows out, rooflines slumping, and ane fly barely standing.

The Mountain View's outset guests came by chance in 1865, when a stagecoach headed for Montreal overturned in a rainstorm. The Dodges welcomed the passengers to their farmhouse so graciously that the group stayed on and returned the following summer.

Thus began Mountain View Firm, a hotel that remained in the Dodge family until 1979. It airtight in the 1980s and remained empty and deteriorating until new owners saved it with a $xx one thousand thousand restoration in 2002. New rooms and suites were added, as was the full-service spa in the tower. The hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Conveying on the Dodges' farming tradition, the resort maintains herb and kitchen gardens, and a variety of wool-begetting animals — half dozen breeds of sheep, angora goats and rabbits, llamas and alpacas. Yarns produced here are sold in the small farm shop. The resort works closely with local farms and producers to supply its kitchens and has been awarded Certified Local status by the New Hampshire Farm to Restaurant Connexion.

Across Lancaster Route from the Mountain View Yard'southward entrance road is another long-standing attraction that brought tourists and White Mountain residents to Whitefield. Founded in 1966 past the tardily Tom Haas and Gibbs Murray (who is yet very much a part of the theater), Weathervane Theater is part of an even older stage tradition in Whitefield. In 1934, New York Times art critic William Hunt began bringing singers, actors and dancers from New York to perform at his befouled in the summertime, a tradition that continued until the Chase barn closed in 1962.

In 1966, Murray and Haas took upwards the imprint, opening in a pair of connected barns on Lancaster Road as the Weathervane Theater. When the barns began to feel their historic period, a fundraising campaign resulted in the current purpose-built theater in 2002, seating 250 and with more staging potential. Murray's unique gift was — and is — stage design, and the staging has always been a hallmark of Weathervane performances.

Theatergoers have several choices for pre-performance dining. Next to the Weathervane, The Inn at Whitefield serves both a dining menu and a pub bill of fare of burgers and sandwiches. The Mountain View Grand has two options, subcontract-to-table fare in the coincidental Harvest Tavern, with terrace dining in good conditions, or the more formal temper of the 1865 Vino Cellar.

Before Friday and Sabbatum evening performances, those longing for traditional New England comfort food favorites volition observe the pop Grandma's Kitchen farther forth Lancaster Route, locally famed for the cooked-from-scratch turkey dinners, craven pot pie and shepherd'south pie.