Field Trip: Fabyan Guard Station
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Group: Museum of the White Mountains
When: Wednesday, May 23, 1-3 pm
Where: Museum of the White Mountains, Plymouth, NH
Cost: Free
Details: Visit the historic US Forest Service Fabyan Guard Station on the Old Cherry Mountain Road in Bretton Woods, NH. This log “office in the woods” provided housing for two forest guards and was built in 1923 from logs cut at the site. At one time there were sixteen forest guard stations on the White Mountain National Forest. Duties of forest guards included trail building and maintenance, repairing phone lines, fighting forest fires, taking care of camp grounds in the summer. In the winter forest guards were usually out marking timber to be cut on the forest.
This field trip will look at the last remaining forest guard station that has just been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. Your guide will be David Govatski who has worked on the restoration of this structure. Following the visit to the Fabyan Guard Station we will visit the site of an early sawmill site at the Lower Falls of the Ammonoosuc River. This will involve less than one mile of walking on an old road to see what was once described as the described as an eyesore to what today is a beautiful waterfall in a spectacular location. An optional side trip from 3-4 PM will visit the site of one of JE Henry’s Charcoal Kilns near Bretton Woods. We will discuss charcoal production and its value a century ago. This side trip involves walking 50 yards off trail on uneven ground but is not difficult. Hiking boots are recommended.
We will meet at 1 PM at the Fabyan Guard Station on the Old Cherry Mountain Road. The Guard Station is less than a mile from the junction of this road with US Route 302 in Bretton Woods.
The program is free and open to the public and is part of the Centennial of the White Mountain National Forest. Your guide is David Govatski, Co-Curator of the White Mountain National Forest Centennial Exhibit at the Museum of the White Mountains in Plymouth, NH. He retired after a 33-year career with the US Forest Service.
For more information contact [email protected]
