The Unusual and Iconic Mountains of the Ossipee Area

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

If you are traveling through Ossipee, New Hampshire today, you will pass a mountain with quite a history. All that is left of the mountain’s former glory as a ski area is an old lift tower near the mountain.

Mount Whittier, in Ossipee, was named for poet John Greenleaf Whittier. In the 1800s, the popular poet spent time in the area and lodged at the Bear Camp River House in West Ossipee. Whittier was a person of note at the time. After the Bear Camp House burned in 1880 and it became difficult for him to lodge in the area, Whittier was fondly recalled by many, and a local peak was named after the poet.

At the naming of the mountain in honor of Whittier, a mountain top ceremony took place. There was, however, a glitch on the map, and the 1,700 ft. peak was mistakenly named Nickerson Mountain. The 2,205 ft. mountain to the west was named Mt. Whittier.

As skiing became popular in the early 1900s, locals saw an opportunity to bring the sport to Ossipee. The Civilian Conservation Corps built a ski trail on Mt. Whittier in the 1930s. The ski area was a hit and later, when an eye-catching gondola service was added, it was even more popular with visitors.

Mt. Whittier Ski Area in Ossipee was a busy place in the not-so-distant past, and if you were headed to the White Mountains, you likely passed this ski area and maybe even skied there. Situated on Nickerson Mountain in Ossipee, the ski area was operating in the 1940s. By the late 1940s, three rope tows were in operation on the mountain. According to www.nelsap. org, the ski area was somewhat unique, because it never operated any chair lifts, depending instead on T-bars and a well-remembered gondola to get skiers up the mountain.

By the 1960s, expansion came in the form of some new slopes at the Whittier area. If you skied Mount Whittier or drove by, you might recall a four-passenger Mueller gondola that crossed Route 16 to pick up passengers at a mid-station (www.nelsap.org information). It can be assumed the gondola passing over the highway was eye-catching and unique in NH at the time.

The gondola attracted summer visitors as well, with rides up the mountain in the warm weather months. While there were challenges for skiers, such as the lack of chair lifts and lengthy wait times for the gondola rides, it is said the ski area’s summit café had incredible views.

Mt. Whittier closed in 1985, the victim of poor snow winters. Memories of Mount Whittier by those who skied there are many, from socializing in the ski lodge to the thrill of riding the gondola.

In the area, Mount Chocorua also has a colorful history. The most wellknown and fascinating tale is the legend of Chocorua, and it is a story of friendship and revenge.

Legend has it that many years ago, a powerful and prophetic Native American chief, Chocorua, lived near the mountain. At the time, settlers from New Hampshire’s seacoast and other southern regions of the state were making their way to the White Mountains, hoping to start homesteads there.

In the early 1700s, Chocorua befriended many white settlers and one family in particular, the Campbells, were on good terms with the local native peoples.

The Campbells had settled in what is today known as the Tamworth area, and Chocorua was a frequent visitor. As a mark of his trust and friendship with the Campbells, Chocorua left his beloved son with the family when he had to go on a trip.

In the wild and wooded area, there were many animals and Mr. Campbell sought the aid of a poison to deal with troublesome foxes. Sadly, Chocorua’s son found the poison and drank it, with disastrous results. When Chocorua returned, he was told his son had died. In his grief, the native chief vowed vengeance on the Campbell family and his punishment was swift.

When Mr. Campbell returned home to find his wife and children had been killed, the settler suspected the murderer to be his former friend, Chocorua. He chased the chief up the treacherous mountain and wounded Chocorua with a gunshot.

Knowing his death was imminent, Chocorua yelled a curse upon the settlers and then leaped to his death from the mountain top.

Other tales differ in detail, and some say Chocorua fell by accident from a high rock on the mountain while he was hunting. Another story claims a group of settlers pursued Chocorua up the mountain after a massacre and the •Yesteryear continued on page 4