White Mountain

                            National Forest Maps
                                         Page 2

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The maps have been provided through the courtesy of the Evans Map Room at Dartmouth College.

1937

The 1937 WMNF map came in two versions. One was a thematic Geology map that may have had limited public distribution. The black and white map issued to the public did not show CCC camps. The purchase unit boundaries in Maine were expanded. Franconia Notch State Forest Reserve was shown.

1939

The Great Hurricane of September 1938 devastated large swaths of the WMNF. The fire hazard from the downed trees was extreme and large areas of the forest were closed to public use. The 1939 map showed areas in red closed to public entry and other areas such as trails and roads in cross lines where special precautions must be observed.

1940

By 1940 many of the areas closed to public use a year earlier had been reopened after hazard reduction work had been completed. The western half of the forest still had a considerable area closed to public use. This map used a grid numbering system for the first time for help in locating a spot on the ground. Several new forest fire lookout stations had been established.

1941

The WMNF map for 1941 still showed a few areas closed to public use but the major addition was that trail names and numbers were shown in a box for the first time. This double sided map featured Chocorua Lake on the cover.

1942

The trail names and numbers were still listed in a box. The areas closed to the public were now shown in an amber color.

1963

There was a 21 year gap in WMNF maps between 1942 and 1963 when two different maps were offered. This version shows national forest land in green and features a table of developed recreation facilities. The Great Gulf is shown as a Wild Area and not a Wilderness. Kilkenny, Livermore and Waterville Valley are shown as Wildlife Management Areas. New Scenic Areas are shown on the map at Greeley Ponds, Pinkham Notch, Nancy Pond, Lincoln Woods, Sawyer Ponds, Snyder Brook, Lafayette Brook, Gibbs Brook and Rocky Gorge.

1967

The 1967 WMNF map marked the switch from planimetric maps to a topographic map using contour lines. This was also the first color map and featured a winter color cover of Mount Washington from Wildcat Mountain. The Great Gulf was now a Wilderness and highlighted by a separate enlarged map insert. The back side featured a series of black and white photos of the forest.

1970-3

This 1970 map is an example of a thematic map that the WMNF produced to help manage a specific issue. In this case it was for snowmobiles that had become quite popular and were traveling in remote areas of the forest. The snow machines in those days were light and able to travel off trail more than today’s trail machines. This map shows a closure of certain areas for a four month period.

1982

he WMNF map for 1982 was similar in design to the classic 1967 version but reverted to planimetric except for the insert of the Presidential Range which stayed topographic. Cartoons were used to present information on the Leave No Trace campaign. The cover picture was of Hillman’s Highway in Tuckerman Ravine.

1984

The 1984 map was planimetric and featured the same cover picture as the 1982 issue. The map was considerably larger in size. The Pemigewasset, Sandwich Range and Presidential Range– Dry River Wildernesses were featured.