Crawford Family

Abel Crawford Courtesy Conway Library

The Crawford Family: Three generations of Pioneers

By Rick Russack

It's safe to say that one cannot begin to talk about White Mountain history without giving the three generations of the Crawford family a great deal of credit. They were just about the first settlers in Crawford Notch; they provided food and shelter for early travelers, they built the first roads and turnpikes, they opened paths to the summit of Mt. Washington as early as 1819, and they guided hundreds of early visitors safely up the mountains. In spite of their place in history, they appear not to have been astute business men and most of their ventures turned out to be financial disasters. Their story is fascinating and the full scope of their contribution is just now coming to light.

Double clicking these images will allow you to enlarge them.

Abel Crawford's Mt. Crawford House, c.1870 The Notch House. Built by Ethan Allen Crawford and his Father, Abel Crawford, about 1828. It was run by Ethan's berother, Tom Crawford.

Abel Crawford was the first to settle in what was then known as the White Mountain Notch, in about 1793.

Eleazar Rosebrook, his father-in-law, soon followed andAbel moved 12 miles south to Hart's Location, at the

Bartlett end of the Notch. His son, Ethan Allen Crawford, inherited the Rosebrook farm at the time of Rosebrook's

death in 1817.

Both Rosebrook and Abel Crawford provided shelter and accommodations for early travelers in the Notch. Early

travel journals discuss the accommodations. Ethan continued taking in travelers. In 1819, he started guiding

visitors up Mt. Washington and built the first path up themountain. Ethan and his father, together built the Notch

House (pictured at the top of this page) in 1828, andEthan's brother Tom was installed as the manager. The

Crawford family, at that point, become the first of the hotelchain owners, with three taverns along the twelve miles of

road.

All three Crawfords were instrumental in the construction ofthe roads through the Notch. Their journals and day books,

just now coming to light, are full of references to work on the Cherry Mountain Road, the Tenth New Hampshire Turnpike,

the Littleton Turnpike and the Jefferson Turnpike In addition to actually building portions of these roads, each also owned

stock and participated in managing these roads.

As mentioned earlier, their efforts did not bring financial security. Ethan was jailed for debt and lost his property.

Abel's large farm and Mt. Crawford Tavern were foreclosed on a few years after his death.

The story of this family, and their contribution to the White

Mountains will be told in more detail shortly

Ethan Allen Crawford Grave site. It's just off the road to

the Base Station of the Cog Railway. Lucy is buried next to her husband.

.

Abel Crawford, and his wife Hannah are buried at Notchland, the remarkable granite mansion, at the southern end of Crawford Notch. Notchland, now an Inn, was the former home of Dr. Samuel Bemis.