07/31/2026
While we’ve been celebrating our 125th anniversary all year, our friends at Appalachian Mountain Club have been doing the same for their 150th, and doing so in a very AMC fashion at that: a 2,000+ mile relay carrying their banner from Virginia to Maine. Earlier this month, the relay came through Franconia Notch, and AMC asked us to celebrate alongside them. For this very special day—complete with remarks on the Notch’s history and an old-fashioned ice cream social—a Forest Society banner joined the relay too.
Why is the Notch such an important place for the Forest Society? Simply put, it’s a reminder of our roots. And of how much this work matters.
What’s now Franconia Notch State Park was once home to the Profile House, a resort dating back to the 1850s. By the turn of the century, the luxurious complex accommodated nearly 600 guests. At the height of the 1923 summer season, a devastating fire ripped through the resort grounds.
The fire’s destruction, coupled with changing trends in vacationing, led to a difficult decision: selling the land instead of rebuilding. With nearly 6,000 acres up for sale, the recently formed Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (oh, hello—it’s us) led a statewide campaign to purchase and conserve the Notch.
A sale deadline of June 1928 intensified the fundraising campaign; the Forest Society successfully advocated for the state to fund half the purchase while conservation groups worked to secure the rest. From schoolchildren mailing in nickels to the Federation of Women’s Clubs selling thousands of trees for $1 each, the funding gap was closed before the deadline. In September 1928, the heart of Franconia Notch was handed over to the state: public land for public use.
Nearly a century later, it’s a victory still worth honoring. And we did so in the best way we know how: a morning of trail maintenance and service projects in the Notch while we waited for the relay banners to arrive. Despite the good fun (and good snacks) we had that afternoon, our morning stewardship adventures felt like day’s most meaningful celebration of the Notch—all looking out over the landscape that generations have worked to protect.
