N.H.'s 'Old Man on The Mountain' Is History
Landmark Falls, Leaving Cliff Face Blank
By David Tirrell-Wysocki
Associated Press
Sunday, May 4, 2003; Page A09
FRANCONIA, N.H., May 3 -- The Old Man of the Mountain, the natural stone profile that appears on everything in New Hampshire from the road signs to the state quarter, fell from its mountainside, leaving nothing recognizable in the cliff face yesterday. The profile, about 40 feet high and 25 feet wide, was one of the most photographed sites in the state and was considered New Hampshire's state symbol. Two centuries ago, Daniel Webster wrote of the Old Man of the Mountain: "In the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."
Don Bliss, the state's director of emergency management, said there were no injuries when the stone fell sometime Friday night or early today. It was not immediately clear what caused the fall, but Amy Bahr, president of the Franconia Heritage Museum, said she has long been aware that the natural profile could slide.
"I knew it would go sometime; I just didn't think it would happen in my lifetime," she said.
The ledges that made up the profile were perched above a slope covered with other fallen granite, and for years many feared it would join the pile.
Niels Nielsen, a state highway worker who died in 2001, was the profile's official caretaker from 1960 until a few years ago, when he passed the job on to his son. Over the years, the two tried to secure the ledges with cables and epoxy.
It was located in Franconia Notch State Park, about 70 miles north of Concord, and to the west of Interstate 93, about 1,200 feet above Profile Lake.
"You don't think about it much, but it's what everybody comes to see. It's our thing," said Eric Mueller, who works at Franconia Hardware Store. "And now it's gone."
That sucks.
