Crawford Notch

Crawford Notch is the name of the mountain gorge that the Saco River happened in its headwaters in the White Mountains ( " White Mountains ") in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It lies almost entirely in the territory of the municipality Hart's Location.

Through the valley runs one of the most important mountain passes of the White Mountains, now a part of U.S. Highway 302 from Montpelier to Portland. For the colonial period ran here probably already an Indian path; white settlers opened up the area until the late 18th century. Famous was the family Willey, 1825 settled in Crawford Notch; One year later, the entire family was killed by a landslide as she tried to reach a shelter. Your home, which they had left in panic, remained of the rock avalanche, however, intact. The event inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne to his short story The ehrsüchtige guest, and painters such as Thomas Cole painted views of the Willey estate. Even at this time of the Crawford Notch had become whether its scenic beauty to a tourist destination.

The Saco River in Crawford Notch

A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountans - painting by Thomas Cole, 1839