1865:  Swett’s train ride to the mountains goes smoothly … until the wheels come off!

ADVENTURES of a DEAF-MUTE in the WHITE MOUNTAINS ~ by William B. Swett ~ Continued ~

<< BEFORE: Ragged boy vs. Conductor …

NEXT: Riding on the roof >>

We can trace Swett’s roundabout journey to the White Mountains by his anecdotes on this colorful 1852 map of NH & VT:

1. Henniker
2. Concord
3. Lakeport (Laconia)
4. Well’s River (VT)
5. Littleton (coming soon)
6. Franconia (coming soon)

The map shows incomplete branch lines connecting the NH lakes (3) with the CT River Valley route (4-5), but a later 1893 map shows those lines completed.

We might also note that this same line is described by a historical highway marker in Ashland.  Interestingly enough, it’s one of the few historical highway markers to sport a glaring, teeth-gnashing, wince-inducing punctuation error in its text… Reader beware: