Strafford News

On May 3, 2003, the symbol of New Hampshire came tumbling down. Now, 20 years later, we look back on the Old Man of the Mountain and his legacy.

Join Dover Public Library on Monday, June 19 at 6:30 p.m. for “An Enduring Presence: The Old Man of the Mountain,” a lecture by Inez McDermott. The event takes place in person, with an option to watch virtually from home. Sign-up is needed to receive a link to watch online.

When the Old Man of the Mountain fell from his perch high above Franconia Notch, it made international news. Many in New Hampshire and beyond responded as though mourning a beloved public figure. The Profile was and continues to be, central to New Hampshire’s literary history, tourism, commerce, political messaging, conservation, and environmental concerns and policies. This program examines the Old Man's role in shaping New Hampshire’s identity from its first recorded discovery in the early 19th century until today. From extraordinary examples of innovative engineering and heroic risk-taking to letters from children donating their allowance to help purchase the surrounding forest, the efforts made for 200 years to protect the Old Man are a major part of this story. Audiences will be asked to share their reminiscences, and we will discuss why these granite ledges, the result of a “miraculous accident,” according to a state geologist, have played such an outsized role in the hearts of so many.

Inez McDermott is a professor emeritus of art history at New England College. She is a curator of art and history exhibitions at various museums and galleries throughout New England, including, most recently, An Enduring Presence: The Old Man of the Mountain at the Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University (June-September 2023). Professor McDermott has lectured on various art history topics throughout New Hampshire with a special focus on American art. She has served as an arts councilor for the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, as a board member for New Hampshire Humanities, and currently serves on the board of the Saint-Gaudens Memorial and on the Interpretation Committee for the New Hampshire Historical Society.

This program is free and open to the public. For more information or to sign up to watch online, visit the library’s website at library.dover.nh.gov or call 603-516-6050.

Original source can be found here.