New Hampshire Has A Lost Town Most People Don’t Know About

New Hampshire is a state of 10 counties, 221 towns, 13 cities, and 25 unincorporated territories. In its earlier years, however, it was also home to several smaller villages and logging industry “company towns” that have been lost to history.

The village of Zealand was created in 1875 as a result of the 19th-century logging boom in the White Mountains. The village was fully formed with its own post office, school, store, two railroad stations, and housing for the logging workers and their families. The population varied, but between 80-250 men were employed to work in the forest.

Wikipedia

Zealand was built and owned by J.E. Henry. Henry was a well-known and somewhat controversial figure at the time. His approach to logging was heavy-handed and not subtle, and his practice of clear-cutting area instead of doing selective harvesting left him criticized by the press of the day.

By the 1890s, with timber supplies having been exhausted, Henry moved his operations to Lincoln, New Hampshire. With the wood gone, several forest fires likely sparked by the amount of dry slash left behind by logging, destroyed the village and much of the Zealand valley itself.

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Ken MacGray/Flickr

Much of the former right-of-way of the Zealand Valley Railroad that was the hub of the village is now the 2.5-mile Zealand Trail. This route brings hikers into some of the most remote backcountry in the White Mountain National Forest. It also serves as the main access for Appalachian Mountain Club's Zealand Falls Hut.

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Ken MacGray/Flickr

Today, hikers who venture deep into the Zealand Valley will see a much different scene that what occurred after the fire. Nature has an amazing way of healing itself but evidence of the blaze can still be found in the amount of yellow birches in this region. This opportunistici tree often flourishes in areas that have been burned.

The Zealand area is most easily explored today by hiking Zealand Trail from the end of Zealand Rd. For more information, visit the U.S. Forest Service website.