History

Lincoln, NH and Loon Mountain have a history that’s rich and often overlooked. The Lincoln Charter was signed in 1764 by Governor Benning Wentworth and was named for the 9th Earl of Lincoln, a cousin of the Governor. This charter granted land to a group of Connecticut landowners who eventually forfeited it for lack of cultivation. After a few more stops and starts, Lincoln Gore was officially established in 1782.

In the early 1800s, several hotels were built, drawing wealthy tourists and vacationers, but it wasn’t until 1892 when James E. Henry bought thousands of acres of forestland and set up a sawmill that a town was established. As Henry expanded his business into the pulp and paper industry, so grew the Town of Lincoln, and along with it, one of the largest and longest-running logging railroads in the country. J.E. Henry died in 1912 a very wealthy man. One of the many trails around South Peak bears his name today.

In 1917, the Henry sons sold the family businesses to the Parker and Young Company, whose director of lumber operations was a gentleman named Sherman Adams. Adams would be associated with the logging business until his career turned to politics, spending a term as Governor of New Hampshire before being appointed as The Assistant to President Eisenhower in 1949. After resigning from his post and leaving Washington, Adams looked for a new direction and returned home to Lincoln to spend his later years realizing his dream of opening a ski mountain. Eventually, the Loon Mountain Ski Resort was born and the rest is history.