10 Year Anniversary of the collapse of
Old Man of the Mountain

aka. Great Stone Face or the Profile

 

The Old Man was located in Franconia, New Hampshire which used to sit on Cannon Mountain. "It is composed of Conway red granite and it is an illusion formed by 5 ledges."

 "He has been described as a relentless tyrant, a fantastic freak, and a learned philosopher, feeble and weak about the mouth and of rarest beauty, stern and solemn, one of the most remarkable wonders of the mountain world." 1

"Geological opinion is that The Profile on Profile Mountain is supposed to have been brought forth partly as the result of the melting and slipping away action of the ice sheet that covered the Franconia Mountains at the end of the glacial period, and partly by the action of the frost and ice in crevices, forcing off, and moving about certain rocks and ledges into profile forming positions. It is supposed that the Old Man of the Mountain was completed during the latter part of the post glacial period, from 2,000 to 10,000 years ago."1

 

The face was first observed in 1805. "In 1832, Nathanial Hawthorne visited the formation and dubbed it The Great Stone Face."2 The face became a New Hampshire symbol it was featured on a 1955 stamp.

 1955                                2000

It was than placed on the 2000 New Hampshire quarter.  

 

Throughout the 1900s, many efforts were made to help keep the Old Man in tact such as metal cabling, probably steel.

He unfortunately came to his sad end
between midnight and 2am on May 3rd, 2003.

 The memorial to the Old Man was can be found at the Profile Plaza.

 

Next up on A Mile above the Syrup: Clam Chowdah: Red, White or Clear?


1 www.mutha.com 2009
2 www.wmur.com  2013