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Waterville Valley Historical Society Newsletter
Volume 8, Number 4, October 2026
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Dear Members and Friends,
It’s amazing how fast summer goes by each year! We want to extend a huge thank you to our volunteer Trolley Tour Guides for another successful season sharing our local history, and to Brenda and Preston Conklin for leading their fan-favorite cellar hole hikes over Labor Day weekend.
It was wonderful seeing many of you at our Annual Members Meeting and our magical Cocktails & Closets fundraiser.
Here is a quick look at what’s new and what’s coming up:
New on YouTube: Catch Bob Fries’s riveting presentation on the history of the Waterville Valley Ski Resort, alongside newly uploaded local history videos spanning a full century—from rare 1920s footage to Nevin Scrimshaw’s 2023 presentation on the Goodrich family legacy in Waterville Valley.
Behind the Scenes: We’re hard at work inventorying our collection and planning exciting programs for the year ahead. Thanks to the incredible support from our Cocktails and Closets fundraiser, we’ve purchased a specialized camera stand to help us digitize large maps and artifacts. We’re also in the process of acquiring a high-resolution scanner for historic photographs, brochures, and documents. These new tools will allow us to preserve local history for generations to come as well as to share more of our collection with the community.
Grand Opening: Visit Our New Online Shop where you can purchase a copy of Grace Bean's Town at the End of the Road, browse our Historical Society caps and t-shirts, pick up unique notecards, and more!
Save the Date: Mark your calendars for February 13th, when Tom Gross presents the next chapter of his Journey through the Past series!
Scroll down to watch the videos, view photos from Cocktails & Closets, and learn more.
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Cocktails and Closets: Photo Recap
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended and supported our fundraiser—your generosity made the event unforgettable!
Browse through some of our favorite highlights below. A special shoutout to our volunteer photographer, Lindsay Freter, for capturing such beautiful moments.
The full Coctails and Closets photo gallery is available here.
| | 2026: Reggie Breeckner, Reva Gertel, host Jerauld Adams, Patty Furgal and Lisa Freter enjoy Cocktails and Closets. | |  | Harry Fabyan (center in suit and tie) and his wife Louise Fabyan (front left) with friends on their front steps in 1917. | | | |
Inside the History of Waterville Valley Ski Area with Bob Fries
Speaking to a packed room, former General Manager Bob Fries delivered a captivating insider's look at the history of the Waterville Valley Ski Area at the Annual Members Meeting on August 30th. Bob recounted Tom Corcoran's original vision for the resort in the late 1960s, the explosive growth of the ski mountain throughout the 70s and 80s, and the turbulent sequence of events that led to the ski area's 1990s bankruptcy and sale.
🎬 Click here to Watch the Video of Bob's Presentation on our YouTube channel.
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1920's Skiing in Waterville - Now on YouTube!
Courtesy of Philip Wales, we are thrilled to share 13 minutes of digitized historic film footage! The first two minutes feature incredible scenes of skiing at Snow’s Mountain and precious video of folks preparing for a snow shoe hike in 1929 in front of the old Tecumseh Inn (which burned down in 1935). The remaining footage offers a fascinating glimpse into life in New York City and Washington, D.C. during that era.
🎬 Click here to Watch the 1920s Waterville Skiing and Snowshoeing Video.
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From the Archives: Continuance — Passing on a Way of Life
At the 2023 Waterville Valley Historical Society annual meeting, Nevin Scrimshaw delivered a captivating talk titled "Continuance: Passing on a way of life, A story of Waterville Valley, NH." Thanks to member Allan Stern capturing the presentation on his iPhone, this piece of local history is now preserved for everyone to enjoy.
🎬 Click here to Watch Nevin Scrimshaw's 2023 Presentation.
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Artifcts Features the WVHS Collection
The Waterville Valley Historical Society's growing digital collection was recently featured in an Artifcts blog article, "Preserving Waterville Valley's History, One Artifct at a Time." The blog, distributed to more than 14,000 readers, highlights WVHS's efforts to preserve and share the Valley's rich history through photographs, memorabilia, documents, and personal stories.
As an added benefit, new and renewing WVHS members receive a complimentary Artifcts Lite subscription, which remains active as long as their Historical Society membership is current. An Artifcts Lite membership allows users to create up to 30 Artifcts, attach supporting documentation, and generate custom reports to help organize and preserve personal collections, family history, treasured keepsakes, and favorite memories.
We invite you to read the article and explore the growing WVHS collection online.
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Boulder Path Road - Then and Now
With construction that took place this past summer on Boulder Path Road, it's striking to see how the road has changed, and continues to change, while Mount Osceola in the background remains much the same. The images shown here span more than 150 years, from 1874 to today. Together, these images offer a compelling glimpse of how this familiar stretch of the Valley has evolved over more than a century.
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Postcard showing the old Tecumseh Inn and Elliots Hotel
Circa 1916
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A History Tidbit
by Reggie Breeckner and Preston Conklin
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Greeley Hill Cellar Hole
The “cellar hole” located on Greeley Hill Road on the property of Jerauld Adams is the site of the cabin built by Nathaniel Greeley in 1830.
Nathaniel Greeley came from Salisbury, NH, and built a cabin on this site in the summer and fall of 1830. He left to get married, but returned to settle here with his wife (his gravestone says he settled in the home in April 1831). Nathaniel cleared land to farm, and purchased properties as others left the valley. By the 1850s, he was the largest landowner in Waterville.
By the 1840s, Nathaniel and his family had moved to the valley floor and rented rooms in their home to visiting fishermen; this was the beginning of Waterville Valley’s development as a summer recreational destination. During the 1850s, Nathaniel directed the construction of a bridle path to the summit of Mt. Osceola, as well as bridle paths to the Saco River Valley and Mt. Whiteface. He also oversaw the cutting of hiking paths which formed the first known connected system of hiking trails in the U.S.
In 1860 Nathaniel and his two sons opened the first summer hotel in Waterville, Greeley’s Mountain House. The hotel accommodated over 100 guests, and it featured a billiards room and a separate building with two bowling alleys. The grand opening of the hotel in July reportedly brought a line of carriages and horses over a mile long. The building burned just before the next summer season in 1861. Over the next seven years the Greeleys housed summer boarders in their home on the valley floor.
In 1868 Nathaniel and his son Merrill opened a second summer hotel with room for about 60 guests. Nathaniel retired from hotel management around 1870; Merrill and his wife operated the hotel until 1883. Silas and Carrie Elliott took over the hotel in 1883, the same year that railroad service came to Campton, making Waterville more accessible. By the 1890s, the Elliots had more than tripled the size of the hotel, which was later known as the Waterville Inn. The Waterville Inn was destroyed in a fire on February 23,1967.
This site of Nathaniel Greeley’s cabin is the first documented home in the northern part of the valley. Arthur Goodrich wrote the first town history in 1892 which states that two families occupied land in the northern area before the Greeleys. However the census for June 1, 1830, does not list either of those families or Nathaniel Greeley who built his cabin that fall. The initial settlers to Waterville settled about five miles south of our present town as early as 1819. Cellar holes and a cemetery still remain from this earlier settlement.
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Test Your knowledge of Local and World History
Peter Furgal is back with another history question, inviting us to see how well we can place local Waterville Valley events alongside milestones from world history.
Which event happened first?
A: Former Paypal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim worked together to launch a new project: Youtube.
B: The 1st annual Fall Foliage Footrace is held in Waterville Valley, with a 5k run and a 1.6k family fun run that started at Packard’s Field.
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Answer
A - The 1st annual Fall Foliage Footrace took place on October 12th 2008, while Youtube was launched on February 14th 2005.
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Roll up your sleeves and help save lives! We’re partnering with the American Red Cross and the WV Recreation Department for the upcoming community blood drive on Saturday,
December 5, 2026.
Every donation makes a difference. Reserve your spot today:
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How You Can Support the WV Historical Society
Your support helps preserve and share Waterville Valley’s history through programs, events, projects and archives.
Not a member yet? Join
2026-2027 Membership Renewal: Renew your membership.
Support Our Events & Programs: Donate
Volunteer: Email us at info@watervillevalleyhistory.org to learn about volunteer opportunities.
New! Shop Online
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Board of Directors:
President: Patty Furgal, Vice President: Reva Gertel, Treasurer: Lori Horton, Secretary: Carole Flegel
Members at large: Jim Dunn, Sondra Jones, Rick Kipphut, Reggie Breeckner
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