The roar of the Sawyer River nearly drowns out Karl Roenke’s voice. While he walks along the water’s bank, the morning sun peeks through the birch and spruce trees and casts light on a world that has lain dormant for decades.
The waterway seems to be the only constant in the area; once occupied by nearly 200 people, the land is now heavily wooded. It’s hard to believe that people—not just trees—once dominated this area. Yet Roenke knows a closer look will reveal pieces of the past. He takes a few more steps—and disappears into the brush.
“We walk on this land now and the regrowth is just phenomenal,” says Roenke, a heritage resource program leader for the White Mountain National Forest, speaking above the river’s gush. “People don’t know the vibrant history of it all.”
Roenke notices a gleam in the mud and points out a white ceramic piece. A few feet away near a fallen trunk, he discovers a black, glasslike shard that fits in the palm of his hand. “It was probably part of a vase or whiskey bottle,” he deduces before placing it back on the ground.
The most easily discerned sign of life is a few yards in front of him. The 61-year-old leads the way to a nearby clearing, site of a building foundation where a grocery store once stood. A black cast-iron safe sits within the foundation’s perimeter, another artifact that tells a story of life here long ago.
Time has concealed many signs of human activity. Situated in the south end of New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch (directly off of Route 302), the mill town of Livermore was shaped by the surrounding timber industry—its lifeblood—and the former Sawyer River Railroad. The town was officially dissolved in 1951, and Mother Nature has since moved in.
But it’s hard to forget or ignore the past. While towns like Livermore have gradually died, Roenke and likeminded individuals with a passion for such hidden, historicalgems believe their stories are worth resurrecting.
These advocates are discussing how to highlight historical sites in the White Mountains of New Hampshire such as Livermore and Thornton Gore, a former farming community. Though in its infancy, their “interpretive plan” could lead to the installation of informative signs at the sites. In the meantime, curious hikers can take their own trips through time, once they know where to look.
“All of these abandoned towns have a tremendous story to tell,” Roenke says. “Livermore is one of the better ones.”
Seeing Ghosts. Photo by Mary Costa.
