FRANCONIA, N.H., May 3, 2003
 "I knew it would go sometime, I just didn't think it would happen in my lifetime" Amy Bahr, president of the Franconia Heritage Museum, saying she has long been aware that the natural profile could slide  |
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(AP) The Old Man of the Mountain, a stern granite profile that symbolized the state's independence and stubbornness, is gone, likely the victim of the same natural forces that created it thousands of years ago.
A state park trails crew reported at about 7:30 Saturday that the 40-foot tall face was gone from Profile Mountain.
A handful of cables and epoxy on the rocky mountainside indicate where the face once gazed toward the east. Fresh scrapes on the slope were likely caused by the rock fall. No fallen parts of the face were distinguishable from the other boulders on the slope.
For almost a century, the state had used cables and epoxy to try to keep the face from collapsing from erosion and the natural freeze-and-thaw cycle.
Those who did the work warned that a collapse was inevitable, but few thought they would live to see it.
The profile was obscured by clouds on Thursday and Friday, so it is uncertain when it fell.
The Old Man appears on the New Hampshire quarter, on state road signs and on countless souvenirs and tourist brochures. Since the early 1800s, millions of tourists have traveled through Franconia Notch to view it.
The profile was about 1,200 feet above Interstate 93, about 65 miles north of Concord.
"I've just lost my number one attraction," said Dick Hamilton, president of White Mountain Attractions, a tourism group.
Hamilton has commuted through the notch every day for more than 30 years.
"I say goodnight to him every night when I go by," he said. On Friday night, he couldn't see the profile because of the clouds.
"I went by and said, 'Good night, boss, wherever you are."'
Daniel Webster, a 19th century New Hampshire statesman, once wrote, referring to the Old Man, "In the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."
Niels Nielsen, a state highway worker who died in 2001, was the profile's official caretaker from 1960 until a few years ago, when he passed the job on to his son.
Nielsen told an interviewer in 1999 he thought the Old Man would outlive him by many years.
"My gut feeling is that any baby that's born on this date, today, will not see the Old Man come down," he said.
Amy Bahr, president of the Franconia Heritage Museum, said she has long been aware that the natural profile could slide.
"I knew it would go sometime, I just didn't think it would happen in my lifetime," Bahr said.
Paul Hayward's family has operated an inn in nearby Sugar Hill since 1780. He said he was devastated by the loss.
"I'm glad my grandmother didn't live to see this," Hayward said.
A state park trails crew reported at about 7:30 Saturday that the 40-foot tall face was gone from Profile Mountain.
A handful of cables and epoxy on the rocky mountainside indicate where the face once gazed toward the east. Fresh scrapes on the slope were likely caused by the rock fall. No fallen parts of the face were distinguishable from the other boulders on the slope.
For almost a century, the state had used cables and epoxy to try to keep the face from collapsing from erosion and the natural freeze-and-thaw cycle.
Those who did the work warned that a collapse was inevitable, but few thought they would live to see it.
The profile was obscured by clouds on Thursday and Friday, so it is uncertain when it fell.
The Old Man appears on the New Hampshire quarter, on state road signs and on countless souvenirs and tourist brochures. Since the early 1800s, millions of tourists have traveled through Franconia Notch to view it.
The profile was about 1,200 feet above Interstate 93, about 65 miles north of Concord.
"I've just lost my number one attraction," said Dick Hamilton, president of White Mountain Attractions, a tourism group.
Hamilton has commuted through the notch every day for more than 30 years.
"I say goodnight to him every night when I go by," he said. On Friday night, he couldn't see the profile because of the clouds.
"I went by and said, 'Good night, boss, wherever you are."'
Daniel Webster, a 19th century New Hampshire statesman, once wrote, referring to the Old Man, "In the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."
Niels Nielsen, a state highway worker who died in 2001, was the profile's official caretaker from 1960 until a few years ago, when he passed the job on to his son.
Nielsen told an interviewer in 1999 he thought the Old Man would outlive him by many years.
"My gut feeling is that any baby that's born on this date, today, will not see the Old Man come down," he said.
Amy Bahr, president of the Franconia Heritage Museum, said she has long been aware that the natural profile could slide.
"I knew it would go sometime, I just didn't think it would happen in my lifetime," Bahr said.
Paul Hayward's family has operated an inn in nearby Sugar Hill since 1780. He said he was devastated by the loss.
"I'm glad my grandmother didn't live to see this," Hayward said.