Weeks State Park | |
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Location | US 3, Lancaster, New Hampshire, United States |
Coordinates | 44°27′01″N71°34′14″W / 44.45028°N 71.57056°W [1] |
Area | 446 acres (180 ha) [2] |
Elevation | 2,014 feet (614 m) [1] |
Established | 1941 |
Administered by | New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation |
Designation | New Hampshire state park |
Website | Weeks State Park |
Weeks Estate | |
Area | 2.9 acres (1.2 ha) |
Built | 1912 |
Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman |
NRHP reference No. | 85001190 |
Added to NRHP | June 6, 1985 [3] |
The Weeks Estate is a historic country estate on U.S. Route 3 in Lancaster, New Hampshire. Built in 1912 for John Wingate Weeks, atop Prospect Mountain overlooking the Connecticut River, it is one of the state's best preserved early 20th-century country estates. It was given to the state by Weeks' children, and is now Weeks State Park. It features hiking trails, expansive views of the countryside from the stone observation tower, and a small museum in the main estate house. A small portion of property at the mountain summit was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, [3] while the park as a whole was listed in 2023. [4]
The former Weeks Estate occupies a 420-acre (170 ha) parcel south of Lancaster's town center, on the east side of Route 3. It consists of the entirety of Prospect Mountain, a low peak that at 2,037 feet (621 m) above sea level is the highest on a short ridge running east from the Connecticut River. Most of the park consists of woods, with cleared scenic pullouts on Route 3, and the intermittently operated Mount Prospect Ski Tow, a small ski area on the western slope of the mountain. A narrow auto road, about 2 miles (3.2 km) in length, provides access from Route 3 to the summit area, where the estate buildings are located. There are parking pullouts at several points along the auto road, from which there are views of the Connecticut River and the White Mountains.
The estate complex at the summit of Prospect Mountain includes the main house, a carriage house, a stone tower, and servants' quarters. The main house is a two-story frame structure, finished in stucco in an eclectic combination of the Tudor and Spanish Mediterranean Revivals. It is covered by a clipped gable roof of red tile, and has half-timbering in the English country style. This styling is continued in the carriage house and servants' quarters, although their roofs are asphalt shingle. The circular stone tower, originally fitted with a central water storage tank, is open to the public, and provides expansive 360° views of the countryside. The main house has a museum with displays on the history of the Weeks family and the involvement of Weeks in the early 20th-century conservation movement. [5]
John Wingate Weeks, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and a Lancaster native, began purchasing land on Prospect Mountain, near the historic family lands. The auto road was built in 1912, as was the main house. Weeks was a driving force in the passage of the Weeks Act in 1911, allowing for the establishment of national forests in the eastern United States, including the White Mountain National Forest, visible from the summit area. Weeks went on to serve as United States Secretary of War in the 1920s. This property was given to the state of New Hampshire in 1941 by Weeks' children, [6] and the summit area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. [3]
Mount Holyoke, a traprock mountain, elevation 935 feet (285 m), is the westernmost peak of the Holyoke Range and part of the 100-mile (160 km) Metacomet Ridge. The mountain is located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, and is the namesake of nearby Mount Holyoke College. The mountain is located in the towns of Hadley and South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is known for its historic summit house, auto road, scenic vistas, and biodiversity. The mountain is crossed by the 110-mile (180 km) Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and numerous shorter trails. Mount Holyoke is the home of J.A. Skinner State Park which is accessible from Route 47 in Hadley, Massachusetts.
Mount Washington, in New Hampshire, is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288.2 ft (1,916.6 m) and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River.
Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is a mountain in the towns of Jaffrey and Dublin, New Hampshire. It is the most prominent mountain peak in southern New Hampshire and is the highest point in Cheshire County. It lies 38 miles (61 km) southwest of Concord and 62 miles (100 km) northwest of Boston. At 3,165 feet (965 m), Mount Monadnock is nearly 1,000 feet (305 m) higher than any other mountain peak within 30 miles (48 km) and rises 2,000 feet (610 m) above the surrounding landscape. Monadnock's bare, isolated, and rocky summit provides expansive views. It is known for being featured in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
Lancaster is a town located along the Connecticut River in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The town is named after the city of Lancaster in England. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,218, the second largest in the county after Berlin. It is the county seat of Coos County and gateway to the Great North Woods Region of the state. Lancaster, which includes the villages of Grange and South Lancaster, is home to Weeks State Park and the Lancaster Fair. Part of the White Mountain National Forest is in the eastern portion. The town is part of the Berlin, NH−VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.
John Wingate Weeks was an American banker and politician from Massachusetts. A Republican, he served as Mayor of Newton from 1902 to 1903, a United States representative from 1905 to 1913, United States Senator from 1913 to 1919, and Secretary of War from 1921 to 1925.
Sleeping Giant, , is a rugged traprock mountain with a high point of 739 feet (225 m), located eight miles (13 km) north of New Haven, Connecticut. A prominent landscape feature visible for miles, the Sleeping Giant receives its name from its anthropomorphic resemblance to a slumbering human figure as seen from either the north or south. The Giant is known for its expansive clifftop vistas, rugged topography, and microclimate ecosystems. Most of the Giant is located within Sleeping Giant State Park. The mountain is a popular recreation site: over 30 miles (48 km) of hiking trails traverse it including 5 miles (8 km) of the 23-mile (37 km) Quinnipiac Trail. Quinnipiac University is located at Mount Carmel's foot in Hamden.
Miller State Park is the oldest state-run park in New Hampshire, a state in the New England region of the United States. It is located in the towns of Peterborough and Temple, and is centered on Pack Monadnock, a 2,290-foot (700 m) mountain.
Mount Ascutney is a mountain in the U.S. state of Vermont. At 3,144 feet (958 m), it is the highest peak in Windsor County. Mount Ascutney is a monadnock that rises abruptly from the surrounding lowlands. For example, the Windsor Trail is 2.7 miles (4.3 km) to the summit with 2,514 feet (766 m) of elevation gain and an overall 18% grade. Particularly noteworthy are the mountain's granite outcrops, one of which, near the summit, serves as a launching point for hang-gliders.
Charles Sinclair Weeks, better known as Sinclair Weeks, served as United States Senator from Massachusetts (1944) and as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1953 until 1958, during President Eisenhower's administration.
Mount Washington State Park is a 60.3-acre (24.4 ha) parcel perched on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, the highest peak in the northeastern United States. Summer seasonal amenities include a cafeteria, restrooms, gift shops, the Mount Washington Observatory and its museum. The historic Tip Top House is located adjacent to the summit building and is open to visitors from early May to early October. The park is accessible by the Mount Washington Auto Road, the Mount Washington Cog Railway, the Appalachian Trail, or numerous other hiking trails from surrounding trailheads including Pinkham Notch, Crawford Notch and the Cog Railway base station.
The Metacomet Trail is a 62.7-mile (100.9 km) Blue-Blazed hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of central Connecticut and is a part of the newly designated New England National Scenic Trail. Despite being easily accessible and close to large population centers, the trail is considered remarkably rugged and scenic. The route includes many areas of unique ecologic, historic, and geologic interest. Notable features include waterfalls, dramatic cliff faces, woodlands, swamps, lakes, river flood plain, farmland, significant historic sites, and the summits of Talcott Mountain and the Hanging Hills. The Metacomet Trail is maintained largely through the efforts of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association.
The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail is a 114-mile-long (183 km) hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts and the central uplands of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Although less than 70 miles (110 km) from Boston and other large population centers, the trail is considered remarkably rural and scenic and includes many areas of unique ecologic, historic, and geologic interest. Notable features include waterfalls, dramatic cliff faces, exposed mountain summits, woodlands, swamps, lakes, river floodplain, farmland, significant historic sites, and the summits of Mount Monadnock, Mount Tom and Mount Holyoke. The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail is maintained largely through the efforts of the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). Much of the trail is a portion of the New England National Scenic Trail.
Mount Grace, 1,617 feet (493 m), is a prominent monadnock located in north central Massachusetts in the town of Warwick, approximately two miles south of the New Hampshire border. The mountain is rugged and largely wooded, but a firetower on the summit provides expansive views of the surrounding rural countryside. Little Mount Grace, 1,226 feet (374 m), is the southern summit of the mountain. Mount Grace supports a predominantly northern hardwood forest as well as stands of red spruce near its summit.
Talcott Mountain of central Connecticut, with a high point of 950 feet (290 m), is a 13-mile (21 km) long trap rock mountain ridge located 6 miles (10 km) west of the city of Hartford. The ridge, a prominent landscape feature, forms a continuous line of exposed western cliffs visible across the Farmington River valley from Farmington to Simsbury. Talcott Mountain is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the Vermont border.
Little Monadnock Mountain, 1,900 feet (579 m), is located in the towns of Fitzwilliam and Troy, New Hampshire. Most of the mountain is located within Rhododendron State Park; there are scenic vistas from ledges just below the summit. The 110 mile Metacomet-Monadnock Trail crosses the mountain.
U.S. Route 2 (US 2) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that is split into two segments, one between Washington and Michigan and the other between New York and Maine. In New Hampshire, US 2 runs 35.437 miles (57.030 km) from the Vermont state line at the Connecticut River in Lancaster east to the Maine state line in Shelburne. US 2 is the main highway through the White Mountains across southern Coös County, where it also passes through Jefferson, Randolph, and Gorham. US 2 is the main connection between the Coös county seat of Lancaster, where the highway intersects US 3, and the county's largest city, Berlin, via its connection with New Hampshire Route 16 (NH 16) in Gorham.
The William D. Weeks Memorial Library, also referred to as the Weeks Memorial Library, is a publicly funded, nonprofit library governed by the Town of Lancaster in Coös County, New Hampshire.
Topsmead State Forest is a Connecticut state forest located in the town of Litchfield. It was formerly the summer residence of Edith Morton Chase, daughter of Henry Sabin Chase, first president of the Chase Brass and Copper Company. She left the house and its grounds to the state of Connecticut on her death in 1972. The estate house, built in 1929 to a design by Richard Henry Dana, is a fine example of a Tudor Revival country estate house, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Dennis Hill State Park is a public recreation area located in the town of Norfolk, Connecticut, that was once the estate of Dr. Frederick Shepard Dennis. The state park offers hiking, picnicking, and scenic views. It is administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The Shepard Hill Historic District encompasses an enclave of summer retreat properties in Holderness, New Hampshire. Centered on a stretch of Shepard Hill Road east of Holderness center, the area was one of the first to be developed as a summer estate area in the vicinity of Squam Lake, which Shepard Hill provided expansive views of. It includes 17 historic summer houses, built between 1870 and 1921, and a chapel. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.