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    Bethlehem
    Bethlehem
    Bethlehem
    Ebook178 pages45 minutes

    Bethlehem

    By Elizabeth Anne Ward

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    About this ebook

    One hundred years ago, the White Mountains were America s favorite resort. Presidents, writers, artists, industrialists, and prominent individuals of all types came to stay in the grand hotels and enjoy the recreation and scenery. Bethlehem, New Hampshire, was in the center of all this activity. With more than thirty hotels and lodging places, the town became synonymous with summer leisure and relaxation. Visitors enjoyed golf, tennis, riding, scenic drives, balls and gala events, and lots of rocking chair time on the wide verandahs. Fresh, pollen-free air gave relief to those suffering from asthma and hay fever. P.T. Barnum called the annual coaching parades the second greatest show on earth. By the 1920s, the automobile and expanded travel opportunities to the West and to Europe were forcing the grand hotels into decline. Fortunately for Bethlehem, the New York Jewish community discovered the town. Bethlehem became an almost entirely Jewish resort and prospered as such until the 1970s. Even today, several hotels cater to a small Hassidic population, and the Bethlehem Hebrew congregation is a small but active year-round Jewish community. In recent years Bethlehem has undergone a rebirth of sorts, with the renovation of historical buildings, the formation of a heritage society, and the renewal of interest and pride in Bethlehem s rich and colorful history.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJul 10, 2000
    ISBN9781439610534
    Bethlehem
    Author

    Elizabeth Anne Ward

    Resident and author Elizabeth Ward serves as treasurer of the Bethlehem Heritage Society. For Bethlehem, she has compiled an outstanding selection of photographs, many never before seen. These images, together with her insightful narrative, illustrate the extraordinary and charming place that was and is Bethlehem, New Hampshire.

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      Book preview

      Bethlehem - Elizabeth Anne Ward

      Society.

      INTRODUCTION

      For the first ten years that I lived in Bethlehem, my interests revolved around the abundant outdoor recreation opportunities that the White Mountains have to offer—hiking, camping, and cross-country skiing. Oh, I noticed and appreciated Bethlehem’s fine old buildings, but I had no idea of the depth of the town’s history—until I had a conversation one evening with the town librarian, Muriel Brown.

      We had 30 hotels here, you know, she told me. On summer nights we’d take our daughter up to Main Street to watch the ladies walking up and down the sidewalks in their fur coats. The sidewalks would be filled with people. The doors to the Sinclair ballroom would be open, and you could hear the orchestra playing.

      Her reminiscences fired my imagination. Her daughter is about my age, so I too could have experienced the heyday of this mountain resort town. I walked the now quiet Main Street and tried to imagine how it had looked lined with hotels, thronged with sophisticated city people, music playing, luxurious automobiles tooling back and forth, shops and restaurants bustling.

      The impact of an influx of thousands on a tiny mountain community intrigued me. How did residents and visitors get along? How did exposure to worldly attitudes and opinions change the natives of this isolated village?

      I cannot say that my study has been exhaustive, but I have concluded that a comfortable symbiotic relationship developed. The visitors wanted Bethlehem’s clean air and beauty, its quiet atmosphere, and its proximity to the mountains. They wanted the leisure and relaxation on a scale that we today can only dream of—a whole summer spent among congenial companions enjoying healthy recreation, social opportunities, good food, and lots of rocking chair time on the wide porches.

      The residents, in turn, made a living providing goods and services to the summer people. A few owned hotels; some had small lodging houses or stores; many were carpenters, tradesmen, farmers, or professionals. Others were employed by the hotels as gardeners, maintenance men, cooks, chambermaids, and wait staff. The hotel trade meant that townspeople were no longer dependent on farming or logging, and an industrial base was not necessary for employment.

      Today, tourism adds billions of dollars to New Hampshire’s economy. The small town of Bethlehem has contributed greatly to creating the experience that millions of visitors enjoy each year.

      One

      THIRTY HOTELS

      If anything came to define Bethlehem, it was the town’s astonishing number of hotels. In the 1880s, Bethlehem had 1,400 residents and 30 hotels. Several of those 30 qualified as grand hotels due to their capacity, size, and style; however, most were more modest buildings holding between 50 and 100 guests.

      The architecture of the hotels varied. Many were square or rectangular boxes with mansard roofs and white clapboards. The New Arlington and the Sherman Inn are current examples of this style. A few had gambrel roofs, such as the Maplehurst. Some were farmhouses, added on to as the business grew. The Wayside Inn exemplifies this type.

      Despite any similarities in structure, each hotel offered a unique experience. Bethlehem had something for everyone, for every taste and pocketbook.

      A late-1890s map of Bethlehem shows many of the hotels in this chapter. (Paul Hudson.)

      Built in 1857 as a small tavern with a few rooms for travelers, the Sinclair had a great influence on Bethlehem’s development. In 1863, a carriage accident forced Gov. Henry Howard of Rhode Island to prolong his stay in the White Mountains, and he ended up at the Sinclair. Howard enjoyed his visit so much that he returned to build his own cottage and a hotel, marking the beginning of Bethlehem’s fame as a resort. Eventually, the Sinclair became the second largest hotel in Bethlehem, with room for 300 guests. Famous guests included Prof. Louis Agassiz and Pres. Ulysses Grant. The Sinclair burned in 1978. (Paul Hudson.)

      It is not known why Morrell Crawford took this picture of Room No. 141 at the Sinclair, but it is nice to see what a typical room looked like. (Clare Brown.)

      Patted stall-fed pigeons, tipsy Charlotte, and Ruby under the snow—these items, listed on a July 1888 menu at the Sinclair, evoke interesting mental pictures. Menus were printed every day for each meal, either in-house or by a local press. (Bethlehem Library.)

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