Crawford Notch: Willard Section House
It was a sunny Sunday morning and I decided to get up early and take a ride to Crawford Notch.
I’ve been wanting to visit the historic Willard Section House for a while. I’ve always been fabricated with the history of the White Mountains and this old foundation is history.
The Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad built the section of rail road that goes through Crawford Notch [map] in 1875. They would later lease these tracks to the Main Central rail road in 1888. Included in this purchase were a number of Section Houses on the tracks. The Most well know was the Willard Section House
| Date: | 05-16-2021 |
| Location: | Crawford Notch, NH |
| Distance: | .75 mi |
| Elevation Gain: | 300′ |
| Total Time: | 45 min |
| Parking: | 10+ cars |
| Difficultly Rating: | Moderate |
This Willard Section House was built in 1887. In 1903 Loring Evans and his wife “Hatti” moved into the section house. Ten years later Loring died in an accident but Hatti stayed at the Willard Section House where she had raised her 4 children; Gordon, Mildred, Raymond and Enola. She stayed at the house till 1942.
There are many stories that go along with this house. One of which is how the train engineer would pick the children up with out even stopping the train and drop them off at school in town.
Over the years the house became rundown and vandalized and in 1972 the rail road burned the house down. Today The foundation remains and a few of old artifacts from the house. There is a memorial that has unfortunately been vandalized.
When I visited the site it was in early May and “Hatti’s Garden” was in bloom. Colorful daffodils and other blooming plants in side a rock fence. It was a beautiful day.
One other reason I wanted to go early in the year was the rail road was not active yet. The bridge next to the Section House is beautiful and I wanted to get a picture from the other side. Even though there was a walkway next to the tracks it is still a scary walk if you don’t like heights. But I made it.
This is a fun little hike, especially if you are a history buff. A word of caution before going. Check to make sure there are no trains running during our visit. Especially if you are on the bridge. Station House’s foundation is right on the tracks so use caution and stay alert.
