In 1497, John Cabot, on an expedition to North America, may have been the first European to spot Mt. Agamenticus. It was not until 1602, however, that Europeans first visited this region; Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, an English navigator, is said to have explored the Mt. Agamenticus Region. Three years later, the French made the first distinct reference to Mt. A, and placed the region on the map. Finally, in 1614 Captain John Smith published the now famous “Map of New England,” and represented Mt. A as “Snadoun Hill.” The cultural history at Mt. Agamenticus, following Native American inhabitance, parallels closely, the general history of rural New England. Old growth forests, mostly of White Pine were cut and gave way to farmland and pastures.

With the promise of extensive tracts of land and numerous natural resources, families began to move west, out of New England in the late 18 and early 1900s. Soon, pastures gave way to second and third growth cuttings that ultimately ushered in the new industries of post war economic development. It was not until the early 1970’s, with the new environmental revolution, that sincere conservation efforts were conceived.