Glencliff is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

within the

White Mountain National Forest The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had alre ...

in the town of

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

in Grafton County,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States. The village consists of fewer than one hundred residents and some forty man-made structures, including the Willing Workers Hall, the Glencliff Community Chapel, the old firefighter's garage, the Glencliff Improvement Cooperative (community water system), the post office (located in one of the dwellings) and the Glencliff Home for the Elderly (located higher up the mountain).

History

Located in the White Mountains, the village was originally part of the town of Coventry (now Benton), but the town of Warren successfully petitioned the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

to make the village part of Warren. The village was known as Warren Summit until an unfortunate incident in the early 1900s, when two

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

s crashed in a head-on collision, due to confusion over town names. The Glencliff Home for the Elderly was formerly the Glencliff Sanatorium, which opened in the summer of 1909 for New Hampshire residents infected with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

(TB) and seeking respite and cure in the fresh mountain air. The sanatorium treated more than 4,000 TB patients during its first 50 years, admitting from 50 to 100 new patients each year.Paige Wickner and Fordham Von Reyn, M.D., ''Mountain Aerie;'' History of the New Hampshire State Sanatorium
/ref>

Geography

Glencliff is located in a high valley (1,000 feet above sea level) known as Oliverian Notch, the westernmost pass through the White Mountains. The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

passes directly through the village, with the Glencliff Post Office serving as a major resupply point for its hikers. More than to the south, the trail begins on

Springer Mountain Springer Mountain is a mountain located in the Chattahoochee National Forest on the border of Fannin and Gilmer counties. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia, the mountain has an elevation of about . Springer Mountain serv ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and more than 400 very rugged miles (644 kilometers) north, ends atop

Mount Katahdin Mount Katahdin ( ) is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Maine at . Named Katahdin, which means "Great Mountain", by the Penobscot Native Americans, it is within Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County, and is the centerpiece of B ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. While the origin of the name "Glencliff" is not known for certain, Glencliff is, in fact, located in a glen (or valley) and near a cliff—it is nestled below

Mount Moosilauke Mount Moosilauke is a mountain at the southwestern end of the White Mountains in the town of Benton, New Hampshire, United States. It is the tenth highest and most southwesterly of the 4,000 foot summits in the White Mountains. Moosilauke ...

to the east, Wyatt Hill and Webster Slide Mountain to the west, and the cliff of Owl's Head to the northwest, scoured by

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

epoch and visible from the village.

Village services

Glencliff boasts its own U.S. Post Office. The Glencliff Improvement Cooperative (GIC) operates and maintains the Glencliff municipal water supply including the well house and approximately 7-12 homes on the town line.

Recreation

Recreational activities in the area include hiking,

snowshoeing Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

, walking, jogging,

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

, and

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. Local hiking trails in Glencliff include the Glencliff Trail, Tunnel Brook Trail, Wachipauka Pond Trail, Hurricane Mountain Trail and Blueberry Mountain Trail. The former railroad bed, which parallels

New Hampshire Route 25 New Hampshire Route 25 is a long east–west state highway in New Hampshire. It runs completely across the state from Vermont to Maine. The western terminus of Route 25 is at the Vermont state line on the Connecticut River in Piermont, New Ham ...

and intersects the Appalachian Trail, is an excellent

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

currently used for walking, jogging, and snowmobiling. The trails and paths in the village are great for snowshoeing. The expansive forest in Glencliff is secluded and suited for viewing

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and other wildlife.

References

External links

Joseph Patch Library

Asquamchumauke Valley Snowmobile Club

Mount Moosilauke ATV Club
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Grafton County, New Hampshire Unincorporated communities in New Hampshire