Posted in New Hampshire November 11, 2019 by

The Great Snow Of 1717 In New Hampshire Will Never Be Forgotten

It might not be winter just yet in New Hampshire, but as the temps get chillier we can’t help but start thinking of what’s in store for us this year. Reports tell us to prepare for some of the coldest and snowiest weather we can imagine. While we won’t be sure until we actually experience it, news like that has us looking back at past winters and hoping for the best. There have surely been a few storms we remember from recent years, but it turns out one of the worst storms in the state’s history was actually centuries ago.

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The Great Snow of 1717 began in February and included a chain of snow storms that changed like for many people for quite some time.
gsfc / Flickr
The specifics of timing is hard to say, but most historians agree that the first storm was probably between February 18th and the 24th.

Of course, without the modern conveniences we have now, it's hard to track specifics. But luckily we can rely on diarists from the time who took meticulous notes on the world around them.
The storm was so bad that for generations after the storm, folks referred to things that happened as either taking place before or after "the great snow."
newmundane / Flickr
Authors such as Henry David Thoreau even refer to it in their work.
The back-to-back storms that caused the snowy winter dropped between two and six feet of snow. And snowdrifts are believed to have been at least 25 feet high!
newmundane / Flickr
In fact, entire homes were completely covered in the snow.
Writing from the time references only being able to tell that a house existed by the thin line of smoke coming out of the fireplace chimney.
nordique / Flickr
Sounds cold!
In Hampton there were reports of people being so stuck in their homes that they resorted to burning their furniture for warmth when they couldn't get to the wood shed outside.
gregor_y / Flickr
Search parties were sent to find elderly folks and there are instances where they search parties never returned.
Livestock was also a concern. Countless flocks were lost in the snow, though there are some strange reports of animals living for days and weeks despite the snow!
ianbruce / Flickr
For instance, there's one report of some pigs finding their way out of the snow 27 days after the storm! Tansy kept them alive.

Some reports say that 90% of the deer population was killed in the Great Snow of 1717.
Once the storms ended, life began again. While mail was delayed, postal workers managed to make their deliveries on snow shoes.
rcthink / Flickr
And neighbors kept in touch by building tunnels and paths to get to one another. While it's scary to imagine snow like this hitting us any time soon, we like to believe that the state would come together as a community to get through it. What do you think?

Unless you’re a time traveler, none of us were around for this storm. But do you remember that doozy in the 70s? A deadly, terrifying storm struck New Hampshire in 1978 and no one saw it coming!

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