The Old Man in the Mountain was a profile created by cliffs on Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire. The face was a symbol of New Hampshires natural beauty and point of pride for all Americans. (Spoiler alert) Sadly, the formation eroded from the mountain in 2003, but it's legacy lives on.

1. New
Hampshire
is
home
to
many
a1rac3ons.

2. From
the
beau3ful
beaches
to
Moose
Alley,
the
Granite
State
has
plenty
of
sites,
both
historically
significant
and
naturally
beau3ful,
to
visit.

3. One
a1rac3on
is
par3cularly
iconic
though,
both
to
na3ve
New
Hampshirites
and
the
rest
of
America.

4. It
was
so
important
to
the
state
of
New
Hampshire
that
they
chose
to
immortalize
it
on
the
New
Hampshire
state
quarter
released
in
2000.

5. Sadly,
three
years
later
it
was
no
more.

6. I’m
describing,
of
course,
The
Old
Man
of
the
Mountain.

7. The
Old
Man
of
the
Mountain
was
a
set
of
5
granite
cliffs
on
Cannon
Mountain
which,
when
viewed
from
the
north,
formed
what
appeared
to
be
a
man’s
face
extruding
from
the
mountain.

8. The
face
had
the
look
of
a
gruff
fron3ersman
peering
out
over
the
land,
surveying
the
expanding
realm
before
him.

9. The
Old
Man,
circa
1911

10. The
Old
Man
was
first
documented
in
1805
by
a
group
of
surveyors
exploring
the
Franconia
Notch,
though
several
groups
surveying
the
area
around
the
same
3me
claim
the
first
“discovery”.

11. The
ragged
cliffs
that
form
the
face
were
themselves
formed
by
receding
glaciers.

12. The
Old
Man
captured
the
imagina3on
and
fascina3on
of
those
who
saw
it.

13. The
Old
Man
in
the
Mountain
was
popularized
in
large
part
by
a
statesman,
Daniel
Webster,
who
was
an
influen3al
poli3cian
and
orator
of
the
3me.

14. He
wrote;
“Men
hang
out
their
signs
indica3ve
of
their
respec3ve
trades;
shoe
makers
hang
out
a
gigan3c
shoe;
jewelers
a
monster
watch,
and
the
den3st
hangs
out
a
gold
tooth;
but
up
in
the
Mountains
of
New
Hampshire,
God
Almighty
has
hung
out
a
sign
to
show
that
there
He
makes
men.”

15. American
writer
Nathaniel
Hawthorne
found
inspira3on
in
the
forma3on
when
he
wrote
a
short
story,
“The
Great
Stone
Face”
in
1850.

16. The
profile
became
the
official
state
symbol
in
1945
and
adorns
the
state
license
plate,
state
route
markers
and
eventually
the
state
quarter
in
2000.

17. The
face
immortalize
on
a
stamp

18. An
interes3ng
piece
of
trivia
is
that
the
New
Hampshire
state
quarter
is
the
only
to
feature
a
profile
on
both
sides.

19. The
same
forces
the
conspired
to
create
the
face
were
ul3mately
it’s
downfall.

20. Freezing
and
thawing
water
created
fissures
on
the
Old
Man’s
forehead
and
by
the
1920s,
the
cracks
were
large
enough
that
a1empts
to
repair
it
and
prevent
future
breakage
began.

21. In
spite
of
the
state’s
best
efforts,
on
May
3,
2003,
between
midnight
and
3
a.m.,
the
Old
Man
in
the
Mountain
fell.

22. In
the
days
following
the
collapse,
the
mourning
public
lay
flowers
at
the
base
of
the
cliff
in
tribute.

23. A
task
force
was
formed
to
determine
how
to
best
memorialize
the
bygone
icon
of
New
Hampshire.

24. In
2010,
the
construc3on
of
a
memorial
began.

25. Though
the
country
lost
one
of
it’s
most
unique
and
striking
natural
landmarks,
the
legacy
of
the
Old
Man
of
the
Mountain
lives
on.