The Russell Colbath Homestead in located inside the White Mountains National Forest, right on the Kancamagus Scenic Highway in Albany, New Hampshire. It is operated by the USDA Forest Service and volunteers. The day we visited this historic site, a National Park Ranger was inside to answer questions.
For many years we had driven by this historic homestead, but it had always been closed to the public. You have to watch for the "OPEN" flag in front of the house before you miss the entrance. Previously we had explored the small burial ground beside the house. You can see some photos of this cemetery at this link: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/09/tombstone-tuesday-passaconaway-cemetery.html We were very happy to finally see the flag and be able to see inside this house.
The house was built in 1832 by Thomas Russell with his son, Amzi Russell. At the time about 1,000 people lived in this part of New Hampshire, farming and logging. Passaconaway was a thriving community. The White Mountain National Forest was organized in 1918 and now has over 750,000 acres or 1,225 square miles of forest. This house and the land around it became part of the National Forest in 1961. It is a museum to educate visitors on the life of the people who lived in this region that eventually became a National Park. It is the only house from the 19th century still standing in the Swift River Valley.
This site includes the house, a timber frame barn built in 2003, the cemetery, hiking trails, parking and a rest area with toilets (the only flush toilets on the Kancamagus Highway!). It is operated by the Forest Service and is located next to the Jigger Johnson Campground.
Thomas Russell moved his family to this area of New Hampshire, once the town of Passaconaway, around 1820, and operated a sawmill. The house stayed in the family, being passed on to descendants until 1930 when it became a summer cabin. It stood empty until it was purchased in 1961 by the Forest Service. Passaconaway was a busy community at one time, but now it is all forest. His son, Amzi Russell, helped build the house. His daughter Ruth and her husband, Thomas Colbath, inherited the house. Ruth ran a post office for the town of Passaconawy in the front room of her house until 1907.
Ruth's husband, Thomas Colbath lef the farm one day in 1891 and told his wife he was off to run some errands. After dark Ruth put a candle in a window for Thomas, but he never returned. The town searched for Thomas, but he was never found. She left the light in the window for 39 years but he never returned until three years after she died in 1930. By then the house had been sold and Ruth was buried in the cemetery next door.
If you would like to visit the Russell-Colbath house, you can take your chances of finding it open as you drive on the scenic Kancamagus Highway, or you can call the Saco District Ranger Station for hours of operation at 603-447-5448. Visits are free to the public.
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| Passaconaway Cemetery |
