Arts and Culture in the White Mountains: Museums, Galleries and Theaters

The White Mountains are famous for their peaks, notches and foliage, but the region also has a rich cultural side that is easy to overlook between hikes. Small museums tell the story of skiing, farming and village life in the mountains, and artist-run galleries show the work of the many painters, potters and craftspeople who live here. This guide covers six museums, galleries and historic sites in the White Mountains NH, all from our directory, and most of them make good stops on a rainy day or a slow drive between trailheads.

New England Ski Museum, Franconia

The New England Ski Museum is a nonprofit museum in Franconia that preserves the history of skiing in the northeastern United States, both alpine and cross-country. It was founded in 1977, and in 1982 it moved into its permanent building near the tramway at Cannon Mountain, in Franconia Notch State Park. Our hero image shows the building. It is one of four ski museums in the United States recognized by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

The location is fitting. Cannon's aerial tramway, first built in 1938, was the first passenger aerial tramway in North America, and the museum sits right at its base. Exhibits cover the people, equipment and ski areas that shaped the sport in New England, including the story of the 10th Mountain Division. The museum also runs a branch in North Conway, which makes it easy to get a dose of ski history on either side of the mountains.

Eastman-Lord House Museum, Conway

The Conway Historical Society operates the Eastman-Lord House Museum, and its mission centers on preserving the heritage of Conway and the White Mountains. The house was completed in 1818 for William Kimball Eastman, a tanner and currier who had bought a tannery near Pequawket Pond in Conway a few years earlier. Over the following decades Eastman added a shoe and harness-making business and a general store run out of the house, and he served the town as a selectman. The house grew with the family and its businesses.

The house has a surprising connection to American business history. Several of the Eastman children moved to Minnesota, and according to the society, a flour mill created there by members of the family eventually became the Pillsbury Flour Company. Later owners included a Conway-born Civil War veteran. A visit gives a clear picture of how a prosperous village family lived in the nineteenth century.

Conway itself is the most populous town in Carroll County, with 9,822 residents at the 2020 census, and it sits on the southeastern edge of the White Mountain National Forest. Its five villages are Conway, North Conway, Center Conway, Redstone and Kearsarge. Tourism is the town's biggest economic engine, and natural landmarks such as Cathedral Ledge, popular with climbers, and Echo Lake are close by, so the museum fits easily into a day of outdoor sightseeing.

Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm, Tamworth

In the village of Tamworth, the Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm is a rural life museum and working farmstead. Its centerpiece, the Captain Enoch Remick House, was probably built around 1808. In 1996 the house, five outbuildings and about 69 acres of field, pasture and woodland were listed on the National Register of Historic Places for their significance in art, architecture and local agriculture.

The house has a long civic history. Captain Enoch Remick served as a state representative and selectman, and from roughly the 1830s to the 1850s the third floor of his home hosted Tamworth's town meetings, before the town had a dedicated town hall. He also ran an inn out of the house for about three decades, and it served as a stopover for horses on the Center Harbor to Conway stagecoach route.

Today the museum offers walks on the Binsack Trail, with views of Mount Chocorua, and sells farm-raised beef. Tamworth itself has deep cultural roots: the Barnstormers Theatre was established here in 1931 by Francis Cleveland, son of President Grover Cleveland.

ArtWorks Chocorua

Just up the road in the Tamworth village of Chocorua, ArtWorks is a nonprofit gallery dedicated to the education, promotion and appreciation of the arts. It began in 2010 as a group of eight artists at the Tamworth Farmers Market, selling from a small tent, and it now occupies an antique farmhouse with views of Mount Chocorua. Its name comes from the village's old name, Tamworth Iron Works.

The gallery shows fine artists and crafters from the surrounding area, with artwork in many sizes, blown glass, heirloom furniture, jewelry, photography, pottery, sculpture and cards. Volunteers run it, and it hosts workshops and events through the year. It is a natural pairing with the Remick museum for a Tamworth afternoon.

Artistic Roots, Plymouth

On the southern edge of the mountains, Artistic Roots is a cooperative gallery and teaching center in Plymouth with more than 40 juried artisans. It is a good place to find handmade work from local makers and to look for a class. Plymouth sits at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Baker rivers at the foot of the White Mountains and is home to Plymouth State University, which makes it a lively small town and a natural first stop as you head into the mountains.

Bedell Bridge State Park, Haverhill

The Bedell Bridge historic site in Haverhill is a place to remember a bridge that is no longer there. The Bedell Bridge was a Burr truss covered bridge across the Connecticut River between Haverhill and Newbury, Vermont. At 382 feet, it was the second-longest covered bridge in the United States.

Six bridges stood on the site, the first built in 1805. Floods and storms took several of them. After the last one was closed to traffic in 1958 and badly damaged in 1973, a local committee raised money to rebuild it. The restored bridge was rededicated on July 22, 1979, and blown away by a windstorm on September 14, 1979, less than two months later. Its stone abutments and a pier in the river remain.

Today the site is the 74-acre Bedell Bridge State Park. It is open year-round for walking, picnicking, non-motorized boating and fishing, and it has a Fish and Game boat launch.

Planning tips

• Group stops by area. Tamworth has the Remick museum and ArtWorks within a short drive, and Conway is close by. Franconia, Plymouth and Haverhill are on the western side.
• Check seasonal schedules. Many small museums and galleries change their hours with the seasons. Confirm on each website before you go.
• Use them on rainy days. Indoor museums and galleries are a good backup plan when the trails are wet.
• Buy local. Galleries like ArtWorks and Artistic Roots support working artists in the region.

FAQ

Where is the New England Ski Museum?

In Franconia Notch State Park next to the Cannon Mountain tram, with a branch in North Conway.

What happened to the Bedell Bridge?

It was rebuilt and rededicated in July 1979, then destroyed by a windstorm that September. The site is now a state park.

Is there a country doctor museum in New Hampshire?

Yes. The Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm is in Tamworth.

What is ArtWorks in Chocorua?

A volunteer-run nonprofit gallery in an antique farmhouse showing work by local artists and crafters.

Sources

• New England Ski Museum, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Ski_Museum
• New England Ski Museum official website: https://skimuseum.org
• Franconia, New Hampshire, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franconia,_New_Hampshire
• Conway Historical Society, Eastman-Lord House Museum: https://conwayhistoricalsociety.org/eastman-lord-house-museum/
• Conway, New Hampshire, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway,_New_Hampshire
• Capt. Enoch Remick House, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capt._Enoch_Remick_House
• Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm official website: https://www.remickmuseum.org
• Tamworth, New Hampshire, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamworth,_New_Hampshire
• ArtWorks Chocorua official website: https://chocoruaartworks.com/about-us/
• Artistic Roots official website: https://www.artisticroots.com
• Plymouth, New Hampshire, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth,_New_Hampshire
• Bedell Covered Bridge, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedell_Covered_Bridge
• Bedell Bridge State Park, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedell_Bridge_State_Park
• Hero image: Wikimedia Commons, File:New England Ski Museum August 2018.jpg