In New Hampshire, there existed once a legendary profile of an old man’s face set on the cliff edge of Cannon Mountain in the White Mountains, New Hampshire, USA. It was the Old Man of the Mountain, the Face, or the Profile. Now, it is but a legend, with only pictures to prove of its proud existence. The Old Man’s life had ended on May 3, 2003.

When did it all start? Earliest known discovery of a mountain with a stone face was around the 16th century, when a Native American legend spoke of it. The rock was said to have been formed by the Ice Age, which happened around the 17th millennium BC (per wiki research). Credit was claimed by surveyors working around Franconia Notch for its discovery.

The Old Man of the Mountains was made famous by statesman Daniel Webster’s statement that “Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe, jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist 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.” And what a statement it was.

The old man’s ‘face’ was made into New Hampshire’s state emblem ever since the mid-1940’s. It was placed into the state’s license plate, highway-route signs and even at the back of New Hampshire’s Statehood Quarter. The profile was viewable from along Interstate 93, inside Franconia Notch State Park.

Preservation attempts had been made to save the Old Man of the Mountains from impending collapse, using cables and spikes. But nature had caught up, as well as freezing and thawing had cracked the foundations. May 3, 2003 had marked its death and disappearance. The state mourned, and everyone had felt the loss. Commemorative efforts are now in place to preserve its memory.