Jaffrey, NH

Jaffrey, N.H., says Larry Davis, is exactly “the way it should be, which,” he laughs, “is the way it is.”

Davis grew up in Dublin, the town next door, left for college, and returned to Jaffrey (pop. 5,434), feeling that it was home sweet home. “There’s not a blade of grass different than when I first set my foot here,” Davis says. “It’s very quiet, and I like it that way.”

Jaffrey sits at the foot of Mount Monadnock (elevation 3,165 feet), one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the world—and Davis, 40, is one who climbs it. He’s hiked to the summit for 2,850 consecutive days (at last count), fulfilling a personal challenge he set for himself nearly eight years ago.

But Jaffrey isn’t just a gateway to the mountain, which can be approached from other New Hampshire towns as well. It also honors former residents Amos Fortune, who bought his own freedom from slavery, established a tannery, and left money for Jaffrey schools and churches, and 19th-century businesswoman Hannah Davis, who ran her own manufacturing establishment. Both rest behind Jaffrey Center’s Colonial Meeting House, built in 1773 on the south side of Route 124, not far from the town’s civic center, library, and churches, most of them dating to the 1800s.

Charlie and Ann Royce, both born in Jaffrey, say the town has pretty much doubled in size over the years but maintains a balance of industry and special history.

Willa Cather spent many summers in Jaffrey, wrote two of her novels here, and is buried in a town cemetery, notes Charlie, former teacher and New Hampshire park supervisor and currently a state legislator. “When I grew up, there was one police chief and one special officer. It’s changed and grown,” he says.

Yet, while industry thrives, little or no sign of it is visible to the casual visitor, who sees the town’s classically structured mansions and church steeples set in rolling hillsides.

“Jaffrey has a lot of industry, but it’s well hidden. People are surprised,” Davis says. The oldest—the book match company, D. D. Bean & Sons—was established in 1938 and employs 200 people. Other industries, providing more than 1,200 jobs, include industrial filters, medical tubing, plumbing supplies, business forms, tacks, tubing, coated abrasives, castings, and firefighting equipment.

Even the brand new golf course at the base of the mountain is tucked away, helping to maintain the old-style feel of the community.

An American-Indian name, Monadnock means “mountain that stands alone,” but the mountain and those who love it stick together. The town and New Hampshire’s park service work together to preserve its beauty.

“There’s a lot of mutual respect,” says Andrew Zboray, Monadnock State Park ranger of eight years. “A lot has to do with the history of the mountain. There have been plans and ideas—ambitious plans—under the mountain’s shadow, but I think the town kept it really focused. There’s tradition, and it has maintained the small town feel.”

Zboray, one of 20 rangers on the mountain (full and part time), says Jaffrey and the park are planning to upgrade facilities and parking. Some 120,000 to 130,000 visitors climb some portion of Monadnock in any given year. During a recent fall rush, 6,000 people visited the mountain in single day.

“We work with the community on issues that concern both of us,” Zboray says. The police, fire, and ambulance crews support the park in search and rescue, maintaining a presence and monitoring radio channels.

He notes that local residents, who also climb the mountain, tend to use paths less traveled and are as likely to pursue blueberry picking or picnics as climbing.

Or, like Davis, they hike the mountain because it’s grand and it’s there. Still strong in his commitment to climb every day, Davis says he’s hiked despite bad weather, deep snow, broken ribs, pneumonia, nasty falls, and various colds and flu.

And when he’s not on the mountain, he remains one of Jaffrey’s most devoted fans.

“We have a quiet little community here,” he says. “It’s great.”

Leanne Bischoff, who lives in Northwood, N.H., recently wrote about Mount Washington for American Profile.

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