Climbing to Boar’s Head Inn

Geologically, Great Boar’s Head in Hampton, NH is a “lenticular moraine or drumlin.” In layman’s terms, it is a long hill made up of unsorted rock and soil left by a melting glacier. As the ice sheet retreated, it left a till or prominent hill that was shaped for centuries by erosion. It was a beacon for early seacoast tourists.

Here’s what an 1871 guide to the region had to say: “As a summer resort, Hampton ranks among the first on the North Shore, its bold rocky coast and splendid sea view, comprising a range from Cape Ann to Portsmouth, including the Isle of Shoals, cannot be surpassed. Several large hotels are near the beach, prominent among them being the “Boar’s Head Hotel,” situated upon a jagged promontory bearing a not very poetic name of Boar’s Head, whether from real or fancied resemblance to the object from whence the name is derived, we know not.

Boar’s Head Hotel (1871 guide)

“The natural advantages, the location of this Hotel, is unsurpassed. Situated on the promontory, known as [Great] Boar’s Head, 65 feet above the level of the sea, within a short distance of the fishing grounds, for which this coast has always been so noted. A Post office and Telegraph office are in the house; Billiard and Bowling Saloons are of the newest available and with its old and popular proprietor, L. P. Nudd, we feel assured that its former reputation will be kept up.

In this souvenir stereo view image from the David Bros. we see a brave group of tourists trudging up a steep wooden stiarcase to the Hotel. Unable to resist, we requested a computer colorized image of this pastoral scene.

This hotel was destroyed in 1893 by a fire that started in the laundry room in a defective chimney. Boar’s Head Inn was one of the earliest New England coastal hotels. It was reportedly built in 1826 by David Nudd and expanded to four floors that could hold 150 guests.