In Episode 342 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike New England’s tallest peak in search of a marker that commemorates where Lizzie Bourne left this mortal coil near the summit of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire back in September of 1855.
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Produced and hosted by: Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger
Edited by: Ray Auger
Theme Music by: John Judd
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A 1907 postcard showing the Lizzie Bourne memorial on Mt. Washington.
A painted portrait of Lizzie Bourne.
The Halfway House on the Mt. Washington carriage road circa 1870.
The Lizzie Bourne marker today.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
*A note on the text: Please forgive punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes. Like us, the transcripts ain’t perfect.
[HIKING IN THE WOODS]
[WIND]
JEFF: Ray, the weather can change on a dime here on Mt. Washington.
RAY: Home of the worst weather on Earth, they say.
JEFF: And I believe them. At 6,288 feet tall, Mt. Washington isn’t just the tallest mountain in New Hampshire, it’s the tallest in New England. I’ve hiked to the top maybe five or six times over the years.
RAY: And we’ve all seen cars with those bumper stickers that read: This car climbed Mt. Washington.
JEFF: We have. There’s a toll road to the top, and a cog rail to the top. You can drive up here, take a train, or, if like us, if you’re too dumb to do that, you can hike to the top.
RAY: We’re heading up the Tuckerman’s Ravine side of the mountain. It’s a long hike, too. About 4.2 miles from the parking lot to the top.
JEFF: The weather up here can get extreme quick, too. I’ve hiked this trail in August where the temperatures were in the mid 70s at the base and the mid 30s at the summit. If you don’t have the right gear for that, this can get dangerous.
RAY: I can only imagine. Every few years someone makes the news for dying up here.
JEFF: There have been at least 161 confirmed deaths on this mountain since they started keeping record of it back in 1849.
RAY: 161! I had no idea.
JEFF: Our destination is up there just ahead. We’ve come to Mt. Washington to explore the story of one of those deaths. We’re here to find where Lizzie Bourne took her last breath.
[INTRO]
JEFF: I’m Jeff Belanger, and welcome to Episode 342 of the New England Legends podcast.
RAY: And I’m Ray Auger. Thanks for joining us on our mission to chronicle every legend in New England one story at a time. We’re always on the hunt for the bizarre, the strange, and the unbelievable. And we need your help to find these great legends. So many of our story leads come from you, so please reach out to us anytime through our Web site. Also subscribe and tell your friends about our show, that’s how our community grows.
JEFF: We’ll explore the tragic story of Lizzie Bourne right after this word from our sponsor.
SPONSOR
[HIKING]
JEFF: Careful on these rocks, Ray.
RAY: Yeah! I see that.
JEFF: We’re above the tree line, so it’s pretty much all rocks up here.
RAY: We’re in sight of the summit building and right near the cog rail tracks.
JEFF: That white marker over there is what we’re looking for.
RAY: It’s a white sign with black painted letters mounted to a post on top a pile of rocks. It reads: Miss Lizzie Bourne, daughter of Judge Bourne, Kennebunk, Maine. Perished here September 14, 1855, aged 23 years. (BEAT) That’s tragic. She was so young.
JEFF: She was. But as we’ve already heard, this mountain can be unforgiving. It’s NOT just a walk in the woods.
RAY: We’ve passed many hikers on our way up. And there’s a steady stream of cars going in and out of the parking lot at the top. It’s tough to imagine if something happened to us that we’d be stranded for long.
JEFF: During the warmer months when the road to the top is open and hundreds of hikers per day are coming here, you’re right. It’s a lot easier to get some help. But a few years before the service road was opened on the mountain and more than a decade before the cog railway was installed, this was a trail much-less traveled. So let’s head back to September of 1855 and watch this tragedy unfold.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: It’s Saturday, September 15th, 1855 here at the base of Mt. Washington. The air is already turning slightly dry and crisp this morning considering Autumn is only a week away.
JEFF: Still, it’s a gorgeous day for the Bourne family. George and Jane Bourne are here with their daughter, Lucy, and their niece, Lizzy. They’re staying in the Glen House at the base of the eastern side of Mt. Washington.
RAY: The initial plan was for Lizzie, Lucy, and George to hike up Mt. Washington this morning, but they’re getting a late start. So instead…
[BOWLING BALL DOWN AN ALLEY THEN PINS FALLING]
RAY: They get in a game of 10-pin bowling.
JEFF: Lizzie is good too! She’s the life of the party.
RAY: After the game, the family hang around the Glen House until their early dinner. It’s One in the afternoon.
[PEOPLE EATING]
RAY: After the meal, Lizzie and her cousin discuss hiking halfway up Mt. Washington after lunch. Just four miles up the carriage road a place called The Ledge. Lizzie begs them all to go for it.
JEFF: That’s a nice spot. Plus, that hike shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours or so. When they get there, there’s a shelter where they can spend the night and then go for the summit tomorrow morning, or there would still be enough time to come back down to the Glen House if they want to.
RAY: It’s settled. It’s 2PM when the three set out on their hike up the carriage road.
JEFF: Leading them for the first part of the journey is Mr. Rich, he works for the carriage road. Mr. Rich explains how the plan is to construct an 8-mile road all the way to the top. Tourists will be able to pay a toll to quickly get to the top of the mountain.
RAY: Mr. Rich stays with the group for the first couple of miles up the carriage road before he must return to his regular duties. So the two cousins and George continue.
[WALKING ON A GRAVEL ROAD SLOW FADE]
RAY: It’s about 4:00 PM when the group arrives at The Ledge. The Halfway House is there, so the group head inside for a rest. Though Lizzie is tired, she urges the others to go for the summit right now. There’s a hotel up there called the Tip Top House, plus she’s heard the panoramic sunrises are incredible!
MAN: We’ve heard there’s a storm brewing near the top. It’s probably best if you head back down for the night.
JEFF: hmmmm Maybe that construction worker has a point?
RAY: Whether he has a point or not, Lizzie isn’t deterred. She’s convinced they can reach the summit hotel before sundown. Afterall, they made it halfway up in only two hours. Besides, she’s sure they can beat any incoming storm.
JEFF: Lizzie is a ball of energy. The idea of watching the sunrise tomorrow morning from the top sounds too incredible to pass up. In another minute…
[HIKING IN WOODS]
JEFF: The group are back on the trail to the top.
RAY: The well-groomed carriage road that led up to the Halfway House stops here. That’s how far construction has gotten so far. From here on out, it’s a horse bridal path that leads the four more miles up Mt. Washington to the Tip Top House lodge.
JEFF: It’s slow going, especially for the women who keep getting their dresses caught on the underbrush and tress. It’s a concern, but Lizzie points out that pretty soon they’ll be above the treeline and this won’t be an issue any longer.
[HIKING IN WOODS]
RAY: The going is much slower than the first four miles on a graded road. Not used to the mountain terrain, it’s difficult for the group to judge how far they’ve gone. But one thing that’s clear is that the light is fading. And clouds are moving in. Visibility is dropping.
JEFF: The group are climbing over boulders and rocks, making their way up higher and higher. They’re no longer thinking about the summit, only about the shelter in the form of a hotel.
RAY: (INTERRUPTING) Look! Up ahead! I think that’s the top!
JEFF: Yes, that does look like it. Not far now. They keep climbing, walking where they can, lifting themselves up higher and higher. The winds are steady, but now there’s a mist that’s slowly soaking their skin and clothes.
RAY: More time passes, more light fades, and more clouds surround them.
[WIND BUILDING UP]
RAY: And the wind is getting stronger.
JEFF: Just when the group reaches what they thought was the summit, they see what looks like another mountain top far above them. Almost like a whole other mountain. It’s so difficult to see. But they press on. There’s no other choice at this point.
RAY: It’s now dark. The wind is fierce. The cold is biting. George tells the girls to huddle close together.
[ROCK STACK ON ROCK]
RAY: He grabs for any nearby rocks and begins building a crude stone wall around the girls to try and protect them from the storm. He considers trying to race for the top himself to get help, but he has no idea how he could find them again if he ventures too far.
JEFF: George swings his own arms around to try to keep circulation in his hands. He swings his arms, stacks another rock or two, then checks on the shivering girls.
[ROCK STACK ON ROCK]
[WIND]
JEFF: For hours this continues in almost total darkness.
[WIND]
RAY: It’s about 10 PM. George reaches for Lizzie’s hand to check on her. It’s cold. Lifeless. He tries to shake her awake, but Lizzie is dead. Still worried about his daughter’s life and his own, George shelters himself, his daughter, and holds on to Lizzie’s body through the night.
[LONG SLOW FADE OF THE WIND]
JEFF: It’s the earliest light when George and Lucy rise up to try and see where they are. They turn their heads and spot the summit hotel no more than a hundred yards or so ahead of them. They were so close.
RAY: The father and daughter quickly arrive at the hotel door.
[POUNDING ON THE DOOR]
RAY: They come inside the warmth and tell the innkeepers that Lizzie’s body is just down the hill.
JEFF: Four hotel staff members race down the hill and carry Lizzie back to the building. They place her in a warm bath trying for hope beyond hope. But it’s too late. Lizzie is gone.
RAY: Lizzie Bourne has the distinction of being the first documented woman to die on Mt. Washington. A sign commemorating where she died was placed there soon after. And that brings us back to today.
[TRANSITION]
JEFF: Lizzie Bourne was the first woman to die on Mt. Washington, but she would not be the last. As we said early, 161 have perished on this mountain. Backpack.com has named Mt. Washington one of America’s tope 10 most dangerous hikes.
RAY: The carriage road which would later become the auto road was finished on Mt. Washington in 1861. And the cog railway went into service July 3rd, 1869. The cog passes very close to Lizzie Bourne’s memorial marker right near the top. Lizzie Bourne was buried at Hope Cemetery in Kennebunk, Maine.
JEFF: When you see how close the marker is to the summit today, you realize that had they kept moving in the right direction for maybe another 15 minutes or so, they would have made it to shelter and Lizzie would have lived.
RAY: The sign has been replaced over the years, but the words are the same. On a different side of the marker reads a poem: “Here in the twilight cold & gray lifeless and beautiful she lay / And from the sky serene and far, a voice fell like a shooting star / EXCELSIOR”
RAY: Today the summit building is a cafeteria where people can eat hot meals. You can look out the window and see how close Lizzie’s marker is to here. She died from a weak heart but also hypothermia. If they had the right gear or clothing, they also may have survived the night.
JEFF: Here’s a point almost no one makes. If this was like most mountains, meaning there’s no summit building at all, I bet they would have made it too, because they would have made a different decision much earlier whether to go for the top or not. I once got the chance to interview Mark Inglis. He’s the only mountaineer to ever climb Mt. Everest without legs.
RAY: He had no legs?!
JEFF: He lost them both below the knee many years earlier on another mountain. So he climbed Everest with artificial limbs. Anyway, I remember him telling me that when you climb a mountain you need to remember that the summit is the halfway point. If you use all of your resources and energy to make it to the top but can’t get back down, then your climb doesn’t count. I’ll take that one step further. Whenever you climb a mountain, you need to realize the journey isn’t over until you make it back home. Lizzie Bourne never finished Mt. Washington. This marker is a reminder to all of us who venture up here to be careful… or else.
[OUTTRO]
RAY: Please do be careful. We need each and every one of you in our community with us. And that takes us to After the Legend where we explore this week’s legend a little deeper and sometimes veer off course.
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If you’d like to see some pictures of Mt. Washington and Lizzie Bourne’s marker, click on the link in our episode description or go to our Web site and click on Episode 342.
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