BEAR BROOK STATE PARK BUILDING DEMOLITION

September 21, 2022

On Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at 4:00 pm the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and Division of Parks and Recreation will hold a public information session at the Warehouse at 3 DRED Circle off Depot Road in Allenstown, NH to discuss a proposal to demolish the Nature Center Building and 12 sleeping cabins at Spruce Pond Camp. The buildings have not been used in decades, have fallen into disrepair, and have reached the point of being rendered obsolete.

Bear Brook State Park was originally developed as a Recreation Demonstration Area by theIMG_0659.JPG National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) in the late 1930’s. The facilities were transferred to the State of New Hampshire in the 1940’s and are managed for public recreation by the Division of Parks and Recreation.

Cabin in the woods

The Nature Center building, as it is known now, had been an administration building for the CCCs and was later repurposed as the park nature center operated by the Audubon Society until the mid-1980’s when programming was suspended.

Spruce Bond Camp Cabin

Pond Camp is one of two youth camping areas constructed by the CCCs. This camp has been the under agreement with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) NH Parks AmeriCorps program since 1995. This program provides contracted conservation and education services to State Parks, federal agencies, municipalities, schools, and non-profit organizations. The cabins that are proposed to be demolished do not have an operational use.

The Division of Parks and Recreation and Division of Historical Resources have been in consultation about the removal of these buildings contained in the National Register District and have come to agreement on declaring these facilities as obsolete.

For more information about the management of Bear Brook State Park and it’s cultural resources click HERE to view the “Bear Brook State Park Management Plan.”

For more information about this project, email Matt Flanders or call 603-271-3238.