Squam Lake Maps by Brad Washburn

Brad Washburn's Squam Lake Chart Work Plans from the 1960's

(from the archives at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center)

Brad Washburn produced five editions of his Squam Lake Chart. The first, in 1936, was simply a tracing of a mosaic of vertical aerial photos taken in 1935 from an airplane flying at 10,000 feet. His 1948, 1954, and 1961 editions included refinements and a modest amount of new information. Later in the 1960's, while keeping up with his many responsibilities as Director of the Boston Museum of Science, he spent a tremendous amount of time surveying Squam Lake and the surrounding area in detail, building an extensive and extremely accurate three-dimensional database. He used this new information for the major upgrade (1968) to the Squam Lake Chart, and eventually for his map of the Squam Range in 1973.

In addition to huge improvements in accuracy, Brad's 1968 edition of the lake chart featured contour lines on the land surrounding the lake and a 300-foot grid of depth soundings, 99% of which were taken in the winter by drilling holes in the ice. For this Herculean task of drilling over 3,000 holes and taking soundings, Brad was assisted by members of his family and local volunteers including Peter Hodges, Malcolm “Tink” Taylor, Lloyd Perkins, Dave Little, Elbeon Ricker, Leslie Ricker, and Dick Hodges.

More Information - click here for explanation of map details.

The 11 original Squam Lake Chart work plans cataloged here were the result of the detailed surveying during the 1960's (by Brad and others) described above. In the work plans' black-and-white medium, water is distinguished from the land areas mainly by the 300-foot grid of depth soundings throughout the lake. Other points of interest and clarification are as follows:

1 The shoreline is shown as a dark, solid line. The nearby dotted line marks where the lake is three feet deep at the mean low water level of 560 feet above sea level. (Mean high water level is 562.5 feet.) The other solid lines further from shore or around shoals indicate the approximate boundaries of shallows or shoal areas.
2 The many numbers along the shoreline are the distances to that shoreline from one of the grid points along one of the north-south or east-west grid lines.
3 Brad drafted 11 work plans to cover Big Squam, Little Squam, and White Oak Pond. He donated these and other materials related to the creation of his two local maps to Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in the 1980's. Of the original 11 work plans, only Map 5 (Dog Cove area) is missing. That area is covered by Map 12, which is in a format closer to the finished Chart, but lacks some of the hand drawn detail of the other ten.
4 Orientation of the work plans is true north (except for Map 11). Red text has been added to identify points of reference.
5 The “R” next to a depth sounding designates a rocky bottom.
6 The work plans are in PDF format; they are hard to see at the small scale when opened, but details show up very well when zoomed in.

It is my hope that lovers of maps, property owners around the lake, students of history, and people interested in the extraordinary life of Brad Washburn will enjoy viewing these original work plans. For me, access to these maps provides a window into his drive and perfectionism.

Brad gave many, many talks and slide shows over the years about his experiences in Alaska and the European Alps doing mountaineering, surveying, mapmaking, and photography. He loved to include a quote from Aristotle: “Each one of us adds a little to our understanding of nature, and from all the facts assembled arises a certain grandeur.”

Tom Stepp
Holderness, NH
Summer 2014

Map Key

Map 1

Little Squam Lake

Map 2

Cotton Cove to Perch Island

Map 3

White Oak Pond

Map 4

Centered on Moon and Bowman Islands

Map 6

High Haith, Sturtevant Bay, Bean Cove

Map 7

Merrill Island North to Bennett Cove East to 5-Finger Point

Map 8

Hoag Island to Squaw Cove

Map 9

Yard Islands to Hoag Island

Map 10

Sandwich Bay

Map 11

Long Island Shoreline Detail

Map 12

Long Island Shoreline Detail

Photos

Peter Hodges and Tink Taylor--Hauling gear for taking soundings through the ice--1963&w=400

Tink Taylor--measuring grid points for soundings

View more images on Flickr

Mark Leonard, 10/11/24
As a NH Guide, I visited the Science Center this week with a tour group from Pennsylvania. We enjoyed a talk by Victoria, one of the Center's Naturalists, on three of the animals in their care. My group was genuinely excited to learn so many interesting facts and Victoria kept everyone's attention, especially when she introduced us to Skunk 24. Not to be out done, we all enjoyed the presentation on the Blandings turtle and the Barred Owl. All positive comments from my group as we left the Center that day. Great program!
Colton, 05/03/22
At only $22 for an adult, this place was incredible for its modest size. The staff was very quick to service and friendly. The park and the restrooms all appeared to be very clean as well. I will say it is very heavily directed at children for a learning experience. But I absolutely love that honestly. If you are in to nature and conservation then you know that teaching the children about these wonderful animals and ecosystems is the key to sustaining them for generations to come. The exhibits were very straightforward and the educational aspects were presented in fun ways ranging from buttons to highlight points of interest, buttons to play the different sounds of similar animals, and many sliding/rotating levers to reveal fun facts and differences between photos/items on display. Loved everything about this place, and next time I'm in New Hampshire, I will definitely be returning!
Terra Fletcher, 10/30/21
Loved this place when I was seven and love it still. It's only gotten better, while keeping a lot of the charming natural interactive pieces that I remember. Even now I had a lot of TIL moments. We went when it was raining so it was pretty quiet, and all of the animal enclosures have covered areas so we didn't even get too wet. Animals looked healthy and calm as well.
Ashley Bailey Guelfi, 06/04/19
This place is beautiful. Wonderful place to bring your kids to learn about NH wildlife. The trail is stroller friendly and not too long. All the animal habitats are well kept and lots of facts and information about the animals along the trail. There is also a playground for the kids to play on and picnic tables to eat at. They dont offer food here but easy to pack a lunch. We will definitely be back!
justin whitaker, 10/14/22
Had a wonderful time, self guided with interactive educational displays. Lots to do and all really neat exhibits, they really have utilized simple technology throughout the entire park to really make it interactive without being overly complicated or heavily dependent upon software. Loved it highly recommended for children.