Daniel Doan
Encyclopedia
Daniel Doan is best known for his classic hiking books, 50 Hikes in the White Mountains
and 50 More Hikes in New Hampshire
. He is also the author of two novel
s, The Crystal Years and Amos Jackman, and a memoir
, Our Last Backpack.
His North Country history, Indian Stream Republic: Settling a New England Frontier, 1785–1842, grew out of his explorations in the Pittsburg
area. Reviewing the book in the December 1997 issue of Appalachia, Gene Daniell wrote that it
Doan was born in Summit, New Jersey
, the son of Frank Carleton Doan, a Unitarian
minister. The family's summer home was in Orford, New Hampshire
, where Doan's grandmother had been born. This area had a great influence on him, nurturing his love of the woods and mountains, hiking, and fishing. After his father's death in Winchester, Massachusetts
, when Doan was fifteen, he moved with his mother to Hanover, New Hampshire
, and lived in New Hampshire for the rest of his life.
Doan graduated from the Clark Preparatory School
in Hanover in 1932 and Dartmouth College
in 1936. Doan then went into farming with his wife, Ernestine Crone, in Orford and subsequently in Belmont
. He also wrote short stories and articles. In 1939 his daughter Ruth
was born, and in 1941 his daughter Penelope. The family moved to Laconia, New Hampshire
, where Dan worked for a manufacturing company and continued writing, hiking, and fishing.
After Ernestine's death in 1982, he married Marjorie Marran and they moved to Jefferson, New Hampshire
.
In July 1993, the Dartmouth Outing Club
named a Smarts Mountain
trail in Orford the Daniel Doan Trail, "in recognition of Daniel Doan's efforts to stimulate interest and involvement in hiking and the out-of-doors". Doan died on September 24 of that year in Lancaster, New Hampshire
.
The New Hampshire Writers' Project honored him posthumously with its 1994 Lifetime Achievement Award. His papers are archived at Dartmouth College, and daughter Ruth has continued to compile later editions of the hiking guidebooks under the original titles.
Doan's papers are held at Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth College.
White Mountains (New Hampshire)
The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England...
and 50 More Hikes in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. He is also the author of two novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s, The Crystal Years and Amos Jackman, and a memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
, Our Last Backpack.
His North Country history, Indian Stream Republic: Settling a New England Frontier, 1785–1842, grew out of his explorations in the Pittsburg
Pittsburg, New Hampshire
Pittsburg is a town in Coos County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 869 at the 2010 census. It is the northernmost town in New Hampshire and the largest town by area in the state - and in New England as well - more than twice the size of the next largest town, Lincoln. U.S...
area. Reviewing the book in the December 1997 issue of Appalachia, Gene Daniell wrote that it
"gives an excellent account of the history of the Indian Stream Republic, and it also provides an evocative picture of the life of the settlements, a life hard but curiously satisfying to those who had the will and the luck to make good. The reader will gain a great deal of insight into the lives of the people who settled the frontier regions of New England, most of whom are memorialized only by a weathered stone in a cemetery near a church or along a back road. In a real sense, this book is their living memorial."
Doan was born in Summit, New Jersey
Summit, New Jersey
Summit is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 21,457. Summit had the 16th-highest per capita income in the state as of the 2000 Census....
, the son of Frank Carleton Doan, a Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
minister. The family's summer home was in Orford, New Hampshire
Orford, New Hampshire
Orford is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,237 at the 2010 census. The Appalachian Trail crosses in the east.-History:...
, where Doan's grandmother had been born. This area had a great influence on him, nurturing his love of the woods and mountains, hiking, and fishing. After his father's death in Winchester, Massachusetts
Winchester, Massachusetts
Winchester is a town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, eight miles north of Boston. With its agricultural roots having mostly disappeared, it is now an affluent suburb...
, when Doan was fifteen, he moved with his mother to Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
, and lived in New Hampshire for the rest of his life.
Doan graduated from the Clark Preparatory School
Clark Preparatory School
Clark Preparatory School was a boys-only independent boarding school located in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. It was founded in 1919 by Dr. Clifford Pease Clark, and its headmaster was Dr. Frank Millett Morgan, both of whom were former members of the faculty of nearby Dartmouth College...
in Hanover in 1932 and Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in 1936. Doan then went into farming with his wife, Ernestine Crone, in Orford and subsequently in Belmont
Belmont, New Hampshire
Belmont is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,356 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 1,301 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S...
. He also wrote short stories and articles. In 1939 his daughter Ruth
Ruth Doan MacDougall
Ruth Doan MacDougall, born near Laconia, New Hampshire, is an American author. She is the daughter of hiking writer Daniel Doan.-Novels:*The Lilting House *The Cost of Living *One Minus One...
was born, and in 1941 his daughter Penelope. The family moved to Laconia, New Hampshire
Laconia, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,411 people, 6,724 households, and 4,168 families residing in the city. The population density was 809.3 people per square mile . There were 8,554 housing units at an average density of 421.8 per square mile...
, where Dan worked for a manufacturing company and continued writing, hiking, and fishing.
After Ernestine's death in 1982, he married Marjorie Marran and they moved to Jefferson, New Hampshire
Jefferson, New Hampshire
Jefferson is a town in Coos County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,107 at the 2010 census. It is home to parts of the White Mountain National Forest in the south and northeast and to two theme parks: Santa's Village and...
.
In July 1993, the Dartmouth Outing Club
Dartmouth Outing Club
The Dartmouth Outing Club is the oldest and largest collegiate outing club in the United States. Proposed in 1909 by Dartmouth College student Fred Harris to "stimulate interest in out-of-door winter sports", the club soon grew to encompass the College's year-round outdoor recreation and has had...
named a Smarts Mountain
Smarts Mountain
Smarts Mountain is a mountain located in Grafton County, New Hampshire. Smarts is flanked to the north by Mount Cube, at , and to the southwest by Holts Ledge, at . Although of only moderate elevation, Smarts is separated from the southwestern White Mountains by Oliverian Notch, a fairly low pass...
trail in Orford the Daniel Doan Trail, "in recognition of Daniel Doan's efforts to stimulate interest and involvement in hiking and the out-of-doors". Doan died on September 24 of that year in Lancaster, New Hampshire
Lancaster, New Hampshire
Lancaster is a town in Coos County, New Hampshire, USA, on the Connecticut River named after Lancaster, England. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 3,507, the second largest in the county after Berlin. It is the county seat of Coos County and gateway to the Great North Woods Region...
.
The New Hampshire Writers' Project honored him posthumously with its 1994 Lifetime Achievement Award. His papers are archived at Dartmouth College, and daughter Ruth has continued to compile later editions of the hiking guidebooks under the original titles.
Doan's papers are held at Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth College.