This scenic highway through the White Mountain National Forest was built through the combined efforts of the New Hampshire Department of Public Works and Highways, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads, and the U.S. Forest Service, and it opened between Conway and Lincoln in 1959, making the Swift and the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River watersheds more accessible for public use. Kancamagus, known as the Fearless One and the grandson of Passaconaway, succeeded his uncle Wonalancet about 1684 as the third and final Sagamon of the Penacook Confederacy. He tried to maintain peace between Indians and whites, but harassment from the English aggravated him until war broke out and caused much bloodshed. After 1691, the confederacy's tribes became scattered, and Kancamagus and his followers moved either to northern New Hampshire or into Canada.
