Thoreau Spring on Mt Katahdin

 Thoreau Spring, found on Mt Katahdin, is a significant spot on the 2,000 mile AT.

Here is a decayed image from 1974 with Katahdin the the back about a mile away.

and one after using GIMP

Gotta' work on the sky next.  But that might take a while since I need to learn the software.

Now for the topo history of the Spring (and yes, Mt. Katahdin) see the USGS. The first is 1927:

Next we see 1930 printed in 1939:

And then 1949 printed in 1967:

And the same year print in Color:

And the most recent topo from 2021 (and no Abol Trail?):

So the spring changed names in the1930s

For a history see this paper.

Whitcomb, Howard R. (2015) "What Happened to the Thoreau Spring Plaque? The Story of a Maine Landmark's Two Names," Appalachia: Vol. 66 : No. 2 , Article 6. Available at: https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/appalachia/vol66/iss2/6

From another source we see the history:

"Thoreau Spring Plaque

In 1846, Henry David Thoreau ascended from a nearby campsite on the West Branch of the Penobscot toward what is now known as Baxter Peak. Thoreau’s subsequent writings about his experience on Katahdin and in the Maine Woods had a great and lasting effect on people’s view of the region."

" The site of the spring at the junction of the Abol and Hunt Trails was christened “Governor’s Spring” in 1925 and demarcated by an engraving on a rock near the spring. "

"In 1933, Baxter completed the purchase of the first parcel of what would eventually become Baxter State Park. Baxter directed that “Governor’s Spring” be renamed “Thoreau Spring” and that a plaque be installed in a location near the spring. "

Source

another great source is here.