Built by James Everell Henry, the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad (EB&L) is considered to be the grandest and largest logging railroad operation ever built in New England. In 1892, the mountain town of Lincoln, New Hampshire, was transformed from a struggling wilderness enclave to a thriving mill town when Henry moved his logging operation from Zealand. He built houses, a company store, sawmills, and a railroad into the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River watershed to harvest virgin spruce. Despite the departure of the last EB&L log train from Lincoln Woods by 1948, the industry's cut-and-run practices forever changed the future of land conservation in the region, prompting legislation like the Weeks Act of 1911 and the Wilderness Act of 1964. Today, nearly every trail in the Pemigewasset Wilderness follows or utilizes portions of the old EB&L Railroad bed.

Of the several entrances to the White Mountains, none is more majestic than the Franconia Gateway. The gateway begins in the valley of the Pemigewasset River and reaches through broad meadows, between jagged mountains, alongside quiet pools and cascades of sparkling water, into the wilderness of Franconia Notch and beyond. Altogether, this region contains more historical secrets and hidden treasures than any other part of the White Mountains. The Franconia Gateway opens the way from a new perspective. With nearly one hundred fifty breathtaking views and fascinating stories, this history and guide leads from lore of the Native Americans, explorers, and early entrepreneurs to the logging boom years and the subsequent preservation era on to the days of the artists and poets and, ultimately, the tourists. The journey progresses through the communities of Plymouth, Campton, Thornton, Waterville Valley, Woodstock, and Franconia, and includes all the wonder and mystery of sites such as the Lost River, the Flume, and the Old Man of the Mountain.