by Francis McGovern
A Visit to The Gardener’s Cottage at the Rocks
Some articles take a subject, tell a story and then leave the reader with some meaning. When it comes to mysteries, something must be solved and that may give meaning in and of itself. This is an article about understanding a system of meaning, a system of solving mysteries, in a nutshell.
We all find meaning in different things, and have our own systems. Some of us read a book to escape the monotony or the boredom of everyday life, we want to know what happens next yet we don’t want it to end. We want to be told a good story and we want to understand plot and character and how they intersect and where they’ll take us. We think we know, but we never do until we read on. We just have to keep going to find out. Sometimes we figure out the mystery, sometimes we don’t.
For me, my system is to learn more about different writers and what they did, so I can learn how they were inspired and maybe capture that for readers. What did they think and why?
Many of the articles that I’ve written follow that sort of pattern of I read, I went, and now I’m different in some way. And thinking about that through a detective’s eyes might be helpful to make a better article or a better system. Why am I reading, why am I going? What am I looking for ? If all of the pieces are in place then I have something to solve and then to reveal.
One thing I do look for is to take a new angle on a story. Something that I found out that I just didn’t know. Maybe it’s a hook, maybe a why, it’s a start and often it is something that comes to me almost as if it were a gift that was meant for me.
This is how it was when I found myself on Christmas Lane at the Rocks Estate, (The Gardener’s Cottage is a nice three Bedroom home that you can stay at) and it is on the land that holds the northern headquarters for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, a statewide land conservation organization also known as the Forest Society. The Rocks encompasses 1,400 acres and includes sustainably managed forestland, a Christmas tree farm, and the New Hampshire Maple Experience. Simple on the outside but lovingly restored and updated once you step inside. Clean, welcoming and cozy. A perfect place to solve the mystery of Francis Glessner Lee.
Being from New England, (from Massachusetts) I am very partial to New Hampshire. It is a place for all seasons.
The property is part of the Bretton Woods Vacation network. If you are looking for a property that is above the average Airbnb and has something special then you should take a look at the Gardener’s Cottage at the Rocks.
The Rocks Estate was built by the Glessner family. The family was from Chicago and Jacob Glessner was one of the founders of International Harvester. The Glessner family would come to New Hampshire to spend summers. The original house was built high on a hill. And on a clear day from the cottage you have a very nice view of the mountains.
Francis Glessner Lee grew up on the property during those summers and eventually would settle there. The actual estate (the home the family lived and well as Frances’ home she built later) has long been taken down. What remains here is the Gardener’s cottage and a small house she would play in (Fanny’s House) and a modern visitor center.
Today at the visitor center you can learn about modern forestry practices and how the trees on the farm are planted by students and then in a few years they get to cut down one that has grown up with them. In order to protect the land it was stipulated that a crop must be grown and the property is now a working Christmas Tree farm that also produces excellent maple syrup (that is available in the gift shop.)
There are many trails and dogs are welcome there, you can experience a little nature and solitude. The visitor center has been built up from the original working barn for the property. The cottage presents a great setting for writing. The view of the mountains is waiting just outside.
So what’s here besides some great things to do and see? What is the mystery of the Rocks?
Francis Glessner Lee would grow up to be one of the world’s leading forensic scientists and was known as the mother of forensic science. (She was the first honorary female police captain.) She had a system and she built dioramas that would create a framework to explore and solve a murder. She said you had to solve things in a nutshell and created a system of her own to do it. These dioramas / studies were known as The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.
From Wikipedia
The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death are a series of twenty intricately designed dollhouse-style dioramas created by Frances Glessner Lee (1878–1962), a pioneer in forensic science.[1][2] Glessner Lee used her inheritance to establish a department of legal medicine at Harvard Medical School in 1936, and donated the first of the Nutshell Studies in 1946[3] for use in lectures on the subject of crime scene investigation. In 1966, the department was dissolved, and the dioramas went to the Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. where they are on permanent loan and still used for forensic seminars.[4][5]
She was looking to implement a system for medical examiners to replace coroners. So that the people actually would use medical science to solve crimes. She was not trying to have investigators solve each mystery per se but her goal was to give the police a set of tools to apply evidence so that they could solve crimes “in a nutshell.”
At the visitor’s center you can learn more about her life and see two of the actual Nutshell Dioramas.
The dioramas are very detailed. This is relevant today when it comes to evidence gathering. And solving crimes. If you are into True Crime then the greater the mystery the greater the appeal. Everyone wants to know who done it. From Sherlock Holmes to Columbo and from CSI to Karen Read. We have all learned about the tools that investigators use to gather evidence to solve the mystery.
Her interest was piqued through a friend that was a medical examiner, he related how unfortunate it was that basically everywhere used a coroner system and coroners did not have to have any medical knowledge at all. They just stamped and signed the death certificate with what the police told them. And at the time they were very much subject to bribery and influence and if they were told that person killed themselves, then they just wrote suicide vs what the body actually looked liked, regardless of what the medical evidence showed.
She learned that medical examiners on the other hand used the evidence they found from the body and used the medical knowledge that a doctor possesses to solve the mystery. Frances wanted a way to teach police officers how to work with this system because so often when the police arrived they would bungle the evidence and they would be moving the bodies before anyone took photos, they would be touching the blood or cleaning it up because that’s what they thought there was supposed to do or they wouldn’t notice relevant forensic evidence.
We can see this still exists today in the Boston area with Karen Reed, so Frances was clearly ahead of her time and wanted to do classes to teach police officers what to do and to also promote medical examiners with medical knowledge to be used kind of alongside the investigation.
The dioramas served this purpose, for example that if you’re having a seminar, you cannot guarantee that there’s a crime that you can all go investigate and teaching students at a crime scene could cause issues. With the diorama, the crime could be a snapshot in time and if you were a police officer and you arrived on the scene at this moment in time here’s what you could see and possibly divine from it and how would you go about approaching the situation. In total there were 20 dioramas built on 1-inch to 1 foot (1:12) scale.
The dioramas were not supposed to be able to solved in the moment, she would only give students about an hour to study them but then they could study scene as much as they wanted and then they would report back here’s what I learned and here’s how I would move forward and she would give them critique on their approach.
She did those seminars twice a year and they were elite and people were invited to come to the seminar and it was only a very small group of people, but they were very intense. Some states and cities did switch over to medical examiners over coroners but there’s still a lot of states even now that still use the coroner system.
Francis Glessner Lee called them the Nutshell Studies because the purpose of a forensic investigation is said to be to “convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth in a nutshell.”
What better system could there be than one for finding the truth. For whatever mystery you are looking to solve, The Rocks awaits and it is a great place to visit if you have a little Nancy Drew or Hardy boy on your hands. The cottage / visitor’s center is a great building to have a small gathering like a book club getaway, murder mystery dinner, family gathering or to just a place to spend a week for a vacation in the White Mountains. We visited in the spring but could imagine the joy of being there in summer and or over the holidays or ski season.
Also just down the street is Bethlehem where we stopped at the Reklis Brewery for an excellent sweet potato burger with whipped feta. Just a little further about 10 minutes from the Rocks is the town of Littleton with lots of gift shops and places to stop and grab a bite or a drink. Take a stroll along the river and stop in a vintage store, or at the League of NH Craftsmen Littleton Gallery or stop at the world’s longest candy counter, Chutters. Don’t miss the “Pollyanna Store” and Statue, (GoLittleton Glad Shop.) According to a good friend of mine it is good luck to touch her foot! Don’t forget Polly’s Pancake Parlor which is only about 5 minutes away.
Special thank you to Lauren Thomas, Administrative Assistant, The Rocks and Sarah for guiding me around Littleton! And to Kathy Bennett Marketing for setting up the trip.
The Rocks is made available through Bretton Woods Vacations. To book please visit https://www.brettonwoodsvacations.com/rocks/ The Rocks sleeps 9 guests, 3 Bedrooms, 1.5 baths and is pet friendly.
Bretton Woods Vacations
Bretton Woods Vacations stands out as an exceptional choice for your next White Mountains vacation. As a family‑owned, fully licensed real estate agency, the company combines top‑notch customer service with high standards of housekeeping and maintenance to ensure a seamless stay. With over 125 thoughtfully selected rental homes—ranging from cozy slope‑side townhomes to secluded cabins—you’ll enjoy keyless entry, fully equipped kitchens, laundry, and the comfort of home without sacrificing convenience. They enhance your visit with exclusive extras like discounts on Cog Railway tickets, access to Mountain View Grand Resort’s pool and gym, and an on‑site reward‑points program—all while offering “personal, top‑notch service” at every step. Whether you’re drawn to ski‑in perfection or a peaceful family hideaway, Bretton Woods Vacations delivers an unforgettable, locally immersive experience.
Francis McGovern is the co-founder and founding editor and publisher at Literary Traveler. He has run the site for over 27 years. He was at Walking Magazine and then worked at the search engine Lycos.com where he served as a product manager for their suite of personalization products including My Fidelity and My Lycos.
Francis has also run a search engine consulting practice as well as serve as Vice President of Operations for the reviewed.com network. He has helped to lead and develop many literary tours and cruises and loves to discuss books and ideas with a group of travelers as they discover new places.
