The Conway area has long held an important place in the history of New Hampshire. The earliest settlers found land both fertile and beautiful, and lived a basic existence amidst the hills and dales of the Mount Washington Valley. The outstanding natural beauty of the Conway area also captured the hearts and minds of the creative community, and when artists of the White Mountain School began to share their paintings of the breathtaking panoramas around them, a tourism industry was born that has played a great part in shaping the history of the Conways. The simplicity of this picture was broken in the late nineteenth century when the lumber and granite trades lured woodsmen and quarrymen from the vast pool of immigrants arriving from Europe. With these changes, life in and around the Conways became rich and diverse, with the subtle political interplay among the seven communities playing an important part in the vibrancy of the region.