The Great Snow of 1717 (This name was given to four snowstorms that occurred from February 27-March 7, 1717, of which two were major and two were relatively light). In some parts of New England, snow cover reached five feet in the woods.
Source of image: David Ludlum, The Country Journal New England Weather Book, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976, pp.52-53.
March 7, 1717 diary entry of Rev. Cotton Mather: "Never such a Snow, in the Memory of Man! And so much falling this Day, as well as fallen two Dayes ago, that very many, of our Assemblies had no Sacrifices."
Source: Diary of Cotton Mather (Volume II, 1709-1724), New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1957, p.506.
Illustration of the Great Snow of 1717
Source: John W. Barber, Historical Scenes in the United States, New Haven: Monson and Co., 1827, p.30.
