The Lost Ski Area of Marlborough: Jericho Hill

MARLBOROUGH, MA — Founded in 1939 by E. Frank Carbone and Norman LeDuc in 1939, Jericho Hill was considered a classic, community ski area in Marlborough. It was, in fact, one of the first areas to make its own snow.

It included a ski lodge, and in the early days outhouses that skiers would have to walk to should they feel the need. The Jericho Hill ski area operated until 1996.

According to information submitted to the New England Lost Ski Areas Project by several who remember skiing Jericho, it had three main slopes and two trails. A T-bar was added around 1990, posted Steve Bongiorno.

Jericho was considered "cutting edge as the 1950-51 season approached," says a history of Jericho on New England Ski History."The main slope and rope tow were illuminated with 20,000 watts for night skiing. In addition, that December the ski club dug a reservoir and rolled out a 20 nozzle snowmaking operation."

After the Jericho Ski Club dissolved in the fall of 1986, the city acquired the ski area, with the Parks and Recreation Department managing it. Marlborough hoped to lease or ski the area, writes New England Ski History, but by the fall of 1998, it closed.

"Although I did not learn to ski at Jericho, it was a great place to make some turns on a sunny Saturday afternoon with my dad," wrote Aaron Kellogg. "When we skied there during the early-1990s, lift tickets went for five bucks for the day. I’ll never forget skiing there with my sister and her friend around 1993 during a blizzard that dumped 30 inches of snow on Eastern Massachusetts. We were the only ones there and did half-way runs on the rope tow until the manager told us we had to go home. That rope tow was a tough ride for a 10-year-old especially at the top. Jericho may not look like much in these pictures, but it was always a great place to head out to with dad."

Do you remember this ski area? Did you go skiing there? Share your memories with us in the comments section.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons