Originally known as Belknap Mountain Recreation Area, Gunstock Mountain Resort was built by the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal agency that provided employment and created public works projects throughout the United States during the Great Depression. Hussey Manufacturing Company of North Berwick, Maine, led hundreds of previously unemployed laborers in the development of the recreation area, which transformed the economy of the region. The resort had the first chairlift in the eastern United States. After the completion of the 60-meter ski jump, the first meet was held in February 1937.