The Abenaki people called the river Siwooganock, which means "place of the burnt pine trees".[4] The first name given to the river by English settlers was "Powers River" in honor of Captain Peter Powers (1707-1757), who in 1754 became the first to explore this area.[5] The present name comes from an early hunter and trapper named Israel Glines, whose camp was situated near the outlet of the river. The Johns River, in the nearby town of Whitefield, is named for Israel's brother John.
Description
The Israel River rises near the foot of Mount Adams, at the juncture of Castle Brook and Cascade Brook. With its numerous tributaries, the river drains the northwestern slopes of Mount Adams and Mt. Jefferson in the Presidential Range, the northern slopes of the Dartmouth Range, and the southern slopes of the Pliny Range. The larger tributaries include the South Branch, The Mystic, Castle Brook, Cascade Brook, Stag Hollow Brook, Priscilla Brook (also called Alder Brook), Red Brook, Mill Brook, Garland Brook, and Otter Brook.
^Museum of Science, Boston (Rev. 6/98). Mount Washington and the Heart of the Presidential Range (Map, 3d Ed). Boston: Globe Pequot Press, Inc. ISBN0-910146-96-9
Julyan, Robert and Mary (1993). Place Names of the White Mountains (revised ed.). Hanover: University Press of New Hampshire. p. 77. ISBN0-87451-638-2.
USDA Forest Service (1993). White Mountain National Forest (Map).