Bellows Falls: Connecticut River Byway

The Connecticut River narrows dramatically into a rocky gorge between Bellows Falls and Walpole. Native Americans gathered seasonally at the Great Falls to harvest migrating salmon and shad. Early bridge-builders took advantage of the short span, so the community became a crossroads for early turnpikes and a hub for railroads. A transportation canal around the falls later powered the growth of major paper factories. Today, Bellows Falls is a village alive with history and culture. Its commercial downtown – and the other small towns in the region – retain the historic feel of the places they became when natural resources were harnessed.

The village of Bellows Falls is set in the town of Rockingham, VT, and is the Waypoint community for an area that includes the towns of Rockingham, Westminster, Putney, and Springfield, VT, and Charlestown and Walpole, NH. Bellows Falls recently celebrated the grand opening of its new Waypoint Visitor Center, adjacent to the Bellows Falls Canal near the train station.

The designated Byway routes in the Bellows Falls area are Route 5 in Vermont and Routes 12 and 12A in New Hampshire.

Nature & Scenery Photo by Richard Ewald
At Bellows Falls, much of the river's flow is now drawn off into a canal for power generation. But in early Spring, snowmelt swells the river to a thundering cataract in the gorge that recalls the free-falling river prior to the construction of a dam here in the late 1700s. On the New Hampshire shore, Fall Mountain rears its rocky ledges high above the gorge. On the Vermont side, the village of Bellows Falls is set out on glacial terraces.

Four tributaries join the Connecticut River in the Bellows Falls area: the Cold River, Saxtons River, Williams River, and the Black River. A dam at Bellows Falls backs up the Connecticut, creating Herrick's Cove at the mouth of the Williams River, several miles north of Bellows Falls. Herrick's Cove is a major stopover for migrating waterfowl, which also congregate at the mouth of the Black River at Springfield. For more about this important bird area, visit the Connecticut River Birding Trail. The generating station at Bellows Falls includes a small exhibit and viewing window on a fish ladder. Lucky viewers may even see a returning Atlantic salmon or American shad.

Peacemaker Cruises (603-445-2371) offers seasonal river tours. The Nature Museum at nearby Grafton offers engaging exhibits and outdoor activities. For more about Nature & Scenery on the Connecticut River Byway
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Farming
Glacial terraces and flood plains provide well-drained soils for diversified agriculture, including dairy farming, vegetable farms, orchards and specialty cheese manufacturers.

Sheep farming dominated agriculture in the river valley during much of the 19th century. Wool was processed in a variety of local factories before being shipped to mills in places like Claremont and eastern Massachusetts. Sheep farming has been revived, but now sheep are also milked to produce specialty cheeses. Award winning-sheep cheeses are made and ripened in a "cheese cave" at Vermont Shepherd, in Westminster, VT.

You can also watch award-winning cheddar cheese being made at Grafton Village Cheese Company, in nearby Grafton, VT. Boggy Meadow Farm, in Walpole, NH, makes a farmstead baby swiss cheese.

Call Stuart and John's Sugarhouse (603-399-4486) in Westmoreland, at the intersection of Routes 12 and 63, to find out when they'll be serving up pancakes with pure maple syrup.

In the Bellows Falls area you can buy many agricultural products directly from the producers:
Farmers Markets | Farm Stands and Pick Your Own
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Culture Photo by Dot Read
In the Square in Bellows Falls, public and commercial buildings are set out in a shopping district that many visitors say looks and feels like Europe. The Town Hall includes a movie theater. Art galleries and book stores enliven the commercial mix. The region enjoys a varied performing arts schedule of concerts and summer theater productions, including the Rockingham Arts and Museum Project, the Front Porch Theater Company, and the "Flying Under Radar" Concerts. The Rockingham Library and Museum offers exhibits on the railroad and papermaking history of Bellows Falls (the first place in the country where paper was made with wood pulp rather than rags!). The Great River Arts Institute brings luminaries from the literary and visual arts to teach in the Bellows Falls/Walpole area. The Spheris Gallery has opened its doors on The Square, a stop on the town's Third Friday Gallery Walk.

For more information about local activities:
Great Falls Regional Chamber of Commerce and Bellows Falls Historical Society.

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History

Bellows Falls and Springfield – where water-powered industries sprang up on the Black River – have served as the industrial and commercial centers of the region for more than two hundred years.

The first bridge anywhere across the Connecticut River in its entire 410-mile length was constructed between Walpole and Bellows Falls (1785), and the first canal company chartered in the country (1791) created a transportation canal at Bellows Falls. Early locks helped flat boats to pass around the Great Falls, carrying goods between Hartford, CT and the Northern Valley. Paper manufacturing (1869-1920s) built the town, from its downtown commercial buildings to its Victorian neighborhoods. Historical museums may be found in the library and in the Grist Mill Museum, which is open in the summer on the weekend. Victorian-era homes flavor the residential neighborhoods west of the downtown. For information about some of these sites, try this walking tour.

The Fort at No. 4, in Charlestown, NH, offers a glimpse of what life was like when the Northern Valley was a frontier in the mid-1700s, when the Fort was the northern outpost of colonial settlement. Today, the historical accounts of Indian raids and frontier bravery are brought to life through the Fort’s programs, exhibits, and re-enactments.

Historic architecture enriches the context for daily life in many towns in this area. Historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places encompass portions of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Westminster and Springfield, VT, and in Charlestown and Walpole, NH. They include picturesque village greens set out in the late 1700s, downtown commercial blocks built in the 1870s, and residential neighborhoods with a variety of architectural styles. The 1787 Rockingham Meeting House is Vermont's oldest public building and a National Historic Site. It is open daily between Memorial Day and Columbus Day Weekend.

Bellows Falls and Walpole lost their graceful suspension Arch Bridge decades ago, but several historic concrete, steel, and wooden timber frame bridges are still used every day. Among the covered bridges in Rockingham are the Victorian Bridge, the Hall Bridge over the Saxtons River, and the Bartonsville Bridge and Worrals Bridge over the Williams River. Covered bridges in nearby Langdon, NH are the McDermott Bridge over the Cold River, and the Prentiss Bridge over Great Brook.

In nearby Springfield, the Precision Valley Corvette Museum displays five generations of Corvettes along with automotive memorabilia, a 1950s Texaco station, and vintage gas pumps.

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Recreation
The dam at Bellows Falls creates calm waters to the north and flowing waters to the south. Several boat launches above and below the dam offer access to both. For maps that show the location of river access points:
Bellows Falls Pool
Westminster/Westmoreland

Mountain biking and winter-time cross-country skiing may be found in nearby at Grafton Ponds while downhill skiing and other recreational activities are plentiful at Ascutney Mountain Resort.
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Railroads Photo by Richard Ewald
Bellows Falls was a rail hub for trains running between Montreal and Boston and New York. Amtrak still stops twice a day at an historic brick 1920s train station, the second built on this site. Trains pass through a unique stone-arch tunnel that runs underneath the village's downtown square.

From an office adjacent to the train station, the Green Mountain Railroad operates the Green Mountain Flyer excursion train summer through fall.

An 1899 stone arch bridge still spans the Connecticut at Bellows Falls. It is one of the longest stone arch bridges of its kind in the country.
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Products, Lodging, Dining, Services & Local Links

call 1-877-CTBYWAY for more information

For general information:

Town of Rockingham/ Village of Bellows Falls
Great Falls Regional Chamber of Commerce
Windham Regional Marketing Organization
Monadnock Travel Council
Springfield Chamber of Commerce
Southern Windsor Regional Marketing Organization
The Byway borders the Monadnock region of Keene, NH.
More about nearby Charlestown

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Farmers Markets

Below, you'll find listings of farmers' markets in the greater Bellows Falls waypoint region, followed by individual farm stands and farms where you can pick your own farm-fresh products. For more, visit Valley Food and Farm's searchable site.

VERMONT

Springfield Farmers’ Market
Main Street, downtown Springfield, VT. Wednesdays, June 14-September 27, 3:00-6:00 PM, Susan Dunning, 802-885-5409

NEW HAMPSHIRE

The Farmers' Market in Charlestown
St. Luke's Church,Main St., Charlestown, NH, Wednesdays, June - mid-October 2pm-6pm. Bedding flowers, fresh vegetables, eggs, maple syrup, honey, goats milk soap, baked goods, berries, apples, wood products, fresh and dried herbs, jams, jellies and beef jerky. Rain or shine, 603-826-7754. E-mail: clarkns@cyberportal.net

Keene Farmers' Market
Commercial parking lot off of Gilbo Ave., Keene, NH. Tuesdays & Saturdays, May-October, 9am-2pm. Fruits, vegetables, herbs, plants, flowers, syrup, honey and baked goods. Rain or shine, 603-835-6722.

Farmstands & Pick Your Own

VERMONT

Glen Finert Farm
Ruth Harvie
1326 Flamstead Road, Chester, VT 05143
May - October
802-875-2160
Lettuce, organic vegetables, PYO

Green Mountain Orchards
The Darrows
West Hill Road, Putney, VT 05346
Mid-July thru Mid-October
802-387-5851
Blueberries, apples, farm stand, PYO

Harlow’s Sugar House
Donald W. Harlow
563 Bellows Falls Road, Putney, VT 05346
(3 mi north of Putney Village on Route 5)
March 1 - December 31
802-387-5852
Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, apples, farm stand, PYO

Barnes Farm
Richard E. Barnes
1 Hartley Hill Road, Saxtons River, VT 05154
May 20 - end of season
802-869-2312
Strawberries, vegetables, farm stand

Kibbe’s Vermountain Farm
Christopher Kibbe
Off Rte 121, 2 mi west of village
Saxtons River, VT 05154
July - August
802-869-2892
Blueberries, PYO

Wellwood Orchards
Roy Mark
529 Wellwood Orchard Road, Springfield, VT 05156
(Take Valley St., center Springfield, about 3 mi., left after Country Club)
strawberries, farm stand, PYO

Harlows Organic Farm Stand
Harlow Brothers – Dan, Tom and Paul
Westminster Station, VT 05159
3/4 mile north on Route 5, off Exit 5 on 91
Mid-June to Mid-July
802-263-5200
Organic produce, our own jams, jellies & pickles. Bedding plants, perennials, cut flowers, VT Cheese and maple syrup. Christmas tree and hand made wreaths. Plus a Café.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Blueberry Acres
Dick/Shirley Elsesser
Derry Hill Rd., Acworth, NH 03601
8am-8pm
603-835-2259
Fax: 603-835-6382
E-mail: blueberries@top.monad.net
Blueberries

The Apple Place
Roger Bienvenu
781 Old Walpole Rd., Surry, NH 03431
10am-6pm, daily, August 25-October 25
603-352-3976
Apples: Paula Red, Macintosh, Cortland & Macoun

Abanaki Springs Farm
James Johnson
10 Abanaki Lane, Walpole, NH 03608
9am-5pm, daily, May 1-November 1
603-445-2309
Salad greens, cooking greens, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn, winter squash, pumpkins & soy beans

Farmstead Acres
Marshall & Pati Patmos
143 London Rd., Westmoreland, NH 03467
9am-4pm, Friday-Sunday, Thanksgiving weekend-Christmas
603-352-8730
E-mail: patmos@cheshire.net
Cut-your-own Christmas trees: balsam fir, white spruce, scotch & white pine; wreaths, roping, greens, crafts & decorations

High Hopes Orchard
Joanne/Bruce Smith
582 Glebe Rd., Westmoreland, NH 03467
9am-6pm, daily, July-Christmas
603-399-4305
Fax: 399-4305
E-mail: highhopesorchard@monad.net
Retail & PYO raspberries, blueberries, apples & pumpkins;
Retail-peaches; gift shop; ice cream & bakery
Special Events: September-October, Farm Adventures, Enchanted Farm, Spooky Pumpkin Patch Ride, family entertainment; make your own scarecrow

Historic Markers

Bellows Falls Waypoint - WP2

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Charlestown, NH – FORT AT NO. 4
In 1744 the settlers at No. 4 (now Charlestown) built a great log fort enclosing many of the town's dwellings. The fort, northernmost in the Connecticut Valley, was besieged in 1747 by a large force of French and Indians who were beaten off by the 31-man garrison in a 3-day battle. The fort was never again attacked.
Located on the west side of NH 12, midway between the business and residential sections of Charlestown.

Charlestown, NH – GENERAL JOHN STARK'S EXPEDMON TO BENNINGTON, AUGUST 1777
To impede a British invasion from Canada into eastern New York, the New Hampshire legislature, on July 19, 1777, commissioned John Stark of Derryfield to recruit and lead a force of 1500 New Hampshire militiamen. At Charlestown's Fort No. 4, forces were assembled with food, medical supplies and military stores. On August 3, they marched west and, in the famed Battle of Bennington on August 16, they defeated the combined British-German forces, thereby achieving a major turning point of the war.
Located on the west side of NH 12, about 75 feet north of the marker titled "Fort at No. 4."

Chesterfield, NH – CHIEF JUSTICE HARLAN FISKE STONE
Born October 11, 1872, in a modest cottage 1.7 miles west of here on Horseshoe Road. Stone graduated from Amherst College and Columbia Law School, returning to the latter as Dean, 1910-1924. Attorney General of the United States in President Coolidge's Cabinet, he was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court in 1924, and Chief Justice in 1941, serving until his death April 22, 1946. A teacher, lawyer, judge and judicial craftsman of the highest order, he held the affection and respect of the lawyers of the nation.
Located on NH 63, at its intersection with the Old Chesterfield Road in the village of Chesterfield.

Keene, NH – HAMPSHIRE POTTERY
About 150 feet north of here stood the famous Hampshire Pottery Works, founded by James Scolly Taft for the manufacture of earthenware. In 1878 Majolica ware was a major product, followed in 1883 by the addition of useful and decorative art objects and souvenir pieces. With the introduction in 1904 of the famous "mat glaze," Hampshire Pottery was recognized as a leader in its field.
Located in front of the Keene Public Works Office Building on lower Main Street.

Keene, NH – KEENE GLASS INDUSTRY
The first of two famous Keene glass factories was established near this site in 1814 and produced window glass for the New England area until 1853. Another glass works (1815-1842), 1.5 miles southeast of here on Marlboro Street, made bottles and flasks now known as "Keene Glass" and prized today by museums and collectors.
Located on the east side of Washington Street at Fuller Park.

Surry, NH – SURRY MOUNTAIN GOLD MINE and LILY POND
To the east rises Surry Mountain, stretching four miles north and south. For many years, mines yielding small amounts of mica, copper, lead, silver and gold were operated along the ridge. In the saddle of the mountain, slightly north of the village, there is a Lily Pond, some 750 feet above the valley meadows. Often called a freak of nature, Lily Pond has been measured to be 80 feet deep in places.
Located in Surry village, just east of NH 12-A, in front of the Town Library.

Walpole, NH – FIRST CONNECTICUT RIVER BRIDGE
The first bridge across this river was built approximately 1/4 mile north of this location in 1785 by Col. Enoch Hale. This toll bridge, replaced in 1840, was recognized in the 18th century as one of America's outstanding bridges because of its unique engineering style. Its replacement was made a free bridge in 1904.
Located on the west side of NH 12, north of its junction with NH 123 and about .3 mile south of the present Vilas Bridge.

Westmoreland, NH – PARK HILL MEETING HOUSE
This church, built on the northeast corner of Cole Cemetery in 1762, was moved in sections by ox cart in 1779 to this location, then known as Federal Hill. A steeple with a bell cast by the Paul Revere Foundry was added in 1826. This edifice is recognized as one of the most beautiful churches in New England.
Located on the north side of NH 63 in the Park Hill section of Westmoreland, directly in front of the Meeting House. This marker was erected in cooperation with the Westmoreland Historical Society. Plymouth, VT

VERMONT

Bellows Falls, VT – BELLOWS FALLS CANAL
Here first Canal in United States was built in 1802
The British-owned Company, which was chartered to render the Connecticut River navigable here in 1701, was 10 years building the 9 locks and dam around the Great Falls, 52 ft. high. After the railroad came in 1849, river traffic declined and the canal was used for water power only.
Located on Bridge Street, on side wall of bridge over canal.

Plymouth, VT – CALVIN COOLIDGE 1872-1933
Born July 4, 1872, in a house back of store, Calvin Coolidge from 4 years of age lived in the Homestead across the road, now owned by the State of Vermont. Here on Aug. 3, 1923, he was inaugurated President and here he spent many vacations. In the Notch Cemetery he rests beside his wife and son and 4 generations of forebears.
Located off Route 100-A, at Plymouth Notch.

Rockingham, VT – ROCKINGHAM MEETING HOUSE
Built in 1787, the second on this site, this simple but beautifully proportioned structure served the town as a house of public worship and town meetings for nearly a century. The church was restored in 1907, with its old box pews, high pulpit, and sounding board.
Located on Route 103 in village.

Springfield, VT – EUREKA SCHOOLHOUSE (1785)
This, the oldest Schoolhouse in Vermont, was in continuous use from 1785 to 1900 at Eureka Four Corners. In 1968 it was removed to this site and reconstructed by a Committee of Springfield Citizens, and the State Board of Historic Sites. State Board of Historic Site – 1970
Located on U.S. Route 11, south of downtown.

Springfield, VT – MILITARY ROAD
Crown Point Road had ferry and eastern terminus here. This historic road was built by British General Jeffrey Amherst in 1759-60, from Fort No. 4 across the river in Charlestown northwesterly to Chimney Point opposite newly captured Crown Point on Lake Champlain. The wars ended, Yankee pioneers flooded into the "Grants".
Located on U.S. Route 5, north of Cheshire Bridge.

Westminster, VT – COURT HOUSE: Wesminster "Massacre"
Northward stood the Cumberland County Courthouse, seat of New York's colonial administration. Opposition to holding a court session let to the "Massacre" of March 13, 1775. Here the New Hampshire Grants on Jan. 16, 1777, declared their independence as "New Connecticut", later Vermont.
Located on U.S. Route 5, in Westminster village.

Connecticut River Byway Council