Heald Ph. D. - Railways and Waterways

FRANCONIA NOTCH FROM THE VALLEY OF THE PEMIGEWASSET. Franconia Notch State Park covers approximately 600 acres along both sides of the Pemigewasset River for 8 miles. Here are located waterfalls in greater numbers than in any other area of equal extent in the White Mountains. The views along the Appalachian Trail over Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Lafayette are breathtaking, especially along the knife-edge, where sheer cliffs fall away on each side. The natural beauty of this park is magnificent and majestic beyond words.

A MAP OF FRANCONIA NOTCH. What the Saco Valley is to the White Mountains, the Pemigewasset Valley is to the Franconia Range, the long and delicious vestibule through which access is gained to the many shadowy hills at the end. The name itself breathes forth the free spirit of nature, and sounds like the long rustle of pine-boughs, or the rush of sylvan streams through dewy thickets. It is one of those ponderous words that Native Americans could make as well as modern German philosophers, and it means Crooked-Mountain-Pine-Place. Born in Profile Lake and re-enforced by long streams from the wilderness about Thoreau Falls, this sesquipedalian stream known as the Pemigewasset descends 1,500 feet in the first 30 miles of its course, filling the lovely valley with music and coolness, and fructifying leagues of level green intervales.

THE PEMIGEWASSET HOUSE AND THE BOSTON, CONCORD & MONTREAL RAILROAD STATION, PLYMOUTH, 1877. There are numerous gate-ways to the White Mountains, but none are more attractive then the valley of the Winding Water among the Mountain Pines, which is the interpretation of the Native-American name for the Pemigewasset Valley. In 1850 the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad completed the road to Plymouth from Concord. In 1858 the BC&M leased the White Mountain Railroad, thus continuing the road from Plymouth to Littleton. In 1869 the construction of an extension of the White Mountain Railroad beyond Littleton was undertaken, and in 1872 the track from Wing Road toward the base of Mt. Washington was begun.

THE PLYMOUTH RAILROAD STATION, 1930s. At the foot, or the opening from the south, of the Pemigewasset Valley stands the town of Plymouth, NH, containing the old courthouse in which Daniel Webster made his first plea. But perhaps the town itself was as well known to travelers because of its great hotels, at once a hostelry and a station, along whose porticoes the railroad stretched, and in front of which, within a short stones throw, the river runs.

THE CONFLUENCE OF BAKERS RIVER AND THE PEMIGEWASSET RIVER. Leaving the main line of the White Mountain Division, the P.V. Branch follows the river into a delightful country of quaint villages, majestic mountains, and streams. The earliest records (1712) indicate that Governor Joseph Dudley in Boston suggested,... sending of an expedition of 40 men to Coassett (Coos). Captain Thomas Baker was selected as commander of the expedition to explore Coos County. Baker and his men followed the course of the Connecticut River to Haverhill, and turning east, proceeded down the Asquamchumauke River to Plymouth. Just above the junction of this river with the Pemigewasset (the Ox Bow), the expedition encountered a band of Native Americans; a brief skirmish followed without loss of life to the explorers, though several natives were reported dead. The Asquamchumauke River was later named Bakers River.

INTERVALE, THE LAND NORTH OF PLYMOUTH, LOOKING THROUGH THE BAKER RIVER VALLEY. Hundreds of acres of rich alluvial soil are located here in the valley. The river flows southeasterly from Wentworth to the north of Plymouth, NH, where it joins with the Pemigewasset. Native Americans referred to this river as Asquamchumauke, meaning Salmon Spawning Place and Water of the Mountain Place. The name Pemigewasset is an Abenaki word meaning Rapidly Moving. Stinson Mountain (alt. 2,900 feet) rises at the extreme left and the placid waters of Loon Lake are spread at its foot. Mt. Tecumseh (alt. 4,003 feet) and Sandwich Dome (alt. 3,980 feet) form a more central part of the horizon.

LIVERMORE FALLS IN HOLDERNESS. Logging was a major industry in the area, but sawmills also dotted the shores of most waterways throughout the lakes and mountains. This spot is mostly admired by the anglers, for trout and some of the most beautiful specimens of land-locked salmon can be caught at these falls.