Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NewHampshireisoftenreferredtoastheMotherofRivers,becauseofthelarge
number of interstate rivers originating in the White Mountains. These include
the Connecticut, Pemigewasset, Merrimack, Androscoggin, and the Saco.
2.
Orford
Leaving college life behind, Rte. 10 leads northward to Lyme—one of those pretty towns
that everyone associates with New England. Here the drive mirrors the meandering curves
of the Connecticut River, the natural causeway that brought commerce and culture to the
area. Settlers blazed trails beside its banks, drawn by the fertile land of its floodplain and
the virgin forests on the surrounding hills.
Even the rushing water was a resource to early settlers, a force able to set massive ma-
chinery in motion. Mills were erected at intervals all along the river. Today many of these
brick structures have been renovated into shops and restaurants, and the houses that the
factory owners built still grace the towns.
One such community is Orford, where the early mansions—some date back to the late
1700s—crown a ridge above the Connecticut River. Impressive too are the views, which
take in 600-foot cliffs—the Palisades—that protrude along the Vermont side of the river in
Fairlee, just a bridge crossing away.
3.
Bath
The drive continues to parallel the Connecticut River as far north as Woodsville, where it
veers northeastward on Rte. 302. A much smaller waterway, the Ammonoosuc River, now
tumbles merrily beside the road, which soon enters Bath, also the site of an early mill. In
town you can rattle across a covered bridge that is more than 370 feet long and was built
in 1832. (In the days before iron and steel were used in bridge construction, wooden spans
suchasthisonewereroofedandsidedwithwoodinordertoprotecttheirplankedroadbeds
and supporting timbers from the elements.)
Farther on, Rte. 302 ripples past hayfields and rolling pasturelands. Here you'll find
that the Ammonoosuc River deepens into swimming and fishing holes. One of the largest
of these pools, Salmon Hole, lies a few miles to the north in the town of Lisbon, where
Rtes. 302 and 117 intersect.
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