I think Rick Blanchette and Bill Niemi are mentioning the same bridge located on River Road. It looks to me like what I remember back in the 50's and 60's. As Bill said, if someone took a picture today, the stonework may still be original and may indicate such. Thank you also Bill for the historical background of your family. I knew from living nearby you in the 50', 60's that your dad was a very cleaver person regarding tools and building. I also recognize the name Ken Warren. He was had to be a very busy fellow covering all of Hillsborough County I believe. Extremely helpful. Congratulations also Bill for the award and your dedication for the preservation of Rensselaer County. I had lived in Rensselaer County for 25 years. No wonder it was such a beautiful county. Thank you.
In the 1950s one day the pond disappeared. The mill in Highbridge opened the dam in Bank Village. I wrote a letter to NH's Fish & Game Dept because fish were dying. They sent Ken Warren to investigate. Officer Warren checked on the legal status and said the mill had the water rights and could bring the Souhegan River back down to its previous level. Rick is right. The stone work is a 'fingerprint' that should reveal the answer. However I don't remember seeing that many stones and trees there. There is another bridge on the other side of Waterloom on River Rd. If I lived there I'd go over and take some pics of the stonework. There's also a bridge on Ashby Rd.
I've wanted to thank you for work in preserving what was 'paradise' for me in the 40s and 50s. I spent a lot time on Barrett Mt, Binney Hill, and Waterloom Pond.
Thanks Bill! It's great to hear. It's for folks like you who love the Wapack Range that the Friends of the Wapack have been working to protect and maintain the trail. I wish I could see what it was like in the 40's and 50's. I was born in '51 and didn't get up there until the '60's. The ridges were so much more open then. Ollie Mutch told me that there was still cattle summering on the pastures along the ridge then. Do you remember seeing cattle up there? Thanks.
No, I didn't see any cattle. I actually did not spend much time on the trail and seldom went to the ridges. My father was a hunter and fisherman and we fished most ponds and hunted most mountains in New Ipswich. "Wild" food was part of our diet. My grandfather had a 100 acre farm at the end of Niemi Rd. He had 8 milking cows and a bull. Also an apple orchard and blueberry pasture. Some chickens and a pig. My father worked for the town for 3$/day in the 30s and later in factories. He built bicycles at the Hedstrom Union company and in 1942 was building P51 Mustangs. He was also a loom fixer at Warwick Mills in the 50s and worked for Simond Saw & Steel in the 60s. We spent a lot of time together outdoors. I no longer hunt but I still fish. I moved to Brunswick NY in 1980 and in 1987 I was asked to join a group that was starting a land trust in Rensselaer County in upstate NY. I was president for many years. We preserved a lot of natural areas and farmland and also made trails. After I retired from the land trust (I'm still a steward) the land trust established an annual award* to be given to a person that has done a lot to preserve natural resources in Rensselaer County.
I think Rick Blanchette and Bill Niemi are mentioning the same bridge located on River Road. It looks to me like what I remember back in the 50's and 60's. As Bill said, if someone took a picture today, the stonework may still be original and may indicate such. Thank you also Bill for the historical background of your family. I knew from living nearby you in the 50', 60's that your dad was a very cleaver person regarding tools and building. I also recognize the name Ken Warren. He was had to be a very busy fellow covering all of Hillsborough County I believe. Extremely helpful. Congratulations also Bill for the award and your dedication for the preservation of Rensselaer County. I had lived in Rensselaer County for 25 years. No wonder it was such a beautiful county. Thank you.
In the 1950s one day the pond disappeared. The mill in Highbridge opened the dam in Bank Village. I wrote a letter to NH's Fish & Game Dept because fish were dying. They sent Ken Warren to investigate. Officer Warren checked on the legal status and said the mill had the water rights and could bring the Souhegan River back down to its previous level. Rick is right. The stone work is a 'fingerprint' that should reveal the answer. However I don't remember seeing that many stones and trees there. There is another bridge on the other side of Waterloom on River Rd. If I lived there I'd go over and take some pics of the stonework. There's also a bridge on Ashby Rd.
If you paddle upstream from Waterloom pond, you pass through stonework that looks similar to the bridge foundations in this photo.
I've wanted to thank you for work in preserving what was 'paradise' for me in the 40s and 50s. I spent a lot time on Barrett Mt, Binney Hill, and Waterloom Pond.
Thanks Bill! It's great to hear. It's for folks like you who love the Wapack Range that the Friends of the Wapack have been working to protect and maintain the trail. I wish I could see what it was like in the 40's and 50's. I was born in '51 and didn't get up there until the '60's. The ridges were so much more open then. Ollie Mutch told me that there was still cattle summering on the pastures along the ridge then. Do you remember seeing cattle up there? Thanks.
No, I didn't see any cattle. I actually did not spend much time on the trail and seldom went to the ridges. My father was a hunter and fisherman and we fished most ponds and hunted most mountains in New Ipswich. "Wild" food was part of our diet. My grandfather had a 100 acre farm at the end of Niemi Rd. He had 8 milking cows and a bull. Also an apple orchard and blueberry pasture. Some chickens and a pig. My father worked for the town for 3$/day in the 30s and later in factories. He built bicycles at the Hedstrom Union company and in 1942 was building P51 Mustangs. He was also a loom fixer at Warwick Mills in the 50s and worked for Simond Saw & Steel in the 60s. We spent a lot of time together outdoors. I no longer hunt but I still fish. I moved to Brunswick NY in 1980 and in 1987 I was asked to join a group that was starting a land trust in Rensselaer County in upstate NY. I was president for many years. We preserved a lot of natural areas and farmland and also made trails. After I retired from the land trust (I'm still a steward) the land trust established an annual award* to be given to a person that has done a lot to preserve natural resources in Rensselaer County.
*The William Niemi Conservation Leadership Award.