Last Wednesday morning, after paddling 6 miles up the Pemigewasset River (north of Franklin, NH), I reached my main objective for the day, Sumner Island. The paddling was well suited to this primarily flatwater paddler. Unlike the whitewater sections of the Pemigewasset, this section had sufficient depth to allow my boat's passage above the rocks. What made it possible for me to enjoy such a paddle was the Franklin Falls Flood Control Project built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1939 and 1943, and the Eastman Falls Hydro Dam 1.5 miles downriver of Franklin Falls Dam. This plaque at the USACE's Ledgeview Outlook provides an aerial view (looking upriver) and describes the project's purpose...
According to the USACE the Franklin Falls Dam is designed to hold back the river only during times of flooding, and can hold back as much as 50 billion gallons within its 3,683 acres. However, in normal times the only backed up water is created by the backwaters of the Eastman Falls Hydro Dam, which requires a pool to generate power. This permanent pool covers 440 acres with a maximum depth of 7 feet and provides steady flow to Eastman Falls Hydro which is rated low impact and operates in run-of-river mode.
I launched at Shaw Cove in Sanbornton, NH located about 2 miles upriver from Franklin Falls Dam...
...at the end of a dirt road...
Thanks to most signs of civilization having been removed 80 + years ago, the area I paddled through had a wilderness feel. Homes, a cemetery, and nine miles of Route 3A were moved to higher ground away from the river. A railroad line was completely removed as well. According to an article by Harry A. Frye in the Boston and Maine Railroad Historical Society's B and M Bulletin (Summer 1978) the railroad line was built in 1847 and hugged the Pemi's west bank for the 12.8 miles between Franklin and Bristol, NH. The article notes the branch having been placed out of service in 1936.
Upon reaching the spot where the village of Hill was formerly located I came across this manmade structure sitting in the middle of the river...
In the late 1800s it was the center support for a covered bridge connecting the communities of Sanbornton and Hill. My guess is that the tree limb sitting atop it attests to just how high the water level has backed up on occasion.
Just a little further up, Needle Shop Brook entered the river...
...where enterprising beavers are doing some water-level control of their own.
The only real remaining sign of the former railroad line, that I saw, was this still-functioning culvert seen on the west bank where my map showed the railroad tracks ran very close to the river...
Near an island I noticed a bald eagle...
At Sumner Island, where the influence of Eastman Falls Dam begins to fade, the current was noted to be much quicker and I began to see good-sized rocks just beneath the surface. Turned about there and paddled back down to Shaw Cove having not seen or heard another person all morning.
Post paddle I drove about 22 miles further up the Pemigewasset River to Plymouth, NH in hopes of finding a historic marker related to an unfortunate incident that occurred near the confluence of the Asquamchumauke (Baker River) and the Pemigewasset in 1712...
I walked a short distance from the marker to a set of parallel bridges carrying Rt. 3A and the Pemigewasset Valley Railroad over the Asquamchumauke River. The view from the bridge looking upriver...
...and the view downriver towards where the Asquamchumauke approaches the Pemigewasset...
The Native American, Wattanummon, who was killed and scalped near this place had been a friend and associate of the Pennacook leader, Wannalancet. It was while searching online for information about what route Wannalancet may have used for his occasional journeys from the Lowell, MA area to refuge in the White Mountains that I came across mention of Lieutenant Baker and the 1712 incident. According to info found at nh.conservation.org Baker traveled up the Connecticut River to the Cowass intervales in Haverhill and Newbury where he left the river and headed "up Oliverian Brook to the height of land south of and in plain sight of Moosilauke and then followed a small brook down to the Indian Asquamchumauke in Warren and thence through Wentworth, Rumney and Plymouth to the mouth of the river." Ever since reading The Bend in the River by John Pendergast I've wondered what route Wannalancet would have taken and how much of his traveling was done on-foot versus by canoe. Seems probable to me that he would have used this same route in traveling between the Pemigewasset and Connecticut rivers.
Lieutenant Baker, received payment for Indian scalps he took that day, from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was also promoted to Captain and so, as to honor his actions, the name of the river was changed from Asquamchumauke to Baker's River. It's too bad the river lost its original Native American name as a result of this tragic affair. Asquamchumauke is said by some to have been an Abenaki word meaning "salmon spawning place". It should be noted that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was paying 40 pounds for the scalps of Native Americans at that time. Later they increased the bounty to 200 pounds.
Thankfully, the Pemigewasset River retains its Native American name which is believed to have meant "where side current is". I can attest to there having been a side current about 20 feet from the shore where the upriver paddling was much easier.
Before leaving Plymouth I paid a visit to the Railroad Station which now serves as the community's Senior Center...
The hand operated controls for the above pictured semaphore signals amazingly are still in place...
...and looked to be operational. The station's outside wall also bears testament to how high the Pemigewasset River has risen in the past...
This railroad line here still sees occasional trains between Concord and Lincoln, NH,
After lodging in Tilton, NH I launched early on Thursday morning into the Winnipesaukee River...
Paddled upriver passing through crystal clear water...
...that originated in Lake Winnipesaukee to the northeast.
A possible eagle nest was seen high up in a pine tree...
The water clarity must be appreciated by osprey and eagles for making their prey more visible.
Eventually reached Silver Lake...
...where I saw a lone loon...
Further upriver paddling would have required passing under Silver Lake Road...
...where the Winnipesaukee is seen entering Silver Lake having passed through Winnisquam on the way.
The area was busy with folks fishing beneath the bridge and at the nearby hydro-generating facility...
It became my turnaround point and the start of a homeward trip.
This modified map from Pendergast's book The Bend in the River shows the bits of the "Pemi" and "Winni" that I paddled...
...and the entire Merrimack River. In 1660 Passaconaway's son, Wannalancet, is said to have ruled over the Pennacook Nation which encompassed most of the area on this map.
Both rivers were pristine, with very little trash to be found...
