The Road to Maine plus an Animal Park

On the 7^th day of our summertime adventure, we departed Concord New Hampshire and using a series of 2-lane state highways, we headed northwest toward Maine’s state line. 

It was a beautiful day and the scenery along the way was typically beautiful for New Hampshire.  We traveled along the Suncook River, passing Lower Suncook Lake on our way to ‘the big one’, Lake Winnipesaukee.  Say that name 3 times fast!

As we entered the town of Alton New Hampshire, I stopped to take a picture of the First Congregational Church, which is appropriately enough located at 20 Church Street.  The original congregation of this church was organized in 1827 with the church itself being completed in 1854.  At that time it was known as the Congregational Meetinghouse.  Now it’s called the Community Church of Alton.

Homes like this one in the Alton area are referred to as a ‘connected farm’.  This architectural design is common in New England as well as in England and Wales in the United Kingdom.  New England connected farms consist of a farm house (big house), kitchen (little house) and barn or other structures strung together in a contiguous fashion.  The style originated from the need to carry out farm work while being sheltered from winter weather.

 

This rather attractive version of a connected house was on the real estate market when we passed by.  Alas…if you’re interested it appears that this one has been sold.

…just another pretty little pond scene along the road!

We stumbled across this little depot…and a collection of others as well…when we drove through Alton and Alton Bay New Hampshire.  This depot was once served by the Boston and Maine Railroad’s Lake Shore Line which operated from 1890 – 1935.

That blue caboose was built in 1921 by the nearby Laconia Car Company for the Boston and Maine Railroad.  That company manufactured railway cars in Laconia New Hampshire from 1848 until 1928.  At one point in 1912, the company employed 1,000 workers.  They built electric railway cars at the rate of one a day, with some of their cars being operated as far away as Los Angeles California. 

The J. Jones & Son railroad freight building from the 1860s is part of the same grouping of buildings.  All of these buildings and related equipment are maintained by the town of Alton and the Alton Historical Society as the Boston and Maine Railway Park.

This pretty little depot also located in the park, formerly served as the Loon Cove combination passenger and freight station.  Built in 1891, once the railroad closed down the Lake Shore Line, this depot was used as a private residence until 2005.  As you can see, it’s been beautifully restored!  I almost didn't see this depot as its tucked in right behind another one...

Note:

·         In 1847, the short-lived Cochecho Railroad began bringing passengers and freight to Alton Village and Alton Bay.  In 1859, the town had 2 gristmills, 7 sawmills and 5 shoe factories.  Interestingly, the town’s best known business was the Rockwell Clough Company.  It was established by William Rockwell Clough, a true innovator.  He invented the corkscrew!  By 1803, his company was producing 30,000,000 corkscrews a year…

Moving along north up NH Hwy. 26 along Lake Winnipesaukee, we came to the town of Wolfeboro.  I spotted a park containing a number of older buildings, so I pulled in to see what I could find out. 

The Clark House Museum Complex is co-managed by the Wolfeboro Historical Society and the town’s Parks and Recreation Department.  The museum grounds are situated in Clark Park on South Main Street.  Attractions include:

·         The Clark House which was built in 1778, serving first as a farm house and later as a tavern and inn.  It was built right where it is today…

·         The Pleasant Valley School House, a one room school that was built in 1805 and moved to the park in the 1950s.

·         The Barn – a barn built in the 1840s and reconstructed on this site.  It serves as a visitor’s center, an exhibit building and archive. 

·         The Firehouse (Shown above) – This replica firehouse is home for both hand-pulled and horse-drawn fire pumps and engines.  The Historical Society restored much of the mid-1800s fire-fighting equipment that’s on display.

The Clark Museum Complex is located at 233 South Main Street in Wolfeboro New Hampshire.  The Museum is open during the summer months, Wednesday – Friday from 10AM to 4PM and on Saturday from 10AM until 2PM.  Adult admission is $4.00, students 12 or over are $2.00 and children under 12 are free.  To learn more, check out the Historical Society’s website at http://www.wolfeborohistoricalsociety.org/.

Lake Winnipesaukee is a beautiful naturally formed lake set among the hills, low mountains and forests of New Hampshire.  It is the largest lake in the state, about 21 miles long and varying from 1 to 9 miles wide.  It covers about 71 square miles and at its greatest depth, its 180 feet deep.  The lake is even more spectacular and interesting because it features at least 258 island, several peninsulas and a shoreline that stretches for 288 miles.

Finally, we were in Maine!  It’s the Pine Tree State.  Its state flower is a White Pine Cone and Tassel and the state animal is the Moose.

This is the 12^th smallest state and it ranks only 41^st in population.  Maine is bordered by New Hampshire, the Atlantic Ocean and Canada.  It’s the easternmost state in the United States.  Seven of Maine’s counties are larger than the State of Rhode Island and Aroostook County is even larger than the state of Connecticut.

Notes:

At the close of the War of 1812, Maine was occupied by British forces but the territory of Maine was returned to the United States as part of the peace treaty.

Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820 when it voted to secede from Massachusetts and become a separate state.

As part of 1820’s Missouri Compromise, Maine was admitted to the Union as our 23^rd state.  The Missouri Compromise simultaneously admitted Maine as a free-state and Missouri as a slave state, thereby maintaining the balance of power between the North and South in the US Senate.

We love wildlife and we like animal parks that exist to protect wildlife or to provide a safe haven for non-releasable critters that can’t be released back into the wild.  The animals that on view here are those that have been placed at the park for a number of reasons.  These include human dependence, illegal human possession, orphaned animals and animals with permanent injuries or amputations.  These animals have been provided by wildlife rehabilitators, law enforcement personnel and other captive wildlife facilities.

The Maine Wildlife Park is owned and operated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.  More than 30 species of native wildlife populate the park, ranging from small ones with scales up to some very large ones with lots of fur!

The park is situated in a wooded area with lots of shade.  Note the picnic/family grilling area above.  In addition to the animals, there is a nature store, nature trails, a snack ‘shack’ and lots of flowers.  This is a great place for families!

Unfortunately for Laurie and I, by the time we arrived, the temperature was up and it was muggy…just a little uncomfortable for walking around.  The other problem was that most of the animals were resting in the heat of the day so we couldn’t even see some of them…

As you can see from the preceding photos, we did see quite a few animals at rest and we did our best to take some pictures, many of which weren’t worth publishing.  Shooting through chain link fencing or plexi-glass is a challenge at best. 

Under ideal circumstances we could have also captured photos of black bear, barred owl, beaver, bob cat, box turtles, Lynx, golden eagle, grey fox, horned owl, opossum, skunk, red-tail fox, red-tail hawk, coyote, porcupine, raccoon and more…

The plantings and flower beds in the Wildlife Park were very well maintained.  Spectacular don’t you think!

The Maine Wildlife Park is located at 56 Game Farm Road in Gray Maine.  It’s just 3.5 miles from Maine Turnpike, exit 63.  The park is open daily from mid-April through Veteran’s Day on November 11 of each year.  Hours are from 9:30 AM until 4:30 PM.  Admission for children from 4 – 12 years of age is $5.50, adults are $7.50 and seniors (60+) are $5.50.  Military personnel are free with valid ID and their families are admitted at a reduced fee.  For more, go to https://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife-park/index.html.

From here, we made a bee-line to the coast of Maine where we would spend the next 5 nights…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for coming along with us!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave