Wild River (Androscoggin River)
Encyclopedia
The Wild River is a 17.2 miles (27.7 km) river
in the White Mountains
of New Hampshire
and Maine
in the United States
. It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River
, which flows east and south to the Kennebec River
near the Atlantic Ocean
.
and flows northeast through a mountain valley separating the Carter-Moriah Range
to the northwest and the Baldface-Royce mountains to the southeast. Evans Brook flows northerly through western Maine
to join the Wild River near the former logging company town of Hastings. Maine Highway 113 follows Evans Brook and then the east bank of the Wild River from Hastings northward to the Wild River confluence with the Androscoggin River at Gilead, Maine
. The Wild River is bridged by U.S. Route 2
and the Grand Trunk Railway
at Gilead.
to Montreal
followed the south bank of the Androscoggin River and reached Gilead in 1851. The railroad bridge was the first river crossing durable enough to withstand runoff events from winter storms. Peak runoff events were similarly destructive to attempts to construct water-powered mills adjacent to the river. Construction of the road now known as Maine Highway 113 commenced in 1866. In 1882 Major Gideon Hastings obtained title to large tracts of timberland and commenced operations of the Hastings Lumber Company.
destroyed the unharvested timber in the watershed. The railroad was dismantled in 1904. The lumber company land was purchased for the White Mountain National Forest
between 1912 and 1918. Passage of the New England Wilderness Act in December, 2006, designated 23700 acres (95.9 km²) of the watershed as the Wild River Wilderness.
that eagerly attack small dry flies, much to the delight of fly fishermen that visit. Wild River Trail follows the old railroad grade along the river. A visit in early spring or late fall should be pursued with caution as Route 113 is not maintained in the winter. It is a long way around if you get there and find the road closed. The Appalachian Trail
follows the crest of the Carter-Moriah Range
along the western boundary of the watershed.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in the White Mountains
White Mountains (New Hampshire)
The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England...
of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River
Androscoggin River
The Androscoggin River is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean. Its drainage basin is in area...
, which flows east and south to the Kennebec River
Kennebec River
The Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...
near the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
Route
The Wild River rises at No Ketchum Pond in the township of Bean's Purchase, New HampshireBean's Purchase, New Hampshire
Bean's Purchase is a township in Coos County, New Hampshire, United States. In New Hampshire, locations, grants, townships , and purchases are unincorporated portions of a county which are not part of any town and have limited self-government .-Geography:According to the United States Census...
and flows northeast through a mountain valley separating the Carter-Moriah Range
Carter-Moriah Range
The Carter-Moriah Range of mountains is located in the White Mountains, in Coos County, New Hampshire. The range forms the northern east side of Pinkham Notch, opposite the northern Presidential Range.- Summits :From north to south:...
to the northwest and the Baldface-Royce mountains to the southeast. Evans Brook flows northerly through western Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to join the Wild River near the former logging company town of Hastings. Maine Highway 113 follows Evans Brook and then the east bank of the Wild River from Hastings northward to the Wild River confluence with the Androscoggin River at Gilead, Maine
Gilead, Maine
Gilead is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Upon incorporation in 1804, it was named for the large quantity of Balm of Gilead trees in the town center. The population was 156 at the 2000 census.- History :...
. The Wild River is bridged by U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2 is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada...
and the Grand Trunk Railway
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
at Gilead.
Early history
Early European settlement of the watershed was northerly up the Cold River valley from Fryeburg, Maine through Evans Notch and then down Evans Brook to Gilead. Evans Notch and Evans Brook were named for Captain John Evans, who commanded European militia against the indigenous people of the Americas in 1781. The town of Gilead was incorporated in 1804. The Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad from Portland, MainePortland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
followed the south bank of the Androscoggin River and reached Gilead in 1851. The railroad bridge was the first river crossing durable enough to withstand runoff events from winter storms. Peak runoff events were similarly destructive to attempts to construct water-powered mills adjacent to the river. Construction of the road now known as Maine Highway 113 commenced in 1866. In 1882 Major Gideon Hastings obtained title to large tracts of timberland and commenced operations of the Hastings Lumber Company.
Wild River Railroad
In 1891 a railroad was built following the present Route 113 from Gilead to Hastings lumber mill on Evans Brook near its confluence with the Wild River. A row of ten houses built along the Wild River for company employees at Hastings became known as "the ten commandments". Rails extended ten miles (16 kilometers) up the Wild River from Hastings by 1896 with branch lines up tributaries Bull Brook, Blue Brook, Moriah Brook, Cypress Brook, and Spruce Brook. A 1903 wildfireWildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
destroyed the unharvested timber in the watershed. The railroad was dismantled in 1904. The lumber company land was purchased for the White Mountain National Forest
White Mountain National Forest
The White Mountain National Forest is a federally-managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914. It has a total area of...
between 1912 and 1918. Passage of the New England Wilderness Act in December, 2006, designated 23700 acres (95.9 km²) of the watershed as the Wild River Wilderness.
Locomotives
| Number | Name | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilead | Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line... |
Shay Shay locomotive The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive... |
30 September 1891 | 370 | purchased new - destroyed by boiler explosion 18 April 1899 |
| 2 | Portland Company Portland Company The Portland Company was established 10 November 1846 by John A. Poor and Norris Locomotive Works engineer Septimus Norris as a locomotive foundry to build railroad equipment for the adjacent Portland terminus of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad connection between Portland, Maine and... |
4-4-0 4-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels... |
1871 | 202 | formerly Portland and Ogdensburg Railway Portland and Ogdensburg Railway The Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad was a railroad planned to connect Portland, Maine to Ogdensburg, New York. The plan failed, and in 1880 the Vermont section was reorganized and leased by the Boston & Lowell Railroad. In 1886, the Maine and New Hampshire section was reorganized as the Portland &... #4 Hyde Park - replaced by # 4 and boiler used in the wood alcohol mill of the Hastings Chemical Company |
|
| 3 | Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line... |
Shay Shay locomotive The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive... |
10 November 1896 | 523 | built as Success Pond Railroad # 6; leased from Blanchard & Twitchell Company of Berlin, New Hampshire Berlin, New Hampshire Berlin is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coos County in northern New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,051 at the 2010 census. It includes the village of Cascade. Located on the edge of the White Mountains, the city's boundaries extend into the White Mountain National Forest... to replace # 1; went to White River Railroad of Woodstock, Vermont when Wild River Railroad was dismantled |
|
| 4 | Baldwin Locomotive Works Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of... |
2-4-2 2-4-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle... Tank locomotive Tank locomotive A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon... |
1900 | 17433 | purchased new to replace # 2 - sold to Berlin Mills Railroad in 1904 |
Recreation
In the summer and early fall, this river becomes little more than a trickle. However, it does hold native Brook troutBrook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
that eagerly attack small dry flies, much to the delight of fly fishermen that visit. Wild River Trail follows the old railroad grade along the river. A visit in early spring or late fall should be pursued with caution as Route 113 is not maintained in the winter. It is a long way around if you get there and find the road closed. The Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
follows the crest of the Carter-Moriah Range
Carter-Moriah Range
The Carter-Moriah Range of mountains is located in the White Mountains, in Coos County, New Hampshire. The range forms the northern east side of Pinkham Notch, opposite the northern Presidential Range.- Summits :From north to south:...
along the western boundary of the watershed.