New England places featured in this edition include:
◊ Snow blankets the fields and mountains In Waitsfield, VT where Clem Joslyn built his round barn in 1910. The Joslyn farm was active until 1969 when the cows were retired. The farm was finally sold in 1986. After several years of renovation, Round Barn Farm is now a busy bed and
breakfast and wedding venue.
◊ Winter wind is whipping up the snow on the fields and barns of Hartford, VT. Hartford is a true river town. The White River and the Connecticut River flow together here and the Ottauquechee River also runs along the the town’s border.
◊ The part of Willard Brook that is under the ice is flowing beneath the double arch stone bridge in Townsend, MA. The brook has lent its name to
the Willard Brook State Forest that occupies 2,597 acres in Townsend, MA. Visitors there can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, including, hiking, and
cross-country skiing.
◊ Out for the winter, mooring bouys are awaiting the return of spring at Nauset Marina in East Orleans, MA. Boaters at the marina on Meeting House Pond can travel eight miles through a series of bays to reach Chatham Harbor at the south end of Cape Cod which opens to the Atlantic Ocean. From there, as the expression goes, the world is your oyster.
◊ Swollen with spring run-off, the Coginchaug River sweeps over Big Falls in Wadsworth Falls State Park, in Middlefield, CT. The 285-acre park was originally part of the estate of Clarence Wadsworth and was donated to the people of Connecticut after his death in 1941. Today the park offers hiking, fishing, swimming, and picnicking.
◊ Cherry blossoms bloom around the gazebo at Wickham Park in Manchester, CT. The park was a gift from Clarence Horace Wickham. The
park’s original landscape was designed by Olmsted Associates of Brookline, MA and has grown from 130 acres to 280 acres through additional gifts. Among other inventions, Mr. Wickham is credited with devising the first window envelope.
◊ On April 19, 1775, the first shots of the American Revolutionary War were exchanged between British troops and minutemen at Lexington Green and militia gathered at the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA. Each year the encounter is reenacted by costumed “troops” on what is now designated
as Patriots’ Day. The reconstructed bridge and the area surrounding it are part of the National Minute Man Historical Park.
◊ Shelburne and Shelburne Falls in northwestern Massachusetts are home to a variety of farms that offer fresh produce and flowers for sale. Even
before the fruit arrives these farms can be fine places to visit and enjoy other fare, as well as the visual pleasure of seeing the orchards in bloom.
◊ The lilacs are blooming at Colt State Park in Bristol, RI. The 460-acre park was originally a showcase farm established by Samuel P. Colt, a lawyer,
banker and industrialist in 1905. A grandson of the DeWolf family that had made Bristol a successful seaport, Colt turned a collection of local banks into the Industrial Trust Co., then the largest financial institution in Rhode Island. He also assembled a group of rubber companies into what became United States Rubber Co., a predecessor to Uniroyal.
◊ The fishing gear on the dock suggests that Galilee, RI is serious about its trade. Located on Point Judith and part of Narragansett, Galilee is home to the state’s largest fishing fleet, though most visitors probably know it as the point of departure and arrival for the Block Island ferry.
◊ If you love lobster Stonington ME is a good place to find it. Located on the southern part of Deer Isle in eastern Penobscot Bay, Stonington is home to the largest lobster port in New England. Originally called Green’s Landing, beginning in the 1870s demand for granite quarried there filled the town with stone cutters and their families, leading to incorporation of the town as Stonington in 1897.
◊ Mount Desert Island is widely known as the home of Acadia National Park, but on the other side of Somes Sound is Somesville, ME. The oldest village on the island was established by the Abraham and Hannah Somes family, which in 1761, along with the Richardson family, were the first European settlers on the island. The Somesville Selectmen’s Building and Museum dates to 1780, while the Thaddeus Shepley Somes Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1981.
◊ The Thimble Islands on the horizon can only be reached by boat, and that would likely bring you to Stony Creek, a village in Branford, CT. The
harbor at Stony Creek is busy with pleasure boats, but real work happens at Stony Creek Quarry, where granite has been cut for notable buildings including the base for the Statue of Liberty. The village is also home to the all-male Stony Creek Fife & Drum Corps, founded in 1886. Not to be out played, you’ll find the all-female Totoket Ancient Fife & Drum Corps there, as well.
◊ The waters of Long Island Sound wash the shore at New Haven’s Lighthouse Point Park in Connecticut where Five Mile Pont Light was constructed in 1847 to mark the entrance of New Haven Harbor. The 80-foot octagonal tower was built of brownstone and served as a guide to navigation until it was superseded by the offshore Southwest Ledge Light in 1877.
◊ This rocky shore in Narragansett, RI leads to Point Judith Light located at the entrances to Narragansett Bay as well as Block Island Sound, serving as an invaluable guide to navigation for busy boat traffic. The original light was an octagonal, 35-foot tower built in 1810. The current light is a 51-foot-tall granite tower built in 1856. The light’s Fourth Order Fresnel lens has a range of 16 nautical miles and was automated in 1954.
◊ Sailing into the center of a city is always appealing and if you want to be in the center of Newport, RI, that is the option Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard & Marina offers. The marina hosts a variety of yachting competitions ranging from the Rolex TP 52 World Championship to the Newport Yacht Rendezvous that raises funds to support the Boys & Girls Club of Newport County.
◊ The fall foliage in White Mountain National Forest is glowing at first light in Woodstock, NH. Covering 750,000 acres in New Hampshire and Maine, the forest offers 1,200 miles of hiking trails, 23 campgrounds and a variety of skiing options. Among the park’s superlatives are its mountain peaks. The park boasts 48 major peaks that exceed 4,000 feet in height.
◊ Still surrounded by green, a lone red maple makes a colorful early fall statement in Twin Mountain, NH.
◊ Last light turns on the fall colors along the shoreline of Lake Umbagog at Umbaagog Lake State Park in Errol, NH. The park extends along the southern shore of the lake and is adjacent to Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge. The 1,360-acre park offers a variety of outdoor activities, as well as 33 wilderness campsites located around the lake that are accessible only by boat. Umbagog is the only state park east of Michigan rated as a Bortle 1 location for night-sky darkness, which makes it an ideal location for viewing the stars.
◊ Waterloo Bridge carries Newmarket Road across the Warner River in Warner, NH. The bridge is a Town lattice truss design that in 1860 replaced an older bridge at the same location. It was listed on the National register of Historic Places in 1976 and is one of only a few remaining bridges from the 19th century in the state.
◊ The view from the top of Equinox Mountain suggests that New England offers an endless expanse of wilderness. At 3,000 feet, the mountain is the tallest in the Taconic Range of peaks that span 150 miles along the border between New York and New England. Largely undeveloped, the western side of the mountain is home to a Catholic order of monks called Carthusians, which occupies the Charterhouse of the Transfiguration monastery there.
◊ It may be fall, but the flags are still flying from the gazebo at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Ludlow, VT. The town of about 2,100 was devastated by a flood in July of 2023 that overwhelmed the business district and destroyed the water treatment facility. Ludlow has largely recovered from the flood and is welcoming skiers who visit the town to face the challenges of Okemo Mountain.
◊ Arrayed in seasonal decorations, Cape Neddick Light stands on Nubble Island about 110 yards off the shore of Cape Neddick in York, ME. Also known as Nubble Light, it was constructed in 1879 of cast iron plate lined with brick. The light has a focal height of 88 feet, with a range of 13 nautical miles, and is one of the last lighthouses in Maine to retain its Fourth order Fresnel lens. The light was electrified in 1938.
◊ Winter in Booth Bay Harbor, ME offers frigid prospects for sailors, at least until spring. Located on a peninsula in the Gulf of Maine, the town’s protected harbor has been a safe haven from storms for sailors since the 19th century. Ice is another matter entirely.
About the Photographer
Bill Johnson is a native New Englander who lives in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. He has been involved with photography for the past 40 years. What started as a hobby has become a profession that he pursues with great passion. His work has a quality of light and color that combines with an artistic sense to capture the mood of a location. Bill enjoys spending countless hours seeking his images — sometimes visiting a place many times until the light and conditions “speak” to him.
Bill’s photographs have appeared in numerous magazines, calendars, cards, and exhibits in the New England region and beyond. His photographs also illustrate the books Backroads of New England: Your Guide to New England’s Most Scenic Backroads Adventures; New England: Portrait of a Place; The New England Coast: The Most Spectacular Sights & Destinations; New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens; New Hampshire Impressions and New Hampshire: First In The Nation. This is the 31st year that Bill’s calendar work has been featured in our New England calendars. We know you’ll enjoy them!
Published by Tide-mark Press © 2024
