Editing Wells River, Vermont (section)

==History==
[[Image:Hale's Tavern, Wells River, VT.jpg|thumb|left|Hale's Tavern in 1915]]
The area was first called Governor's Right because {{convert|500|acre}} were granted to Governor [[Benning Wentworth]] of [[New Hampshire]]. It was purchased by Er Chamberlin, who built a [[gristmill]] on the [[Wells River (Vermont)|Wells River]].<ref name=wells>[https://books.google.com/books?id=HAo1AAAAIAAJ&q=History+of+Newbury,+Vermont Frederic P. Wells, ''History of Newbury, Vermont''; The Caledonian Company, St. Johnsbury, Vermont 1902]</ref> Located at the [[head of navigation]] for the [[Connecticut River]], Wells River developed as a center for [[trade]]. [[narrowboats|Canal boat]]s guided by long poles floated downriver laden with [[lumber]], [[Clapboard (architecture)|clapboard]]s and [[roof shingles|shingles]], returning with goods such as [[iron]], [[salt]], [[rum]] and [[molasses]].<ref name=wells/>  In the 1830s and 1840s, [[Jacob Kent Jr.]] was the proprietor of the Coosuck House, a well-known Wells River hotel.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Frederic Palmer |date=1902 |title=History of Newbury, Vermont |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofnewbury1704well/page/605/mode/2up/ |location=St. Johnsbury, VT |publisher=The Caledonian Company |pages=605–606 |via=[[Google Books]] |ref={{sfnRef|''History of Newbury, Vermont''}}}}</ref>

On November 6, 1848, the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad opened to Wells River, rendering obsolete the river's barge traffic. In 1853–1854, the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad reached [[Woodsville, New Hampshire]] across the Connecticut River. It built division offices and repair facilities, transforming that village into a booming [[railway town]]. The line replaced the 1805 bridge over the narrows to Wells River with a two-level wooden span which combined a [[toll (road usage)|toll]] highway deck at the bottom of the [[truss]], with railroad tracks on the roof. In 1903, a steel bridge of similar configuration replaced it. In 1873, the Montpelier and Wells River Railroad was completed, enhancing the region's position as a [[railroad junction]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crjc.org/heritagebridges.htm#Woodsville|title=River Heritage|website=www.crjc.org}}</ref>

===Historic buildings===
[[File:Bird's-eye View of Wells River, VT.jpg|thumb|Wells River in 1907]]
Some of the more significant historic structures in the village are:{{citation needed|date=July 2009}}
*Wells River Congregational Church, Main Street, 1839, 1869, 1894
*[[Wells River Graded School]], Main Street, 1874 (listed separately on the National Register)
*Mulliken-Davis Store, Main Street, {{circa|1871}}
*U.S. Post Office, 26 Main Street: ({{circa|1840|lk=no}})
*Baldwin Memorial Library, Main Street, {{circa|1840|lk=no}}
*G. Gould House, 7 Main Street, {{circa|1794|lk=no}}, {{circa|1830|lk=no}}
*Baldwin-Simonds House, North end of Main Street, {{circa|1890|lk=no}}
*Wells River Village Hall, Cross Street, 1908