Stirrup Iron Brook which crosses the South Range Road (partially rte 127) in what is now east Salisbury was once a major power supplier to a series of consequetive enterprises beginning in the late 1700’s with Wilder and Bower’s Grist Mill and into the 1900’s with the sawmill of William Holmes. Today only foundation walls remain.
Across from the old mill site is Gerrish Road which follows the brook to the Merrimack .
Shared with permission of Dane Malcolm. Duplication Prohibited, copywritten. Please contact dhgm@comcast for portfolio of extraordinary railroad photography.
The Gerrish Road was in use during Revolutionary War times and likely prior by Native Americans who chose to live off the river banks and into the forest for safety reasons.
Gerrish Road for many years was called Stirrup Iron Road and is infact its name on the Boscawen side. It was named after Stirrup Iron Brook which the road follows through the State Forest for over 2 miles. Stirrup Iron Brook got its name from Revolutionary War General Henry Dearborn. It is said that he lost a stirrup iron while crossing the brook.
“Stirrup Iron Brook rises in the meadow land south of Racoon hill, flows south easterly and empties into the Merrimack, a half mile below the south line of the town. It received its name, as the story goes from a stirrup iron lost in the stream by General Henry Dearborn of Revolutionary war fame.” John Dearborn, History of Salisbury 1890 Please note: the town line he refers to is on rte 3 and was the old southern border of the town with Boscawen before Franklin was formed and Salisbury extended to the river. Franklin already existed when John Dearborn wrote this so it is odd that he still refers to that town line as Salisbury
Location
Though a rough thoroughfare in today’s time the Gerrish Road once served as a well used transportation route after the railroads were established. It provided the quickest access to the rail line at the busy North Boscawen/Gerrish Station. Travel is approximately 2 1/2 miles as opposed to 5 miles to what was the Boscawen Depot via Rte 4.
The Gerrish Depot
“Constructed in 1855 to replace the original station, this is the oldest surviving depot on the former Northern Railroad. First known as ‘North Boscawen Depot,’ it was renamed in 1909 following a fatal train collision caused by confusion over similar station names, along with several other depots on the line. The name ‘Gerrish’ was chosen in honor of a prominent farming family. The depot provided freight and passenger service for local farms and residents, the state nursery, the county nursing home, and county jail until 1955.”-https://www.nh.gov/nhculture/mediaroom/2018/gerrishdepot_marker.htm
Gerrish Depot ca. 1890 Image from the Boscawen Historical Society
http://www.boscawenhistoricalsociety.org/northern-railroad-concord-conneticut/
The following is an excerpt from an interview with Liza Buzzell who was born in 1889. The interview is between Liza (LB) and the interviewer Paul Shaw (PS). It is published in “They Said it in Salisbury” by Paul S. Shaw. A question about a stage using Gerrish Road comes up.
PS- “They used to talk about a “stage’ that would take the mail dow to Gerrish”
LB-” Oh —- Dimond. He used to take it, and used to take passengers, and bring passengers.”