As you've probably noticed, there are barges in the Merrimack River and cofferdam construction for the Groveland Bridge is well underway. (Cofferdams are what allow construction work to continue through the winter.) The elusive underwater cable was removed this week and the bridge is now 3% complete.
This month, a lot of Bates Bridge memorabilia has come my way. The first postcard came from a flea market, with a 1913 postmark. The message addresses the new bridge built that year. In 1871, the first Groveland Bridge was built to replace the chain ferry but collapsed 10 years later. In 1887, a fire destroyed 8 buildings in the square and the bridge suffered damage as well. It was reconstructed a second time and completed in 1913. The bridge that stands today was completed in the mid-20th Century. (Click on an image to enlarge.)
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| "The Merrimac River from Groveland Bridge, Groveland, Mass." |
Before there was a Groveland Bridge, there was a chain ferry that carried horse carts and passengers between Groveland and Haverhill beginning in 1829.
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| "Miliken's Chain Ferry, 1870; Ran from behind Groveland's present post office until the Groveland Bridge was built in 1871." |
As you may recall, the Elm Park Renovation Project was completed in 2004 thanks to the Groveland Historical Society's efforts and funding from a state grant. Here is a shot of what Elm Park looked like a hundred years earlier--and no doubt what it can look like again someday.
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| "Beautiful Elm Park, Groveland, 1900; Looking toward the Merrimack River and Groveland Bridge." |
The Groveland workforce of the late 19th Century relied chiefly on manufacturing for jobs. Pictured below is the third of the woolen mills E. J. M. Hale built. This woolen mill was later owned by Benjamin Parker Hale and Arthur D. Veasey. That's the same Veasey Family that the former Nun's Hill is named after.
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| "Groveland Woolen Mills (no. 3 of 3 mills); Built in 1859 and operated until 1927, it was a major source of employment. Owned and operated by the Hale family, and later the Veasey family." |
I really enjoyed these pictures!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interesting history of the Groveland Bridge. The current bridge that is being replaced was built in the early 1950s. There is a plaque at the end of the bridge on the Haverhill side with the exact dates. The 1913 bridge was damaged by the flood in 1937(?). I believe the depression and WW2 held up the rebuilding of the bridge at that time. My mother & grandmother both told stories of walking on a wooden foot bridge from Haverhill to Groveland during that rebuilding of the bridge. They were quite frightened by it. Another interesting bit is that Old Ferry Rd. was the main street through Riverside in the early 19th century because it ended at the ferry to Groveland.
ReplyDeleteAgain my grandmother described Groveland St around the turn of the 20th century as being just a bit more than a cow path. It was paved in the early 20th century and had street cars that ran down the center of the street. Also there were factories on the Haverhill side of the river approximately from the bridge over towards Market Basket. I don't know what the factories produced but my grandmother worked there. Just some local history about the area where my family has lived for generations.
Thanks for the helpful comment!
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