Milford, the granite town…
I spent several years living in Milford back in the early 1970’s. All I can say is that almost everything changes. The convenience store that our apartment was attached to is now a pet salon and the house that once was home to my best friend is now an insurance agency, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that there are still granite quarries in Milford. I never went swimming in the quarry, but many of my friends did. In fact, I had never been to a quarry at all until this tour of Milford. Luck played a big part in my visit. I had been to Milford several times this week and yesterday I decided to go back one more time before I wrote this post. Just for the heck of it, I looked up quarries in Milford to see if, by chance, I could find one that I could visit. As I neared Quarry Road, I was happy to see that the gate was open. The luck part of this is that one of the employees, Scott, was there, usually on weekends, the gates are locked. I thought the quarry was very cool! It was hard to give an overall sense of scale, but the ladder in the following picture has 14 rungs…
You can see the ladder, just above the letters NH in the photo below…
The water that was seeping out of the natural breaks in the granite left cool looking designs on the exposed face…
And the remains of “grit” that used to be used to cut the granite also left unique patterns…
There were plenty of other things there that caught my attention, as well…
Big machines are needed to cut and move these massive blocks and when the ground is soft you can follow the trails and tracks of these machines. The ground is beginning to freeze and there had been a light rain overnight which had frozen in the tracks. This left some very neat designs on the ground…
The last thing that I came across, was this old caboose. Scott told me that at one time this had been used as the employee break room…
Another place I visited was Tucker Brook Town Forest. I’ve been there several times and there is always something new to see. I have never hiked the complete trail, but seem to get stuck at the waterfall every time…
One of the trails, that some day, I will hike
Setting up the shot
Upstream
On of the days that I went to Milford, I was joined by my good friend and fellow blogger Martha. We stopped at the Milford Fish Hatchery to check out the process of raising trout. NH Fish and Game does an incredible job keeping our lakes and rivers filled for our fishing enjoyment. The hatchery is open year round and the fish live happily in domed tanks until they are released in the wild…
This tank holds some monster fish that are more than happy to eat up the pellets that you can feed them…
There are also ponds there that are filled with all sizes and types of trout…
It is a lot of fun to watch the frenzy when you throw a handful of pellets into the waters…
Needing to warm up, we went into the building to learn more about fish raising …
Earlier in the day, Martha and I went to the defunct steel bridge that spans the Souhegan River. The bridge has been closed for as long as I can remember. While we were enjoying the scenery from the bridge…
We looked down into the water and saw a fish, that was at least 20″ long, swimming upstream. The water level isn’t very high right now and several times its fin broke the surface of the water. Neither of us was able to get a good photo of it, but it was really neat watching it makes its way. At the hatchery, we learned that it was a salmon.
Another great place to visit is Emerson Park behind the post office…
On the opposite side of the park is a great view of the dam..
We saw several large salmon here as well. From here, we headed up to the “Oval”…
Chilly once again, Martha and I set off in search of some hot chocolate. On the way, we passed one of my favorite stores in Milford, The Quartz Source. The variety and colors never cease to amaze me…
A beautiful carving
And the goodies aren’t just inside the shop…
Tiffany glass
There are plenty of other things that you can find in Milford, beautiful farms, lovely views and unique pieces of machinery…
Note the size of this chair compared to my camera and tripod
The inside of the old pump
Visitors at Osgood Pond
Duck Duck Goose
I hope I have given you plenty of reasons to visit Milford. Thanks for coming along! Please vote in the poll to give me a better understanding of what you’d like to see more of…
To learn more about Milford, visit the town’s website or the state’s website.
Touring NH 
Marvelous tour of the town. If you get a chance, hit the monthly contradance in the town hall (assuming it’s still ongoing). I have many lovely memories and remember when the hall was transformed from dowdy to elegant.
Milford also has a place on the musical map as the home of the legendary Hutchinson Singers of the Civil War era and a lively town band of the same period.
Thank you! I didn’t know about the contradances, that sounds like a lot of fun.
That quarry is awesome and I’m not surprised you get stuck at the waterfall, it’s beautiful. I’d quite like to visit that quartz store.
Since I’d never been to a quarry, I didn’t know what to expect there. I love it! I could have spent hours photographing all of the cool things. I’ve been the toe quartz source many. many times and find something neat every time!
You’ve got some great shots here! I’m envious of your camera though.
I’m afraid all I’ve done in Milford is pass through it on the way to Hampton Beach or someplace else. Now I wish I’d stopped each time. I’m going to have to visit Tucker Brook Forest now at some point.
I never knew that Milford had a quarry-I wouldn’t want to climb that ladder! I used to swim in the Marlborough and Fitzwilliam quarries but it always felt kind of creepy. There were stories that the quarries filled with water so fast that all the equipment was still down there under water, but I don’t know how true they were. They just added another layer of creepiness to the experience, which might have been the point in telling them.
You still have plenty of time to stop in Milford! That is the idea behind the blog, to inspire you to get out and visit what is “in your own back yard” I know you do a lot of local exploring and I have learned a lot by reading your blog. You’ll love Tucker Brook!
I think that there are urban legends surrounding every quarry. Rumors of dumped cars, people dying because they jumped into areas that weren’t deep enough and so on. I think it would be interesting to scuba dive the quarries (just to see).
Laura, your post is a wonderful collage of man-made and natural beauty. I love the quarry shots and how you find such art in the massive operation. I’m sure few people who work there see what you see through your lens. Your shots of the geese are spectacular and to think they were landing on the river in “down town Milford” shows the gentle nature of this corner of New Hampshire. You inspire and inform, through your writing and photos. Thanks for the tour.
Thank you for your kind words! I could have spent hours at the quarry just photographing the patterns in the ledges, not to mention all of the equipment. I might have to go back on a day when they are cutting to see it all in action!
Laura, I think this is one of your best posts ever! I feel like I’ve been to Milford without leaving the comfort of my armchair. What gorgeous photos. James particularly liked the quarry and The Quartz Source since he’s a geologist. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season. All the best, Terri
Thank you Terri! I’m hoping to go back to the quarry in the spring and get some shots of the guys at work. Merry Christmas!