Travel New England

Among the eclectic mix of buildings and other structures at Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford, Connecticut is the last remaining tollbooth from when the Merritt Parkway was tolled between the years 1940 and 1988. It is said that the tollbooth at Boothe Memorial Park is from across the Housatonic River in nearby Milford, Connecticut, and then when tolls were discontinued on the Merritt Parkway, the tollbooth was brought to Stratford to live its retirement among the clock tower, the supposed oldest homestead in America and other unique things that have been found its way onto the 32 acres of property once owned by brothers David Beach Boothe and Stephen Nichols Boothe. This is just a stone's throw away from the Merritt Parkway, so the tollbooth did not venture that far. As for the tollbooth itself, it is the last remnant of the era of the Merritt Parkway when tolls were collected. There were tollbooths located in Greenwich, Milford and Wallingford, although Wallingford is on t...

Gracing a channel in the Mount Hope Bay between Bristol, Rhode Island and Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the Mount Hope Bridge is a beautiful suspension bridge that was opened on October 24, 1929, replacing ferries that ran between Bristol and Portsmouth.  The Mount Hope Bridge carries RI 114 and is a two lane, wire cable suspension bridge with its towers at 285 feet tall, the length of the main span at 1200 feet long and the roadway sitting 135 feet over the water. The total length of the bridge including all spans is 6130 feet. The Mount Hope Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 31, 1976. In 1920, Rhode Island legislator William Connery of Bristol requested that a committee be set up to investigate the construction of a bridge between Portsmouth and Bristol. The reason behind the request was that delegates from Aquidneck Island were often times late to their meetings in Providence during the winter due to ferries not being able to cross frozen w...

Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a gem of a bridge. In the small town of New Portland, the Wire Bridge spans over the Carrabassett River and is a delight to see in person. The Wire Bridge is unique among bridges, being the only survivor of four such bridges built in Maine in the 1800's and most likely the only such bridge of its kind still standing in the United States. Available records indicate the building of the Wire Bridge had began in 1864 and construction was completed in 1866. Two men, David Elder and Captain Charles B. Clark, were largely responsible for the bridge's design and construction. The Wire Bridge's towers are constructed of timber framing and covered with boards protected by cedar shingles. The wooden towers and wire suspension are unique among suspension bridges in the U.S., making the bridge quite unique. In 1959, the legislature of the State of Maine enacted legislation for the preservation of this bridge, and as a result, the bridge was renov...

As graceful a bridge that I ever set my eyes upon, the Deer Isle Bridge (officially known as the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge) surprisingly caught my eye as I was driving around coastal Maine one Saturday afternoon. About 35 miles south of Bangor, Maine , the Deer Isle Bridge connects the Blue Hill Peninsula of Downeast Maine with Little Deer Isle over the Eggemoggin Reach on ME 15 between the towns of Sedgwick and Deer Isle . It should be noted that Little Deer Isle is connected to Deer Isle by way of a boulder lined causeway, and there is a storied regatta that takes place on the Eggemoggin Reach each summer. But the Deer Isle Bridge holds many stories, not just for the vacationers who spend part of their summer on Deer Isle or in nearby Stonington , but for the residents throughout the years and the folks who have had a hand bringing this vital link to life.   The Deer Isle Bridge was designed by David Steinman and built by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixvill...