Hopkinton is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,914 at the 2020 census. The town has three distinct communities: Hopkinton village, mainly a residential area in the center of the town; Contoocook, the town's business hub, located in the north; and West Hopkinton, within the more agricultural portion of the town. The town is home to the Hopkinton State Fair, adjacent to Contoocook village, and to the historic Contoocook Railroad Depot and the Contoocook Railroad Bridge, the oldest covered railroad bridge in the United States.
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983.
The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine Railroad's Southern Division.
The Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad was a railroad planned to connect Portland, Maine to Ogdensburg, New York. The plan failed, and in 1880 the Vermont section was reorganized and leased by the Boston & Lowell Railroad. In 1886, the Maine and New Hampshire section was reorganized as the Portland & Ogdensburg Railway. That part was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1888, and in 1912 the Maine Central leased the eastern part of the Vermont section from the Boston & Maine Railroad, the successor to the B&L.
The New England Central Railroad is a regional railroad in the New England region of the United States. It began operations in 1995, as the successor of the Central Vermont Railway (CV). The company was originally a subsidiary of holding company RailTex before being purchased by RailAmerica in 2000. In 2012, the company was purchased by Genesee & Wyoming, its current owner.
The Mountain Division is a railroad line that was once owned and operated by the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). It stretches from Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean, through the Western Maine Mountains and White Mountains of New Hampshire, ending at St. Johnsbury, Vermont in the Northeast Kingdom. The line was abandoned in 1983 by MEC's successor, Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI). Guilford retained a stub between Portland and Westbrook. A section in New Hampshire remains in use by heritage railway Conway Scenic Railroad.
The Monadnock Railroad was one of many extension line railroads built to help expand the Fitchburg Railroad/Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad into New Hampshire. This line was to serve the New Hampshire towns on the eastern side of Mount Monadnock, mainly Jaffrey and Peterborough.
The Portsmouth and Concord Railroad was a railroad in New Hampshire that existed under various names from 1845 to 1945.
The Contoocook Railroad Bridge is a covered bridge on the former Contoocook Valley Railroad line spanning the Contoocook River in the center of the village of Contoocook, New Hampshire, United States. It is referred to in the National Register of Historic Places as the Hopkinton Railroad Covered Bridge, for the town of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, in which the village of Contoocook is located.
The Northern Railroad was a U.S. railroad in central New Hampshire. Originally opened from Concord to West Lebanon in 1847, the Northern Railroad become part of the Boston and Maine system by 1890.
The Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts that connected Worcester and Winchendon via Gardner. It was originally chartered as the Barre and Worcester Railroad in 1847, before being renamed the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad in 1849. The company was unable to raise funds for construction until 1869; service between Worcester and Gardner began in 1871. An extension northward to Winchendon was completed in January 1874. The Boston, Barre and Gardner operated independently until it was taken over by the Fitchburg Railroad in 1885. Despite the company's name, it never served Boston or Barre. The line was abandoned between Winchendon and Gardner in 1959 by the Fitchburg's successor, the Boston and Maine Railroad. In the 21st century, freight service on the remainder of the line is operated by the Providence and Worcester Railroad between Worcester and Gardner, and by Pan Am Railways on a short segment in Gardner.
The Contoocook Railroad Depot is located in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, United States, in the village of Contoocook. The depot was completed in 1849 as one of the first substantial railroad passenger stations west of Concord on the Concord and Claremont Railroad. The building is one of the best preserved of a small number of gable-roofed railroad stations surviving from the first decade of rail development in New Hampshire. The station exemplifies the pioneering period of rail development in the state.
The Hillsborough Railroad Bridge was a historic covered railroad bridge spanning the Contoocook River in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. Built in 1903 by the Boston and Maine Railroad, it was destroyed by arson in 1985. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. At the time of its nomination it was one of six covered railroad bridges in the state; it and at least one other were destroyed by the actions of arsonists.
Wright's Bridge is a historic covered bridge in Newport, New Hampshire. Originally built in 1906 to carry the Boston and Maine Railroad across the Sugar River, it now carries the multi-use Sugar River Trail. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The Concord and Claremont Railroad was an American railroad company during the mid-nineteenth century in New Hampshire spanning from Concord to Claremont.
The Pier Bridge is a historic covered bridge in Newport, New Hampshire. Originally built in 1907 to carry the Boston and Maine Railroad across the Sugar River, it now carries the multi-use Sugar River Trail, which was built on the abandoned right-of-way. It is one of a modest number of historic covered bridges in New Hampshire, and is named for the fact that it has a central pier. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad (NA&B) was a railroad formed in 1871 to build a line between Nashua, New Hampshire, and Acton, Massachusetts. After opening in 1873, the railroad expanded to Concord, Massachusetts, and offered a commuter connection to Boston. It was leased by the Concord Railroad in 1876, with the lease later passing to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1895. Most of the railroad line was abandoned in the 1920s, though a short portion in Nashua continued to be operated until 1980.
The Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail is a 34-mile (55 km), gravel mixed-use rail trail in central New Hampshire that is currently under construction, under control of the Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail (FCLSRT). It roughly follows the course of the Concord and Claremont Railroad line, starting in Concord and passing through the towns of Hopkinton, Warner, Sutton, and Bradford, and ending in Newbury at Lake Sunapee. The trail is being designed for use by walkers, cyclists, equestrians, and cross-country skiers.
The Nashua and Lowell Railroad (N&L) was a 14-mile-long (23 km) railroad built to connect Nashua, New Hampshire with the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. Chartered in June 1835, construction began in 1837 and the first train ran the next year. The Nashua and Lowell was the first railroad built in the state of New Hampshire.
