Livermore Falls Abandoned Mill

We keep a Google map with pinned locations of interesting places we want to visit someday, which comes in handy not only for planning trips in advance but for those last minute instances where we find ourselves driving with extra time to kill.  I visited Livermore Falls during just one of those times, when I was returning from a trip down Route 93 and realized I was early and would have a few hours to myself. Off to my map I went, and 20 minutes later my GPS brought me to the parking area of Livermore Falls.

I wasn't sure what to expect other than that Livermore Falls was described as an abandoned pulp mill sitting on the Pemigewasset River. The website I'd found about it didn't say whether it was open for exploration or gated off with no trespassing allowed, but the pictures had looked interesting enough for me to add to the map. Turns out that not only is the site all open, it's actually been turned into a state park and perhaps a dozen people were wandering around or just hanging out by the water that day.

The first thing to grab your attention when entering the park is this large, partially deteriorated bridge spanning the river. You will find many references to it as the "Pumpkin Seed Bridge", which according to the Campton Historical Society is due to its unique design.

This is an impressive yet very dangerous structure, something I'm glad to never have come across in my younger and more reckless days. Many young people have been injured or worse jumping from this bridge and hitting rocks or metal beams in the water, but even after these tragedies YouTube shows that the practice continues to this day. Needless to say, I admired this bridge only from a distance.

Although much of the mill building no longer remains, a portion of it is intact and viewable from the path above. This is no place for young children, however - only sections of the path's railing remain and are little protection against a very long fall to the ground. If you tread carefully though you will be rewarded with this view of nature overtaking the remains of the mill and claiming back her land.

Not satisfied with just an overhead view, I decided to try and climb down and look inside the building. There is a safe passage below if you turn around the follow a path down to the river, which is where I passed various people both sunbathing and returning with fishing gear. From this point it became a little trickier climbing to make it over a rock ledge that skirted the water, but nothing I wasn't able to handle.

Finally down below and at the far side of the building, I found my entrance. Not the kind I was hoping for, though. Rather than a nice open doorframe I found only this crawl space leading under the building. Different images of what I may find under there - from wild animals to wild kids - gave me pause, but I hadn't come this far for nothing. Down on my hands and knees I went and crawled inside.

There was nothing wild to greet me inside, but there was plenty of evidence to show that this was a popular hangout for kids, between the broken bottles and graffiti. This inspirational message became perhaps my favorite picture of the day, and the spelling error (which I didn't realize until that night) only added to its charm.

Although I was solo that day, Livermore Falls also contains walking trails that would have been fun for our whole family. The mill itself is not a place I'd bring young children to, but if you enjoy abandoned structures and buildings it's a fascinating place that will provide you with some hauntingly wonderful photo opportunities.

Links:
Photo Album
State Park Website