Disregard coordinates on outside and inside of cache, had to be moved from previous location. Bring own pencil!
In 1769, a man named Moses Little purchased the land and its surroundings that you discovered this Geocache on. The land used to be referred to as “Little Falls,” due to his the saw mill, fulling mill, and gristmill he built on the falls. The area has seen a number of different mills and buildings. Robert Shepard also operated a fulling mill during this time. A carding and linseed mill was also possibly in use at the falls as well.
Around 1812, Arther Livermore obtained the property and business continued. In 1820, a flood washed away all of the dams. It’s not entirely certain what occurred after the flood, as documentation of the area lacked, but it’s assumed the mills were rebuilt. The next known documentation found for the area was concerning Arthur Homans’ 1888 pulp mills that were up and running. In just the next year, the mill burnt down. A new mill, the Fibrewood Company by Alden and Woods was quickly built. The Eastern Lignoid Casket Company built a mill beside the Fibrewood Company in 1893. The next year, a fire destroyed the Lignoid, Fibrewood, and the Dearborn Brothers Tannery (possibly built in 1875) that was nearby. On the west side, J. E. Henry and Sons created a large pulp mill that was built in 1901 and a timber crib dam helped create waterpower.
Arthur Homans’ Pulp Mill 1888
Fibrewood Company & Eastern Lignoid Company pulp mills 1893
The mill changed hands in 1917 to Parker and Young who ran it until 1946. Marcalus Manufacturing Company then took over control of the mill, but in just a couple years declared bankruptcy in 1949. It was renamed to Franconia Paper Company but in 1953, it suddenly closed its doors without notice.[6] The mill structures remained until 1960-1970s when some of the red brick was salvaged. This left only the granite foundation and brick headwall to remain. The dam was destroyed in 1973 due to a flood.
Henry and Sons pulp mill 1910
The mills weren’t the only thing occurring at Livermore Falls. A State-Fish Hatchery was built in 1877 at the falls. A hatch house and holding pond were incorporated for the hatchery. Chinook Salmon from the Sacramento River in California were chosen to help repopulate the nearby rivers. In 1888, the hatchery suffered a fire, destroying the building. In the same year, a complex double the size was built, being able to hold 2 million eggs. The hatchery was up and running until 1907 until its relocation to Laconia.
