Wells River is a village in the town of Newbury in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 431 at the 2020 census. The village center is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 5 and 302.

The village center (the portion near the confluence of the Wells River and the Connecticut River) was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as Wells River Village Historic District. The district covers 84 contributing properties over an area of . It includes examples of Classical Revival, Federal, and Late Victorian styles.

History

thumb|left|Hale's Tavern in 1915

The area was first called Governor's Right because were granted to Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire. It was purchased by Er Chamberlin, who built a gristmill on the Wells River. Located at the head of navigation for the Connecticut River, Wells River developed as a center for trade. Canal boats guided by long poles floated downriver laden with lumber, clapboards and shingles, returning with goods such as iron, salt, rum and molasses.

On November 6, 1848, the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad opened to Wells River, rendering obsolete the river's barge traffic. In 1853–1854, the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad reached Woodsville, New Hampshire across the Connecticut River. It built division offices and repair facilities, transforming that village into a booming railway town. The line replaced the 1805 bridge over the narrows to Wells River with a two-level wooden span which combined a toll highway deck at the bottom of the truss, with railroad tracks on the roof. In 1903, a steel bridge of similar configuration replaced it. In 1873, the Montpelier and Wells River Railroad was completed, enhancing the region's position as a railroad junction.

Historic buildings

thumb|Wells River in 1907

Some of the more significant historic structures in the village are:

  • Wells River Congregational Church, Main Street, 1839, 1869, 1894
  • Wells River Graded School, Main Street, 1874 (listed separately on the National Register)
  • Mulliken-Davis Store, Main Street,
  • U.S. Post Office, 26 Main Street: ()
  • Baldwin Memorial Library, Main Street,
  • G. Gould House, 7 Main Street, ,
  • Baldwin-Simonds House, North end of Main Street,
  • Wells River Village Hall, Cross Street, 1908

Geography

The village takes its name from the Wells River, which flows into the Connecticut River at the eastern edge of the village. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.0&nbsp;square miles (5.1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), all of it land.

Wells River is crossed by Interstate 91, U.S. Route 5, and U.S. Route 302, with Routes 5 and 302 briefly running concurrently, before Route 302 crosses the Connecticut River into New Hampshire.

Demographics

As of the census

  • William A. Russell, U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts
  • Abel Underwood, Vermont prosecutor, legislator, and judge

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County, Vermont

References

  • Official website
  • Baldwin Memorial Library
  • Wells River Village Historic District