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Early Transportation in Eliot |
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Reprinted from a document source unknown |
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The early means of transportation in Eliot were boats along the waterway of the Piscataqua River. Creeks were the means by which boats could reach inland. - Rowboats and single-sail boats were used for getting from one place to another. - Gundalows (1640-1903) were the Mack Trucks of the day hauling heavy loads of timber, lumber, stone, and bricks along the Sturgeon Creek. - Clipper Ships were made in Eliot for international trade and war. - Ferry boats would later ferry across the Piscataqua River to Portsmouth and Dover. The first roads were the trails and paths where people walked or rode horse to get from place to place. Many of these trails were made by the Native American Indians prior to the arrival of the White man or the Europeans. These roads were very primitive and the first settlers were constantly in danger of attack by Indians. A massacre occurred in Eliot at Ambush Rock on Goodwin Road in 1697 (Historic Marker). River and Old Road were two of the earliest roads. A series of trails connected the garrison settlements - Frost Garrison, Brixham Road - Major Charles Frost Garrison, Goodwin Road - John Herd Garrison, Depot Road - Neal Garrison, Goodwin Road - Shorey Garrison, Route 101 at the boundary of Eliot and S. Berwick - Lord Garrison Stone walls abutted the roads along Portsmouth, Eliot, Kittery (Fort McClary), to York. Horse and wagons and sleighs were used to transport people and goods. The Boston and Maine Railroad came to Eliot about 1840 opening up a new world of transportation and travel to the rest of the country. In 1890-1923 the electric trolley car invented by Moses Gerrish Farmer opened a whole new means of transportation carrying people from Eliot north to Portland or south to Cleveland, Ohio.
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