Contoocook River

Contoocook River in Hillsborough with pillars of the former Hillsborough Railroad Bridge

Course of the Contoocook River in the catchment area of ​​the Merrimack River

Hopkinton Dam

The Contoocook River is a right tributary of the Merrimack River in the U.S. state of New Hampshire.

River

The Contoocook River has its origin in the two small lakes Pool Pond and Contoocook Lake. From there it flows in a north- northeast through the town of Jaffrey and on to Peterborough and Hillsborough. Shortly before Hillsborough leads the North Branch River, the principal tributary of the Contoocook River, on the left into the river. Gradually, the river turns towards the east-northeast and passes through the towns of Henniker and Contoocook. Between these two places, the flood protection is serving Hopkinton Dam. Until shortly before Contoocook follows U.S. Highway 202 the river. Finally, the Contoocook River reached at Penacook, a northern district of Concord, the Merrimack River. The Contoocook River has a length of 114 km. It drains an area of 1961 km ².

Covered Bridges

About the Contoocook River covered bridges perform the following:

• Contoocook Covered Bridge, a former railroad bridge in Contoocook, founded 1889
• , Rowell Covered Bridge built in 1853, below the Hopkinton Dam

Leisure

The river is ideal for canoeing and fishing.

Hydropower plants

At the Contoocook River, there are several hydroelectric power plants:

Hydropower plants in downstream direction:

• Monadnock Paper Mills (4 plants with a total of 1.9 MW between Bennington and Antrim )
• Hillsborough Hosiery ( 1.2 MW )
• Hopkinton Dam ( 1 MW)
• Contoocook
• Rolfe Canal ( 4.3 MW )
• Penacook Upper Falls (3 MW)
• Penacook Lower Falls (4.1 MW)