14) Great Falls and Gorge of the Connecticut River
Human activity dates back several thousand years where the river native Americans called Quon-eh-to-kot ("long river") narrows at the base of Fall Mountain. Until European settlement, native tribes gathered at the falls to harvest shad and Atlantic salmon migrating up the river to spawning areas in the north. A covered bridge spanned the gorge in 1785, the first across the river in Vermont and the first of many subsequent road and rail crossings at Bellows Falls (pictured are a 1932 highway crossing and an 1899 railroad bridge.) This rocky bend in the river made the town a hub for tourism, travel and transport and remains a natural wonder.
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[Bellows Falls Historic District] [Map]
More pictures of the Gorge
Pictures of the plaques on the bridge