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The Upper Valley
The UpperValley consists of 35 Vermont and New Hampshire towns surrounding the
three major Connecticut River communities of White River Junction, VT and Hanover
and Lebanon, NH. These 3 core communities are the fast growing business,
employment, shopping, medical, and cultural hub for the UpperValley. Key components
include the Interstate 89 and 91 interchange in White River Jct., DartmouthCollege
in Hanover, the Dartmouth-HitchcockMedicalCenter in Lebanon, regional shopping
in West Lebanon, and a diverse and growing employment base including medical care,
medical research, & development, information based businesses and info tech, financial
and professional services, and many other well paying jobs. A number of these
enterprises are Dartmouth College-related such as DHMC, and DartmouthCollege
spin-offs and/or entrepreneurs such as Creare and Hypotherm. Beginning in the 1960's,
and accelerating in the 1980's, Northern New England has become one of the nation's
most desirable places to live, work, start a business, attend college or university,
have a vacation home, and retire, as well as being a major destination for tourists
from all over the world seeking to discover America's historic roots. The post 9/11
world has accelerated this pace once again; many urban refugees from here and
abroad seek peace and sanctuary in this historic, unspoiled corner of America,
America the way it used to be, yet still within a half day's drive of the
Boston-New York-Montreal urban triangle.
White River Junction - Past
The Central Vermont Railway was Vermont's initial- and most successful- entry into the
railroad age, with service beginning in 1848 between White River Jct. and Bethel.
"The CV", as it became known to Vermonters, quickly grew and prospered over the next
century as railroads became the dominant mode of transportation on the North
American continent.
The CV grew to 325 route miles starting at the Vermont-Canadian border and running
south to Long Island Sound at New London, CT. From the start, CV was Vermont's
flagship railroad; the CV played a key role in Vermont's agricultural economy by
shipping milk overnight to Boston and returning with manufactured goods and groceries.
The CV enjoyed further growth through it's affiliation with Grand Trunk in the 1890's,
and with big time Canadian National beginning in the 1920's, ushering in the golden
age of fleet passenger service.
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