Concord, the river passes over Sew-
Jill’s falls, or rapids, below which is
Sewall’s island. From thence the
river has no natural obstruction un-
til it reaches the falls at the S. E.
extremity of the town, where is a
water power, now owned by the
Amoskeag Manufacturing Compa-
ny, almost sufficient to move the
machinery of another Lowell.—
Locks are here constructed, and
navigation by boats has been open
since 1815 during the boating sea-
son, adding much to the business and
importance of the place. The riv-
er is about 100 yards wide opposite
the town; but during the great
freshets which sometimes occur
here, the river rises 20 feet above
the ordinary level, presenting to
the eye a body of water a mile in
width. There are two handsome
bridges thrown across the river.

The principal village, and seat
of most of the business of the town,
is on the western side of the river,
extending nearly two miles between
the two bridges; and is one of the
most healthy and pleasantly situa-
ted villages in New England. The
state house, state prison and court
house, and five very commodious
and handsome structures for public
worship, are in this village. The
state house occupies a beautiful site
in the centre of the village, and is
constructed of hewn granite. It is
J26 feet in length, 49 in width, 50
feet of the centre of the building
having a projection of 4 feet on
each front. It rises two stories
above the basement. The height
from the ground to the eagle on the
top of the cupola is 120 feet. The
cost of the building and appenda-
ges, $80,000. The state prison is
also a solid structure of massive
granite. On the east side of the
river is the second principal village,
where the Sewall’s Falls Locks and
Canal Company, recently chartered,
have commenced their works,
which, by taking the waters of the
river in a canal from Sewall’s falls,
will create a vast and valuable wa-
ter power at this village, that must
ultimately prove of immense im-
portance to the town. Another
handsome village has grown up in
the west part of the town. The
intercourse with Lowell and Boston,
by way of the canal on the Merri-
mack, has been open since 1815,
and a very large amount of busi-
ness in freights has been done on
the river. The Concord rail-road,
to connect with the Lowell rail-
road, has also been surveyed, and
will doubtless soon be put in pro-
gress. This is a link in the great
chain of northern railways, which
must ultimately extend from Boston
to connect with the western waters
at the outlet of lake Ontario.* The
importance of extending the rail-
road to the heart of New Hamp-
shire has by no means been fully
estimated by the public. Concord
is the great thoroughfare for trav-
ellers from the north, and the freight
hy horses and baggage wagons is
immense.

The soil of this town is general-
ly good, and the intervales very
productive. Large masses of gran-
ite suitable for the purposes of build-
ing exist here, the most important of
which is The .Yew Hampshire
Ledge, a name by which in an act of
incorporation an immense mass of
granite in the N.W. part of the town
has been designated. This ledge is
situated about 1 1-2 miles N. W. of
the £tate house, and about 200 rods
distant from Merrimack river,which
is navigable to this place with boats.
The course of the ledge is from N.
E. to S. W. and its rise about 45°
from a plane of the horizon, and its
height about 350 feet. It presents
a surface of massive primitive
granite, of more than 4,500 square
rods. The rift of this stone is very
perfect, smooth and regular; splits
are easily made to the depth of 12
to 20 feet, and of almost any re-
quired length. And unlike much
of the building stone now in the