ABOUT

The Northern Railroad corridor was officially acquired by the State of New Hampshire on July 6, 1995.

On May 29, 1996 a large group of interested individuals from Grafton County dedicated themselves to turning 23 miles of the Northern Railroad corridor in Grafton County into a 4 season recreational multi use rail trail.

On September 23, 1996, Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in Grafton County (FNRT-GC) was incorporated as a nonprofit support group.

On Feb. 16, 2000, State Senator and founder of FNRT-GC Clifton Below of Lebanon successfully spearheaded the effort to pass HRJ 6 into NH law. This law was essential to both Friends groups' dreams of developing the Northern Railroad corridor into a recreational trail for non-motorized use and snowmobiles. Included in the law's terms is the right of the State to restore the corridor for active service when economically feasible.

• Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in Merrimack County had its first organizational meeting on July 29, 2004.

• FNRT-MC incorporated and obtained 501(C)3 non-profit status in January 2005.

• Received $20,000 Recreational Trails Program grant in 2005 from state of New Hampshire Trails Bureau requiring a 20% cash/in kind match.  Used this to re-surface most of the 1.7 miles in Andover from Potter Place to Blackwater Park.  Torrential rains forced postponement of part of this effort until May, 2006.

• Received $30,000 Recreational Trails Program grant in 2006.  It enabled re-surfacing 2 miles from Blackwater Park to Switch Road in East Andover.

• Received $30,000 Recreational Trails Program grant in 2007.  Used this to re-surface another 2 miles from Switch Road to Highland Lake in East Andover.

• The 2008 Recreational Trails Program grant of $30,000 was used to improve the 2007 trail extension and to resurface nearly two miles of new trail between E. Andover and Dyer’s Crossing.

• Received $30,000 Recreational Trails Program grant in April, 2009.  Used this to re-surface another 2 miles from Dyer’s Crossing to Chance Pond Road in      Franklin, NH.

• By 2009, all 23 miles of Trail from Lebanon to the county line in Grafton were contiguous and open for year round recreational use thanks to the hard work of FNRT-GC members.

• In Sept. 2010 the trail was extended 1.8 miles from Chance Pond Road, Franklin to Depot Street in central Franklin thanks to a $25,000 Recreational Trails Program grant.

•  8.3 miles of trail were added in Oct., 2010 connecting the Andover-Franklin section of the trail with the Lebanon-Danbury section creating a continuous 44 mile trail.  Funding of $350,000 came from a federal Transportation Enhancement grant.

• The 2011 Recreational Trails Program grant of $30,000 was used for a  trail extension of approximately two miles.  This work extended the trail from Depot St. in Franklin south until Webster Place, Franklin. 

• In November of 2012 the trail was extended 3.1 miles from Webster Place, Franklin to Gerrish Depot in Boscawen thanks to a $30,000 Recreational Trails Program grant. This work resulted in the trail being a total of 52 miles long, the longest in the state of NH.

• Another 3.9 miles of trail was built in Oct., 2013 thanks to grants from the N.H. Recreational Trails Program, Elektrisola Inc., the Cricket Foundation, the McIninch Foundation, the Cogswell Benevolent Trust, and the Dunn Trust. This addition extended the rail trail to the center of Boscawen, NH, increasing the total Northern Rail Trail to 56 miles.

• The final 2.3 miles of the southern end of the rail trail was completed in August, 2014 as a result of a $ 30,000 NH Recreational Trails Program grant and many contributions made by our members and supporters.  The Merrimack County portion of the trail is now 34 miles long and, combined with the section in Grafton County, creates a 59 mile four-season trail, the longest in the state of NH.  The southern end of the trail is within a half-mile of the Hannah Duston Park and Ride on Rte. 4.

•  From 2015 to 2019 volunteer managed projects to repair culverts, bridge decking and railings were undertaken by FNRT-MC to address safety and/or trail surface issues as they came up. The ongoing Milepost Restoration Project led by volunteer Ed Hiller has done much to enhance the trail user experience and to preserve its railroad history. Other volunteer led efforts during this period resulted in improved trail signage and the restoration of the historic round table site in Franklin, headed up by Steve Rayno.

•  In 2020, two grants were awarded to FNRT-MC; a $2,500 grant by the Granite State Wheelmen to repair the trail surface and add lighting to the Lawrence Street tunnel in Andover and a $22,628 2021 Recreational Trails Program grant by the NH Bureau of Trails to replace the original 4 iron pipe Eagle Pond culvert in Andover.

• In 2020, access to e-bike charging stations was given by generous local businesses in Danbury, E. Andover and Boscawen. The Boscawen Extension campaign was launched in October 2020 to purchase the last .6 miles of railroad right of way connecting the trail with the city of Concord and beyond.

• In 2021 FNRT won a 2022 RTP grant to repair a bridge in Franklin and improve the safety of a trail crossing at Plains Rd. in Andover.

• In the Spring of 2021, Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in Grafton County formally joined Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in Merrimack County becoming one organization, simply Friends of the Northern Rail Trail (FNRT). The FNRT Board of Directors were expanded to reflect the change and reorganized to include working committees.

• On July 16, 2021, the Lebanon tunnel connecting the then 58 mile Northern Rail Trail and 4 mile Mascoma River Greenway reopened as an art/event/connector for all Trail users.

• In the Spring of 2022, FNRT's a successful private funding campaign allowed FNRT to provide the State of New Hampshire $110,000 to purchase the last privately owned ROW in Merrimack County resulting in State ownership of the entire 59+ mile long Northern Rail Trail.

• Grants from the AARP Community Challenge program and the Granite State Wheelmen were won in the Spring of 2022 to fund FNRT's own Cycling Without Age project. This international program is being run in collaboration with the Lebanon Park and Recreation Department and is designed to help seniors get out on the Trail via an electric trishaw piloted by volunteers.