Balloch is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in the southwestern corner of the town of
Cornish, New Hampshire
Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair.
History
The town was granted in 1763 and containe ...
, United States. The name is derived from the Balloch Farm, originally owned by James Balloch (1761-1840) and, later, by his son William Balloch (1820-1893).
[History of Town of Cornish, New Hampshire 1763-1910 (Genealogies p. 14)] It was the site of a small
Boston & Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B&M ...
station, built in the 1890s and destroyed in a freight train derailment on February 12, 1928.
[''Claremont Daily Eagle'', February 13, 1928]
History
The Balloch Farm was settled by James Balloch soon after his arrival in the United States in 1790.
He married Sarah Chase, of the long-standing Cornish Chase family in 1796.
Under his son, William, the farm prospered, producing milk for area creameries. The
Sullivan County Railroad was constructed through the farm in 1849, with William Balloch serving as a contractor to the railroad. Starting in the 1890s, the Balloch station was built to ship this milk directly to processors, such as the
Bellows Falls Cooperative Creamery.
Balloch today
Balloch at one time was marked by the "Balloch's Crossing Farm & Forge" sign at the historic Balloch Farm (formerly the home of North Star Canoe Rentals). The railroad, now operated by the
New England Central Railroad
The New England Central Railroad is a regional railroad in the New England region of the United States. It began operations in 1995, as the successor of the Central Vermont Railway (CV). The company was originally a subsidiary of holding comp ...
, continues to feature daily trains through Balloch, including its own freight trains, as well as freight trains of
Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former C ...
and the daily ''
Vermonter'' passenger train of
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
.
See also
*
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
*
List of cities and towns in New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state located in the Northeastern United States. It is divided into 234 municipalities, including 221 towns and 13 cities. New Hampshire is organized along the New England town model, where the state is nearly completely inc ...
*
Cornish, New Hampshire
Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair.
History
The town was granted in 1763 and containe ...
References
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in New Hampshire
New Hampshire populated places on the Connecticut River
Unincorporated communities in Sullivan County, New Hampshire
Cornish, New Hampshire