From John Dearborn’s “History of Salisbury, New Hampshire”, 1890, pages 299-309.
**Synopsis**: The Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike was constructed in the early 1800s and was privately owned by a corporation of local citizens. As a toll road, the tolls collected reimbursed the shareholders and provided funds for maintenance and potential profits. The turnpike traversed through Andover, Salisbury, and Boscawen and is now known as Route 4.
This road served as an alternative to the Old College Road and other existing routes for northern travel during that time, which were likely quite rugged. Being a toll road generated a source of income, allowing for better maintenance, making it more suitable for carriages and teams of horses.
The term “turnpike” refers to a set of spikes fixed to a bar or pole, which acts as a gate. There was a toll booth in each town that the turnpike passed through.
To understand the northern location of the toll booth in our town, it’s important to examine the overall route of the road through Andover and Boscawen to uncover their reasoning. Further research is needed to identify the locations of the toll booths in Andover and Boscawen, and locating an early map would be ideal for this purpose.
In the northern end of Salisbury was the Parker Gate, which was maintained for many years by Deacon Daniel Parker. Its location is described in 1890 as being “on the west side of the road where it intersects the Old College Road, south of the present residence of H.F. Heath.”
On the map below (date unclear), we see the residence of B.F. Heath, likely belonging to the same family.
