BELLOWS FALLS

village in Rockingham town (township), Windham county, southeastern Vermont, U.S., on the Connecticut River. It was settled about 1753 and named for Colonel Benjamin Bellows, an early property owner. The first bridge across the Connecticut River was built at Bellows Falls in 1785. Between 1792 and 1802 one of the nation's first canals was constructed around the 50-foot (15-metre) waterfall at the site in order to accommodate river traffic. Power from the falls and from the river helped the community develop industrially. A gristmill (built 1831) still has most of its original machinery and now houses the Bellows Falls Historical Society. The chief manufactures are paper, wood products, and wire cord. The Rockingham Meeting House (1787) is nearby. Pop. (1990) 3,313; (1996 est.) 3,195.