Loudon, NH

Loudon is the main village in the Town of Loudon, a New Hampshire CDP on both sides of the Soucook River. The river is the organizing line: the Wales Bridge crosses it, old mill sites dot its banks, and an earlier Native American trail followed the valley toward Gilmanton and Lake Winnipesaukee. Five stone houses built from local Loudon stone in 1830 still stand, while the Loudon Community Building occupies a renovated mid-nineteenth-century barn and houses the Historical Society Museum. If you're placing Loudon, think village roads, stone houses, Soucook water, and the old mills just beyond the center.