Assabet River
Encyclopedia
The Assabet River is a small river about 20 mile west of Boston, Massachusetts. The river is 34.4 miles (55.4 km) long. The Organization for the Assabet River, headquartered in West Concord, Massachusetts
, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, protection, and enhancement of the natural and recreational features of the Assabet River and its watershed.
word for "the place where materials for making fish nets comes from." Other traditional meanings are "at the miry place" or "it is miry." The English imagination has also gone to work on the spelling of the name, rendering it into the Assabeth, Asabet, Elizbeth, Elizabet, and perhaps a dozen variations.
It is possible to decode this name in the southern New England branch of Algonquian
, spoken by the Pawtucket tribe, which once fished there. The name is segmented
from assa, "turn back", pe, a short form of nippe, "water", used in compounds, and a locative suffix, -t, a shorter form of -et after the vowel. The meaning would be "at the place where the river turns back." At high water the Assabet does not flow downstream with the Sudbury but turns it into the Sudbury marshes. Presumably that would be the best time to set nets made of river reeds and catch fish; moreover, marshes are muddy.
and flows northeast 34 miles (54.7 km), falling 320 feet (97.5 m) through the towns of Northborough
, Marlborough
, Berlin
, Hudson
, Stow
, Maynard
, Acton
, and finally Concord
, where it merges (42.4653°N 71.3584°W) with the Sudbury River
at Egg Rock
to form the Concord River
. There are 9 dams along the Assabet, and over 40 bridges cross or once crossed the river. Its watershed covers 177 square miles (458.4 km²). The Assabet Marshes (in Stow) total about 900 acres (364.2 ha), and the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge
and environs (in Stow, Maynard, Sudbury, and Marlborough) totals about 2600 acres (1,052.2 ha).
wrote in its praise: "Rowing our boat against the current, between wide meadows, we turn aside into the Assabeth. A more lovely stream than this, for a mile [2 km] above its junction with the Concord, has never flowed on earth."
Undoubtedly stretches of the river are just as lovely now as they were in Hawthorne's time. However, the industrial age put it to work as well. At various times the Assabet has powered such industries as an early iron works (1658), numerous mills, several tanneries, a distillery that made brandy from apples, and a number of shoe factories.
The portion of the river flowing through Maynard is rated as class I-II whitewater, suitable for beginning whitewater canoeists.
Beginning in 2008, a group of local flyfishermen began stocking the river with German brown trout
in order to drum up local interest in the river and provide themselves with a place to fish. Thus far it has been a success.
West Concord, Massachusetts
West Concord is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Concord in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,632 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Concord is located at ....
, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, protection, and enhancement of the natural and recreational features of the Assabet River and its watershed.
Name
The river has had many variations of the same name over the centuries, without anyone knowing what it means. Some traditional meanings are associated with the place. Assabet is said to come from the AlgonquianAlgonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
word for "the place where materials for making fish nets comes from." Other traditional meanings are "at the miry place" or "it is miry." The English imagination has also gone to work on the spelling of the name, rendering it into the Assabeth, Asabet, Elizbeth, Elizabet, and perhaps a dozen variations.
It is possible to decode this name in the southern New England branch of Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
, spoken by the Pawtucket tribe, which once fished there. The name is segmented
- assa-pe-t
from assa, "turn back", pe, a short form of nippe, "water", used in compounds, and a locative suffix, -t, a shorter form of -et after the vowel. The meaning would be "at the place where the river turns back." At high water the Assabet does not flow downstream with the Sudbury but turns it into the Sudbury marshes. Presumably that would be the best time to set nets made of river reeds and catch fish; moreover, marshes are muddy.
Geography
The Assabet rises at a swampy area in WestboroughWestborough, Massachusetts
Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,272 at the 2010 census. The town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed by a five member elected Board of Selectmen whose duties include licensing, appointing various...
and flows northeast 34 miles (54.7 km), falling 320 feet (97.5 m) through the towns of Northborough
Northborough, Massachusetts
Northborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The official spelling of the town's name is "Northborough", but the shorter spelling "Northboro" is also used...
, Marlborough
Marlborough, Massachusetts
Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,499 at the 2010 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the...
, Berlin
Berlin, Massachusetts
Berlin is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,866 at the 2010 census.- History :Berlin was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1812....
, Hudson
Hudson, Massachusetts
Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,063 at the 2010 census. The town is located in central Massachusetts, about a 40-minute drive, or about , west of Boston, and about a 20-minute drive, or about , northeast of Worcester.Before its...
, Stow
Stow, Massachusetts
Stow is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,590 at the 2010 census.- History :Stow was first settled c. 1660 by Matthew Boon and John Kettell...
, Maynard
Maynard, Massachusetts
Maynard is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 10,106.- History :Maynard, located on the Assabet River, was incorporated as an independent municipality in 1871. Prior to that it was known as 'Assabet Village' but was legally...
, Acton
Acton, Massachusetts
Acton is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States about twenty-one miles west-northwest of Boston along Route 2 west of Concord and about ten miles southwest of Lowell. The population was 21,924 at the 2010 census...
, and finally Concord
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, where it merges (42.4653°N 71.3584°W) with the Sudbury River
Sudbury River
The Sudbury River is a tributary of the Concord River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States.Originating in the Cedar Swamp in Westborough, Massachusetts, near the boundary with Hopkinton, it meanders generally northeast to its confluence with the Assabet River at Egg Rock in...
at Egg Rock
Egg Rock
Egg Rock is an outcrop of Silurian Straw Hollow Diorite at the confluence of the Assabet and Sudbury rivers, where they form the Concord River in Concord, Massachusetts. The outcrop is located on a roughly oval intermittent island of about 100 by 50 meters...
to form the Concord River
Concord River
The Concord River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. The river drains a small rural and suburban region northwest of Boston. One of the most famous small rivers in U.S...
. There are 9 dams along the Assabet, and over 40 bridges cross or once crossed the river. Its watershed covers 177 square miles (458.4 km²). The Assabet Marshes (in Stow) total about 900 acres (364.2 ha), and the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge
Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge
Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, formerly referred to as the U.S. Army's Fort Devens-Sudbury Training Annex, is a parcel of land located approximately west of Boston, and west of the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex Headquarters. It is located in portions of the...
and environs (in Stow, Maynard, Sudbury, and Marlborough) totals about 2600 acres (1,052.2 ha).
Description
Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
wrote in its praise: "Rowing our boat against the current, between wide meadows, we turn aside into the Assabeth. A more lovely stream than this, for a mile [2 km] above its junction with the Concord, has never flowed on earth."
Undoubtedly stretches of the river are just as lovely now as they were in Hawthorne's time. However, the industrial age put it to work as well. At various times the Assabet has powered such industries as an early iron works (1658), numerous mills, several tanneries, a distillery that made brandy from apples, and a number of shoe factories.
The portion of the river flowing through Maynard is rated as class I-II whitewater, suitable for beginning whitewater canoeists.
Beginning in 2008, a group of local flyfishermen began stocking the river with German brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
in order to drum up local interest in the river and provide themselves with a place to fish. Thus far it has been a success.
External links
- Organization for the Assabet River, a local conservation group