Merrimack River
Encyclopedia
The Merrimack River is a 117 miles (188.3 km) river in the northeastern United States
. It rises at the confluence
of the Pemigewasset
and Winnipesaukee
rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire
, flows southward into Massachusetts
, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean
at Newburyport
. From the point where the Merrimack turns northeast in Lowell, Massachusetts
onward, the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border
is roughly calculated as the line three miles north of the river.
The Merrimack is an important regional focus in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, the central-southern part of the state is known as the Merrimack Valley Region, and in Massachusetts, the "Merrimack Valley" refers to a cluster of towns and small cities in the northeastern part of the state.
Several U.S. naval ships have been named the USS Merrimack
and USS Merrimac in honor of this river.
. Upon the glacier's retreat, debris deposited north of Boston filled the lower Merrimack Valley, redirecting the river into its current northeast bend at Lowell. The Neville archaeological site
is located along the river's banks in New Hampshire.
The total watershed of the river is approximately 4700 square miles (12,172.9 km²), covering much of southern New Hampshire and a portion of northeastern Massachusetts. On its banks are a number of cities built to take advantage of water power in the 19th Century, when textile mills dominated the New England economy: Concord
, Manchester
, and Nashua
in New Hampshire, and Lowell
, Lawrence
, and Haverhill
in Massachusetts. At the mouth of the river is the small city of Newburyport
. Prior to the construction of the Middlesex Canal
, Newburyport was an important shipbuilding city, in a location to receive New Hampshire timber that had been floated downriver.
The river is perhaps best known for the early American literary classic A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River by Henry David Thoreau
. Among its tributaries are the Souhegan River
, which extends west from the town of Merrimack, New Hampshire
; the Nashua River
, which flows north into the city of Nashua; the Concord River
, which flows north from Concord, Massachusetts
to Lowell; and the Shawsheen River
, which after also flowing north, joins the Merrimack at Lawrence.
The etymology of the name of the Merrimack River - from which all subsequent uses derive, such as the name of the Civil War ironclad - remains unknown.
There is some evidence that it is Native American. In 1604 the natives of later New England
told Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts
, who was leading a colony of French language
speakers to Acadia
(later Nova Scotia
), of a beautiful river to the south. The French promptly pronounced its native name as Merremack. In 1605 Samuel de Champlain
followed this lead, found the river and renamed it Riviere du Gas.
The French and their name did not remain on the Merrimack. The natives dwelling along the river at that time were the Agawam on the lower reaches, the Pawtucket at Lowell, Massachusetts
, the Nashua
, Souhegan and Namoskeag around Manchester, New Hampshire
, the Penacook
northward from Bow, New Hampshire
, and the Winnepisseogee at the source, Lake Winnipesaukee
. These were all members of a nation of Algonquian
speakers known as the Nipmuck
.
According to Joseph B. Walker, relying on Chandler Eastman Potter's The History of Manchester (1856), Merremack contains the elements merruh ("strong") and auke ("place"—a recognizable locative ending), and means "the place of strong current,- a term not inappropriate, when we consider ... the river's rapids ...." Potter was an authority on native American affairs in colonial New England. By contrast, in A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
, Henry David Thoreau
implies that "its name signifies the Sturgeon River."
Walker goes on to cite spellings of Merimacke, Merimack and Merrimacke in "the colonial records of Massachusetts", as well as the Merrimake and Merrymake of a 1721 land grant at Penacook, New Hampshire
. William Wood's New England's Prospect of 1634 calls the river the Merrimacke and locates it eight miles beyond Agowamme (Ipswich, Massachusetts
). It hosts, he says, "Sturgeon, Sammon and Basse, and divers other kinds of fish."
Merrimac, Massachusetts
, settled in 1638 and originally part of Amesbury, Massachusetts
, was called West Amesbury until 1876, at which time it adopted its current name and spelling. Merrimack, New Hampshire
was incorporated in 1746, spelling its name "Marrymac" in the record of its first town meeting. It is referred to as Merrimac into the early 19th century: in the 1810 decennial census, it was spelled Merrimac, but in the 1820 and afterwards, Merrimack.
In 1914, US Congressman John Jacob Rogers
(MA) petitioned that the official spelling be Merrimack.
While the Merrimack River is prone to minor flooding, on May 15, 2006 rainfall raised the river more than 8 feet (2.4 m) above flood stage, forcing evacuations, damaging property, and breaking the main sewage pipeline in the city of Haverhill, Massachusetts
, dumping 35 million gallons of raw sewage waste into the river per day. Reports of total rainfall vary, but most areas appear to have received around a foot of rain with some areas receiving as much as 17 inches (43 cm).
According to The Boston Globe, around 1,500 people evacuated their homes to escape the flood.
This flood also prompted the city of Lowell, Massachusetts
to install a modern (albeit temporary) flood control gate comprising square steel beams at the site of the historic Francis Gate
, a 19th and 20th century wooden flood gate. When lowered, the Francis gate seals the city's canal system off from its source on the Merrimack. The Great Gate, as it is also called, was built in 1850 under the direction of James B. Francis
. Considered unnecessary when it was first constructed, "Francis' Folly" first saved the city in 1852 and subsequently in 1936.
book Doctor Sax
is set during this event.
In addition to the 1936 flood, the 1852 flood, and the Mother's Day Flood of 2006, the New England Hurricane of 1938
and a flood in April 2007 round out the river's most serious flood events, measured at Lowell. The Francis Gate had been left in place after being dropped in 1936, so it prevented flooding in 1938 as well. In 2007, the steel beam system was again assembled in place.
feature on the 2009 album Amanda Leigh
by Nashua, New Hampshire native Mandy Moore
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It rises at the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Pemigewasset
Pemigewasset River
The Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is in length and drains approximately...
and Winnipesaukee
Winnipesaukee River
The Winnipesaukee River is a river that connects Lake Winnipesaukee with the Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire. The river is located in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire. The total drainage area of the river is approximately .There are two distinct sections of...
rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire
Franklin, New Hampshire
The median income for a household in the city was $34,613, and the median income for a family was $41,698. Males had a median income of $32,318 versus $25,062 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,155...
, flows southward into Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
at Newburyport
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...
. From the point where the Merrimack turns northeast in Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
onward, the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border
Northern boundary of Massachusetts
The northern boundary of the U.S. state of Massachusetts adjoins two other states - Vermont and New Hampshire. The majority of the line is roughly a straight line from the northwest corner of the state east to a point north of Lowell...
is roughly calculated as the line three miles north of the river.
The Merrimack is an important regional focus in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, the central-southern part of the state is known as the Merrimack Valley Region, and in Massachusetts, the "Merrimack Valley" refers to a cluster of towns and small cities in the northeastern part of the state.
Several U.S. naval ships have been named the USS Merrimack
USS Merrimack
USS Merrimack, or variant spelling USS Merrimac, may be any one of several ships commissioned in the United States Navy and named after the Merrimack River.*USS Merrimack , 1798–1801, later known as the Monticello, sunk off Cape Cod...
and USS Merrimac in honor of this river.
History and details
Prior to glaciation, the Merrimack continued its southward course far beyond the present day New Hampshire-Massachusetts border to enter the Atlantic Ocean near BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Upon the glacier's retreat, debris deposited north of Boston filled the lower Merrimack Valley, redirecting the river into its current northeast bend at Lowell. The Neville archaeological site
Neville archaeological site
Neville is an archaeological site on the bank of the Merrimack River in New Hampshire, the United States.The first occupants arrived during the Middle Archaic and left around 5900 BP. However, people had been visiting the site for more than 8,000 years...
is located along the river's banks in New Hampshire.
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
, Manchester
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
, and Nashua
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
in New Hampshire, and Lowell
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, Lawrence
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
, and Haverhill
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
in Massachusetts. At the mouth of the river is the small city of Newburyport
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...
. Prior to the construction of the Middlesex Canal
Middlesex Canal
The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet long and between 10 and 11 feet wide...
, Newburyport was an important shipbuilding city, in a location to receive New Hampshire timber that had been floated downriver.
The river is perhaps best known for the early American literary classic A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River by Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
. Among its tributaries are the Souhegan River
Souhegan River
The Souhegan River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in the northeastern United States. long with a drainage area of , it flows north and east through southern New Hampshire to the Merrimack River....
, which extends west from the town of Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,494 at the 2010 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire....
; the Nashua River
Nashua River
The Nashua River, long, is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It is formed in eastern Worcester County, Massachusetts, by junction of its north and south branches near Lancaster, and flows generally north-northeast past Groton to join the...
, which flows north into the city of Nashua; 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...
, which flows north from Concord, Massachusetts
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:...
to Lowell; and the Shawsheen River
Shawsheen River
The Shawsheen River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in northeast Massachusetts. The name has had various spellings. According to Bailey's history of Andover, the spelling Shawshin was the most common in the old records, although Shawshine, Shashin, Shashine, Shashene, Shawshene, and later,...
, which after also flowing north, joins the Merrimack at Lawrence.
Navigation
The Merrimack is listed as one of the Navigable Waters of the United States, subject to Section 10, Rivers and Harbors Act Jurisdiction.Etymology and spelling
There is some evidence that it is Native American. In 1604 the natives of later New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
told Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts
Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts
Pierre Du Gua de Monts, was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Protestant, he was born in Royan, France and had a great influence over the first two decades of the 17th century...
, who was leading a colony of French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
speakers to Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
(later Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
), of a beautiful river to the south. The French promptly pronounced its native name as Merremack. In 1605 Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
followed this lead, found the river and renamed it Riviere du Gas.
The French and their name did not remain on the Merrimack. The natives dwelling along the river at that time were the Agawam on the lower reaches, the Pawtucket at Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, the Nashua
Nashaway
The Nashaway were a tribe of Algonquian Indians inhabiting the upstream portions of the Nashua River valley in what is now the northern half of Worcester County, Massachusetts, mainly in the vicinity of Sterling, Lancaster and other towns near Mount Wachusett...
, Souhegan and Namoskeag around Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
, the Penacook
Pennacook
The Pennacook, also known by the names Merrimack and Pawtucket, were a North American people that primarily inhabited the Merrimack River valley of present-day New Hampshire and Massachusetts, as well as portions of southern Maine...
northward from Bow, New Hampshire
Bow, New Hampshire
Bow is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,519 at the 2010 census.- History :Incorporated in 1727, the town was one of several formed to ease population pressures on the Seacoast. The town's name comes from its establishment along a bend, or "bow", in the...
, and the Winnepisseogee at the source, Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is approximately long and from wide , covering — when Paugus Bay is included—with a maximum depth of ....
. These were all members of a nation 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...
speakers known as the Nipmuck
Nipmuck
The Nipmuc are a group of Algonquian Indians native to Worcester County, Massachusetts, some parts of Northeastern CT, and NW RI, and the Northwestern and Western parts of Middlesex County, Massachusetts.-Name:...
.
According to Joseph B. Walker, relying on Chandler Eastman Potter's The History of Manchester (1856), Merremack contains the elements merruh ("strong") and auke ("place"—a recognizable locative ending), and means "the place of strong current,- a term not inappropriate, when we consider ... the river's rapids ...." Potter was an authority on native American affairs in colonial New England. By contrast, in A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers is a book by Henry David Thoreau, first published in 1849. The book is ostensibly the narrative of a boat trip from Concord, Massachusetts to Concord, New Hampshire and back Thoreau had taken with his brother John in 1839...
, Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
implies that "its name signifies the Sturgeon River."
Penacook, New Hampshire
Penacook, originally called "Fisherville", is a village within the city of Concord in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA. It lies along Concord's northern border with Boscawen. The name comes from the Pennacook tribe that lived in the area...
. William Wood's New England's Prospect of 1634 calls the river the Merrimacke and locates it eight miles beyond Agowamme (Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
). It hosts, he says, "Sturgeon, Sammon and Basse, and divers other kinds of fish."
Merrimac, Massachusetts
Merrimac, Massachusetts
Merrimac is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, and on the southeastern border of New Hampshire, approximately northeast of Boston and west of the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated along the north bank of the Merrimack River in the Merrimack Valley. The population was 6,504 in 2008...
, settled in 1638 and originally part of Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Though it officially became a city in 1996, its formal name remains "The Town of Amesbury." In 1890, 9798 people lived in Amesbury; in 1900, 9473; in 1910, 9894; in 1920, 10,036; and in 1940, 10,862. The population was 16,283 at...
, was called West Amesbury until 1876, at which time it adopted its current name and spelling. Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,494 at the 2010 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire....
was incorporated in 1746, spelling its name "Marrymac" in the record of its first town meeting. It is referred to as Merrimac into the early 19th century: in the 1810 decennial census, it was spelled Merrimac, but in the 1820 and afterwards, Merrimack.
In 1914, US Congressman John Jacob Rogers
John Jacob Rogers
John Jacob Rogers was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts.Rogers was born in Lowell, Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard University in 1904 and from Harvard Law School in 1907. He practiced law in Lowell, starting in 1908...
(MA) petitioned that the official spelling be Merrimack.
May 2006 flooding
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
, dumping 35 million gallons of raw sewage waste into the river per day. Reports of total rainfall vary, but most areas appear to have received around a foot of rain with some areas receiving as much as 17 inches (43 cm).
According to The Boston Globe, around 1,500 people evacuated their homes to escape the flood.
This flood also prompted the city of Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
to install a modern (albeit temporary) flood control gate comprising square steel beams at the site of the historic Francis Gate
James B. Francis
James Bicheno Francis was a British-American engineer, who invented the Francis turbine.-Early years:James Francis was born in South Leigh, near Witney, Oxfordshire in England, United Kingdom...
, a 19th and 20th century wooden flood gate. When lowered, the Francis gate seals the city's canal system off from its source on the Merrimack. The Great Gate, as it is also called, was built in 1850 under the direction of James B. Francis
James B. Francis
James Bicheno Francis was a British-American engineer, who invented the Francis turbine.-Early years:James Francis was born in South Leigh, near Witney, Oxfordshire in England, United Kingdom...
. Considered unnecessary when it was first constructed, "Francis' Folly" first saved the city in 1852 and subsequently in 1936.
Other flooding events
The most significant flood in the recorded history of the Merrimack was in March 1936, when a double flood of rain and melting snow and ice swelled the Merrimack at Lowell to 68.4 feet (20.8 m), 10 feet (3 m) higher than the 2006 flood. Part of the Jack KerouacJack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
book Doctor Sax
Doctor Sax
Doctor Sax is a novel by Jack Kerouac published in 1959. Kerouac wrote it in 1952 while living with William S. Burroughs in Mexico City.-Plot summary:...
is set during this event.
In addition to the 1936 flood, the 1852 flood, and the Mother's Day Flood of 2006, the New England Hurricane of 1938
New England Hurricane of 1938
The New England Hurricane of 1938 was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869...
and a flood in April 2007 round out the river's most serious flood events, measured at Lowell. The Francis Gate had been left in place after being dropped in 1936, so it prevented flooding in 1938 as well. In 2007, the steel beam system was again assembled in place.
In media
The song "Merrimack River" and its instrumental repriseReprise
Reprise is a fundamental device in the history of art. In literature, a reprise consists of the rewriting of another work; in music, a reprise is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the...
feature on the 2009 album Amanda Leigh
Amanda Leigh
Amanda Leigh is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Mandy Moore, released on May 26, 2009 through Storefront Recordings and RED Distribution...
by Nashua, New Hampshire native Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...
.
See also
- List of rivers of Massachusetts
- List of rivers of New Hampshire
- List of crossings of the Merrimack River