| Farmington River | |
|---|---|
 Looking downstream on the Farmington River inSimsbury, Connecticut | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts andConnecticut |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Outlet of Hayden Pond (West Branch of the Farmington River) |
| • location | Otis, Berkshire County, Massachusetts |
| 2nd source | Barkhamsted Reservoir (East Branch of the Farmington River) |
| • location | Hartland, Hartford County, Connecticut |
| Source confluence | confluence of the East Branch and West Branch |
| • location | New Hartford,Litchfield County, Connecticut |
| Mouth | confluence with Connecticut River |
• location | Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut |
• coordinates | 41°50′37.3596″N72°37′52.6368″W / 41.843711000°N 72.631288000°W /41.843711000; -72.631288000 |
| Length | 80.4 mi (129.4 km), from source of West Branch |
| Basin size | 602 sq mi (1,560 km2) |
| Official name | Farmington River |
| Type | Recreational |
| Designated | August 26, 1994 |
TheFarmington River is a 46.7 mi (75.2 km)[1] river located in northwestConnecticut, with major tributaries extending into southwestMassachusetts.> The Farmington River'swatershed covers 609 square miles (1,580 km2). Historically, the river played an important role in small-scale manufacturing in towns along its course, but it is now mainly used for recreation and drinking water.
The headwaters of the Farmington River consist of the East and West Branches.
The West Branch begins at the outlet of Hayden Pond inOtis, Massachusetts, while the East Branch begins inHartland, Connecticut, at the confluence of Pond, Hubbard and Valley Brooks.[2] The longest route of the river, from the origin of its West Branch, is 80.4 miles (129.4 km) long, making the Farmington River theConnecticut River's longest tributary by 2.3 miles (3.7 km) over theWestfield River directly to its north.[1]
The East Branch has been impounded along the first 11 miles of its course by theSaville Dam to create the Barkhamsted Reservoir and Lake McDonough, exiting the latter inNew Hartford, Connecticut, and joining the West Branch one mile south of the lake. Upper reaches of the river generally flow southward, but the river turns northward inFarmington, Connecticut, and runs mostly north and east until it flows into theConnecticut River inWindsor, Connecticut.
Sites built adjacent to the river by nomadic peoples at the end of thelast Ice Age,c.12,400 yearsBP of theYounger Dryas indicate the presence of the earliest peoples to populate the region that would become known as southernNew England. In the winter of 2019, the remains of the site were excavated inAvon, along with stone tools and artifacts constructed from materials in neighboring regions.[3]
The upper Connecticut and Farmington River valleys were the lands of the Native Americanindigenous people called theMassaco, a sub-tribe of theTunxis, who were affiliated with theWappinger. The name Tunxis, a word in theQuiripi family ofEastern Algonquian languages, derives from the indigenous termWuttunkshau for "the point where the river bends". Halfway through the course of the river, in afloodplain in the town ofFarmington at the base of theMetacomet Ridge, the flow of the Farmington River changes its direction to the northeast, where it eventually joins up with theConnecticut River inWindsor.[4]
When Europeans first arrived, the "Tunxis Sepus" territory consisted of a 165-mile square area bounded by Simsbury to the North, Wallingford to the South, to the northwest by Mohawk country, and on the east by the current towns of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield. In 1645, the Town of Farmington, Connecticut was named by the Connecticut General Assembly, and this was re-affirmed in 1650 by the execution of a deed by the General Assembly and the reservation of land for the "Tunxis Indians" near "Indian Neck" on the east bank of the Farmington River.[5] A group of twentywigwams existed in Farmington at the beginning of the eighteenth century, but only four or five families resided in the settlement by 1761[5]
The land of the Massaco was subsequently purchased by the Dutch. This and its settlement during the era of theConnecticut Colony are described in theearly history of Simsbury.
The Spoonville Dam, built on the Farmington River in 1899 below theTariffville Gorge inEast Granby, was breached in theFlood of 1955 and remained as a partial dam for several decades before being removed in July 2012.[6] The dam, as well as the bridge crossing the Farmington River downstream atRoute 187, derived its name from thesilver plating factory erected in 1840 on the north bank of the river. It was the first factory of its kind in the United States.[7]
Several bridges constructed in the 19th century and early 20th century still span the Farmington River to this day. Among these are:
The Farmington River is among Connecticut's most heavily stocked trout streams, with over 50,000 brook, brown, rainbow and tiger trout planted in 2022 throughout the West Branch and main stem.[14] It also hosts a robust population of wild, stream-born trout, which have been found to account for roughly 40% of the river's trout population.[15] The West Branch, in particular, has developed a reputation as one of the best trout streams in the Northeastern United States, owing largely to being a bottom-release tailwater which remains cold, well-oxygenated and especially conducive to sustaining coldwater fish species year-round.[16] The unique "Survivor Strain" brown trout, selectively bred at state hatcheries to be supremely adapted to Connecticut's waters, relies on annual collections of high-quality wild and holdover trout from the West Branch.[16]
The river has several whitewater sections that are popular for tubing and kayaking. One of these, the colloquial "Upper Farmington" section of the West Branch inNew Boston, Massachusetts, is about 7 miles (11 km) long. It is Class 2 through farm and woods scenery to an iron bridge, where kayak and canoe slalom races are held.[17] A second whitewater section is found inTariffville, Connecticut, consisting of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of technical Class 2 and Class 3 water with heavy currents.[18] Other whitewater areas include Satan's Kingdom in New Hartford, Connecticut,[19] which is also popular with tubers, and the Crystal Rapids section in Collinsville and Unionville, Connecticut, which offers 4 miles (6.4 km) of Class 2 waters.[20]
The west branch of the river includeshydroelectric dams inWest Hartland andColebrook, run by theMetropolitan District Commission of Connecticut.
The largest dam on the east branch is theSaville Dam, which impounds theBarkhamsted Reservoir.
The Rainbow Dam, a 68-foot (21 m) dam with a hydroelectric generator and afish ladder, dams the river at Windsor, a few miles before the river flows into the Connecticut River.
A number of other dams have been built on the river since European settlement, usually to power mills and other industry. A few, such as in Collinsville, are still mostly intact. TheCollinsville Renewable Energy Promotion Act (H.R. 316;113th Congress) would instruct theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue licenses to the town ofCanton, Connecticut, to restart two small power dams along the river.[21] The bill passed theUnited States House of Representatives on February 12, 2013, but has not yet become law.
Water released from or flowing over theOtis Reservoir dam enters the Farmington River just north of Reservoir Road in Otis, Massachusetts. Significant quantities of water are released during the fall in order to drop the reservoir water level for the winter.
Much of the Farmington River has been designated as part of the United StatesNational Wild & Scenic Rivers System. The first such designation on the river was bestowed in 1994 and included 14 miles of water, mostly along the Farmington River West Branch but also a section of the river's main stem, fromHartland to theNew Hartford-Canton town line. In 2019, this designation was extended 1.1 miles further downstream to the confluence with theNepaug River.[22] Most of the Farmington River main stem and the Salmon Brook tributary system, totalling 61.7 miles of additional water, were also designated Wild & Scenic in 2019.[23] The Farmington River Coordinating Committee oversees the implementation of management plans for the designated runs of the Farmington River and includes representatives from towns along the river, theConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection,Metropolitan District Commission,National Park Service, Farmington River Watershed Association and Farmington River Anglers Association.[24]
The Farmington River and its tributaries are known to contain 11 species offreshwater mussels.[25] The Farmington has the highest mussel species diversity of any tributary to the Connecticut, lacking only theYellow lampmussel, which is found only in the mainstem of the Connecticut from Turners Falls, MA downriver to Windsor, CT.[25]
