| Ipswich River | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Burlington,Massachusetts |
| • coordinates | 42°33′14″N71°08′38″W / 42.5539828°N 71.1439441°W /42.5539828; -71.1439441 |
| Mouth | |
• location | Ipswich Bay, Massachusetts |
• coordinates | 42°41′38″N70°47′23″W / 42.6939825°N 70.7897712°W /42.6939825; -70.7897712 |
• elevation | 0 ft |
| Length | 35 mi (56 km) |
| Basin size | 155 sq mi (400 km2) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Skug River,Boston Brook |
| • right | Miles River,Salem Beverly Waterway Canal |
Ipswich River is a smallriver in northeasternMassachusetts,United States. It held significant importance in early colonial migrations inland from the ocean port ofIpswich. The river provided safe harborage at offshorePlum Island Sound to early Massachusetts subsistence farmers, who were also fishermen. A part of the river forms town boundaries and dividesEssex County, Massachusetts on the coast from the more inlandMiddlesex County.[1] It is 35 miles (56 km) long,[2] and itswatershed is approximately 155 square miles (401 km2), with an estimated population in the area of 160,000 people.[3]
Historically, the settlement ofEssex County began at the oldest community there, the tiny seaport of Agawam (later renamed Ipswich, and not to be confused with present-dayAgawam in Hampden County), and typically proceeded westward and northward along the Ipswich or its tributary creeks. WhenMiddlesex County was formed in theMassachusetts Bay Colony, onlySalem andCharlestown across theCharles River mouth and Boston harbor's inner estuary from Boston's much smaller hill dominatedpeninsula were older settlements.
The upper river runs through and drains at least parts of Burlington, the lower river forms part of the borders between the towns of:
The wide swamps along the river made it impossible to ford the stream anywhere east of Wilmington in colonial times. The only route north out of Boston to the northeast (today called theNorth Shore) was via the Andover Road, an often muddy track, later made awagon road which forded the stream just below the confluence ofLubbers andMaple Meadow brooks.
The topography of eastern Massachusetts was determined most by the fact that, at the maximum glaciation of thePleistocene Era, it was the site of the edge of the last glaciation, at approximately 18,000 BC. This glacier had planed the land under it nearly flat. Gravel- and boulder-lined streams ran along its surface. From 18,000 to about 10,000 BC, the glacier receded, dropping its stony contents as eskers and moraines, the dominant features of the region. Theglacier's recession createdridges, depositedsand andgravel, the dominant material of theriverbed, over which mud has been deposited.[4] Low-gradient drainage created the meandering streams, which typically drop no more than 30–40 feet.
The first written record about the Ipswich River is from 1638 whenJohn Winthrop bought fromChief Masconomet and theAgawam tribe the lands along the river and exclusivefishing rights for 20pounds sterling.
Most of the land along the river is privately owned but in certain recreational areas non-motorized boats, fishing, and swimming are allowed. It is attractive tocanoeists and birders. In theswampy andwetland areas a wide variety of birds and smaller wildlife species can be seen.
Drinking water for many communities is provided from Ipswich River. It is estimated that source of public drinking water for approximately 350,000 people comes from the river's watershed although most of these people live outside the area. There are some concerns about the quality of the water as the river dries up and some places become a dumping ground for tires.[5]
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The river begins in the northeastern part ofBurlington in northcentralMiddlesex CountyMassachusetts and heading generally southeasterly, it passes through the towns ofWilmington (where once the importantMiddlesex Canal passed over it on an aqueduct),Reading, thence toNorth Reading, where it is joined by theleft bank tributarySkug River — which originates in North Andover and Andover southwest of Boston Hill in a largeBeaverPond and marshland, situated north of Gray Road-jct.-Gray Street (very near the townlines of the two towns) where it crosses via culvert south ofRt. MA 125 and west ofRt. MA 114 (historically, and by street name, theSalem Turnpike), and thence, about a mile south, gains volume draining all ofHarold Parker State Forest in the tri-town corner of Andover,North Andover, and Middleton — excepting the few acres draining to Ipswich tributary,Boston Brook along the other side ofMA 114.
Both tributary creeks enter and mingle with the Ipswich proper inMiddleton, proceed south into northernPeabody, then loop northwards through the municipalities ofDanvers,Topsfield (crossingUS Route 1 just south of theTopsfield Fairground, entering from the west turns northerly and runs the greater length ofTeal Pond southwest to north, the east bank of which forms a part of the western border ofHamilton, and exits the lake turning easterly staying south of Ipswich Road to head through and between theWillowdale State Forest andBradley Palmer State Park, then opens a gap from Ipswich road diverging southeasterly from the road and the south edge of theTurner Hill Golf Club to turn north and form the west border of theJulia Bird Reservation thence meanders north through settledIpswich neighborhoods and directly through town center passing underMA 133 (County Road, aka. South Main Street) where it gradually begins widening until a mile beyond main Street it passes Nichols Field and the salt marsh floodplain begins. From Nichols it traverses a bit over 2.5 miles (4.0 km)[6] joins with Plum Island Sound in connecting with theAtlantic Ocean at Ipswich Bay.[7] There is always some flow from the river into the bay. However, the lower Ipswich and Plum Island Sound, as well as the lower four other rivers flowing into it, and the much largerMerrimack River to the north, are all tidal estuaries, so the water is brackish from mixing ocean born saltwater inland during flood tides, and the lands immediately along the banks, where not inundated some of the time, are nonetheless saturated by brackish water and support only hearty plants capable of tolerating the waters such assalt marshhay. High tides cover all of Great Marsh and the flood plains of the lower rivers. Low tides uncover the mud flats, reducing the deep channels to small streams some often small enough one can hop across to fish elsewhere.
The river is navigable upstream to nearly Ipswich center by small craft. There a sharper drop in elevation over some rocky areas upstream characteristic of Northeastern US streams in general and which prevents further navigation without portaging light boats. The river and riverlands currently suffer from diminished flow due to extensive withdrawals from the ground water in urban areas upstream.[citation needed] The upper third of the river may become a dry bed in the summer. Wetland reservations, for wildlife have been created along much of the lower river and the mean water level therein has been prevented from falling precipitously byWillowdale Mill Dam, a remnant of a 19th-century mill system. It is currently privately owned by a canoe-rental concession.
The combined Ipswich River/Plum Island Sound exits through a relatively narrow, shallow channel that passes under Castle Hill and along Crane's Beach to the south. On the north, Sandy Point at the tip of Plum Island juts into the flow. In the days of sail, Bar Head, Bar Head Rocks, and Emerson Rocks posed some threat to sailing vessels trying to tack into or out of the estuary. The shallow waters often stranded vessels in storms, which would then be dismantled by severe breakers. The combination was inevitably tragic to vessels caught there in a northeaster, or violent winter storm of near-hurricane-force winds. Despite these difficulties, the sound and the mouth of the Ipswich were mooring places of ocean-going cargo vessels and fishing and whaling boats, before the opening of Newburyport Harbor, then blocked by a sandbar. The now abandoned shores of the region give little hint of its former importance to commerce and prosperity.
Media related toIpswich River at Wikimedia Commons
