The Mystic River is a 7.0-mile-long (11.3 km) river in Massachusetts . In the Massachusett language , missi-tuk means "large estuary", alluding to the tidal nature of the Mystic River. The resemblance to the English word mystic is a coincidence, which the colonists followed.
15-541: Island End River is a short tributary of the Mystic River in Massachusetts . It is notable for its environmental history, which consisted of steady and severe pollution from the 19th century to the 1950s, with concerted cleanup efforts beginning in the early 21st century. The river was polluted originally through the direct release of wastewater from a coal tar processing plant located along it, resulting in
30-867: A mile (1.6 km) to the Powder House where a large supply of American gunpowder was kept; they removed all the powder, sparking a popular uprising known as the Powder Alarm . The Battle of Chelsea Creek took place in the river's watershed in May 1775, and the British attacked via the river's beach in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June. In 1805, the Middlesex Canal linked the Charles and Mystic Rivers to
45-414: Is 325 feet long, and 45 feet wide; the two smaller locks are 120 feet long and, 22 feet wide. There is no public access to the dam. The dam is named after the aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart whose plane disappeared in 1937. Earhart lived in nearby Medford, Massachusetts in the 1920s. The City of Somerville's 2017 Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment noted that by 2035, a 100-year flood would flank
60-736: The Charles River , encompassing 76 square miles (200 km ) of watershed. The river flows from the Lower Mystic Lake and travels through East Boston , Chelsea , Charlestown , Everett , Medford , Somerville , and Arlington . The river joins the Charles River to form inner Boston Harbor . Its watershed contains 44 lakes and ponds, the largest of which is Spot Pond in the Middlesex Fells , with an area of 307 acres (124 ha). Significant portions of
75-738: The Merrimack River in Lowell . Ten shipyards along the Mystic River built more than 500 clipper ships during the 19th Century. Shipbuilding peaked in the 1840s, as schooners and sloops transported timber and molasses for rum distilleries between Medford and the West Indies. Extensive salt marshes lined the banks of the Mystic River until 1909, when the first Craddock Locks was built across the river, converting salt marsh to freshwater marsh and enabling development. The Amelia Earhart Dam
90-457: The 1861 poem " Paul Revere's Ride " by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , Paul Revere rides along the banks of the Mystic River. Amelia Earhart Dam The Amelia Earhart Dam is an earth-fill dam spanning the Mystic River near its mouth between Somerville and Everett, Massachusetts . It was built in 1966 to regulate tidal effects and the incursion of salt water in the upstream river basin. It has 3 locks for marine traffic. The largest
105-456: The Mystic River, pollution and dam building have severely damaged the populations. Pollution came from various mills and a small ship building yard in the past. The main source of pollution in the 20th century and into the present is from drainage from cities and towns in the watershed. Many of the records of nearby drainage pipes have been lost, or have undocumented changes and diversions. Once described as having so many herring that one could cross
120-439: The buildup of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on the river bottom. It was partly dredged in 2007, but its sediments remained heavily contaminated. Its water quality also remained extremely poor, but, as the result of sewage control efforts by the cities of Chelsea and Everett , substantially improved by 2019. Much of the river runs through a culvert, which is in poor condition; the city of Everett began restoring parts of it to
135-416: The dam, and by 2070, overtop it, leading to major impacts on low-lying areas such as Assembly Square . In 2018, 21 cities and towns near the Mystic River requested flood prevention and mitigation funding, including approximately $ 20 million for an additional pump. 42°23′42″N 71°04′30″W / 42.394881°N 71.075054°W / 42.394881; -71.075054 This article about
150-680: The first ship built in Massachusetts was the Blessing of the Bay , launched from the river's shores. The first bridge was built in 1637; neighboring towns squabbled about the costs for more than a hundred years. The Mystic River played a role in the American Revolution on September 1, 1774 when a force of roughly 260 British regulars rowed from Boston up the river to a landing point near Winter Hill . From there, they marched about
165-530: The river on South Street in Medford.) John Townsend Trowbridge 's popular 1882 novel, The Tinkham Brothers' Tide-Mill , had its setting along the river at a time when saltwater still reached the Mystic Lakes. In Dennis Lehane 's novel of the same name, Boston -area Mystic River holds a pivotal narrative development in the mystery. Later, Clint Eastwood directed the acclaimed film adaptation . In
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#1732793669216180-617: The river on their backs, the Mystic River herring run is much smaller than it was in historic times. Pollution has raised bacteria levels and turbidity, making it unfavorable for fish to live in. In 1844, Medford abolitionist and writer Lydia Maria Child described her journey across the Mystic to her grandfather's house in the poem " Over the River and Through the Wood ." ( Grandfather's House , restored by Tufts University in 1976, still stands near
195-673: The river's shores are within the Mystic River Reservation and are administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation , which include a variety of recreation areas. The Mystic River has a long history of industrial use and a continuing water quality problem. Some sections are undergoing an extensive cleanup as part of the construction of Everett's new Encore Boston Harbor casino. American Indians and colonists used weirs to catch alewives and fertilize their crops. In 1631,
210-416: The surface in 2021. Because of the concentration of PAHs in its sediments, Island End River has served as a useful site for scientific studies of microbial biodegradation . 42°23′19″N 71°03′16″W / 42.3887°N 71.0544°W / 42.3887; -71.0544 Mystic River The Mystic River lies to the north of Boston and flows approximately parallel to the lower portions of
225-542: Was built in 1966, named for Amelia Earhart . In 1950, construction was completed on the Maurice J. Tobin Bridge which spans the Mystic River, joining Charlestown and Chelsea. At one time, the Mystic River was home to many species of fish, including salmon , alewife , blueback herring , striped bass , bluefish , smallmouth bass , largemouth bass , bluegill , carp and more. Although most of these species still live in
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