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56-531: The Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery is a rural cemetery located in Poughkeepsie, New York and includes the gravesites of several notable figures. It also has a crematory . The forty-four acres of land used for the cemetery were purchased by Matthew Vassar . Some of its architectural features were designed by J. A. Wood . His work includes the cemetery gates and gatehouse, the Frost Mausoleum, and

112-483: A commercial business for the first time, replacing the practice of burying the dead in churchyards or on private farmland. One effect of the law was the development of a large concentration of cemeteries along the border between the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn , often called the "Cemetery Belt". By the 1860s, rural cemeteries could be found on the outskirts of cities and smaller towns across

168-862: A highly meandering route, that doubles back on itself several times and travels through 23 cities and towns before reaching the Atlantic Ocean . The indigenous Massachusett named it Quinobequin , meaning "meandering" or "meandering still water". The Charles River is fed by approximately 80 streams and several major aquifers as it flows 80 miles (129 km), starting at Teresa Road just north of Echo Lake ( 42°12′54″N 71°30′52″W  /  42.215°N 71.514444°W  / 42.215; -71.514444 ) in Hopkinton, passing through 23 cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts before emptying into Boston Harbor . Thirty-three lakes and ponds and 35 municipalities are entirely or partially part of

224-719: A monument for Matthew Vassar's nephew, John Guy Vassar. Several relatives of Alexander Hamilton , a Founding Father of the United States , are buried at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery: Other notable individuals buried or cremated at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery include: Rural cemetery The rural cemetery movement mirrored changing attitudes toward death in the nineteenth century. Images of hope and immortality were popular in rural cemeteries in contrast to

280-713: A rowing and sculling locale, with many boathouses and the three-mile Head of the Charles Regatta , the world's largest long-distance rowing regatta. The major boathouses, starting up stream near Watertown, are Community Rowing, Inc. , housing competitive, recreational, and learning programs along with the Boston College Crew; Northeastern University's Henderson; Cambridge Boat Club; Newell , home of Harvard Men's Rowing; Weld , home of Harvard Women's Rowing; Riverside Boat Club; Boston University's DeWolfe; Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Pierce; and, in

336-424: A rural area outside of Quebec City, Canada, upon his first design, the highly acclaimed Green-Wood Cemetery , in what at the time was a rural section of Brooklyn . All three of Douglass' rural, garden cemeteries have been conferred a historic status, by their respective nations. Its architect, Charles Baillargé, took inspiration from Green–Wood Cemetery, as well, for his design of this garden cemetery, in what at

392-618: A way to use the Charles to power mills. In 1639, the town dug a canal from the Charles to a nearby brook that drained to the Neponset River . By this action, a portion of the Charles's flow was diverted, providing enough current for several mills. The new canal and the brook together are now called Mother Brook . The canal is regarded as the first industrial canal in North America. It remains in use for flood control . Waltham

448-560: Is common along the Charles. With catches from the Charles from Natick to Boston the public is advised not to eat carp , and for non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, to limit large mouth bass consumption to no more than twice a month. Children and pregnant or nursing women should eat nothing from the Charles River. Both cautions are due to PCB and pesticide contamination. Up river from Natick, similar advisories are in effect for all fish on account of mercury , chlordane , and DDT in

504-586: Is home to a wide range of freshwater fish species and some diadromous species. There are over 25 species able to be found in the Charles and some of the most common freshwater fish include the Redfin Pickerel, Largemouth Bass, Golden Shiner, Yellow Perch, a variety of sunfish (such as Bluegills, Redbreast Sunfish, and Pumpkinseeds), and some species of catfish (Yellow Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, White Bullhead). The diadromous fish (fish that spend parts of their lives in fresh and salt water) that can be found in

560-506: Is popular with runners and bikers. Many runners gauge their distance and speed by keeping track of the mileage between the bridges along the route. After two decades of water quality improvement efforts spearheaded by the Environmental Protection Agency, on July 13, 2013, swimming for the general public was officially permitted for the first time in more than 50 years. Fishing from the banks or small craft

616-626: The 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (15 km) tidal estuary from Watertown Dam to Boston Harbor. From 1816 to 1968, the U.S. Army operated a gun and ammunition storage and later production facility known as the Watertown Arsenal . While it was key to many of the nation's war efforts over its several decades in operation, not the least of which being the American Civil War and World War I , its location in Watertown so near

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672-756: The Charles River Speedway operated along part of the river. Today's Charles River basin between Boston and Cambridge is almost entirely a work of human design. Owen A. Galvin was appointed head of the Charles River Improvement Commission by Governor William E. Russell in 1891. Their work led to the design initiatives of noted landscape architects Charles Eliot and Arthur Shurcliff , both of whom had apprenticed with Frederick Law Olmsted and Guy Lowell . This designed landscape includes over 20 parks and natural areas along 19 miles (31 km) of shoreline, from

728-545: The Civil War and cemeteries often had the stench of decomposing corpses. After several yellow fever epidemics, many cities began to relocate cemeteries outside city limits, as it was believed to be more hygienic. As early as 1711, the architect Sir Christopher Wren advocated for the creation of burial grounds on the outskirts of town, "inclosed with a strong Brick Wall, and having a walk round, and two cross walks, decently planted with Yew-trees". An early influence on

784-725: The Environmental Protection Agency graded the river's 2017 bacterial water quality "A−". A study published in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association in April 2008 and completed by researchers at Northeastern University, found high concentrations of E. coli bacteria in the Charles River after a long period of no rain. Using a mathematical model , the researchers then determined that two major tributaries,

840-755: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology are located along the Charles River. Near its mouth, it forms the border between downtown Boston and Cambridge and Charlestown . The river opens into a broad basin and is lined by the parks of the Charles River Reservation . On the Charles River Esplanade stands the Hatch Shell , where concerts are given in summer evenings. The basin is especially known for its Independence Day celebration. The middle section of

896-509: The Romantic aesthetic taste for pastoral beauty, Mount Auburn was developed as a "domesticated landscape" popularized by 19th century English landscape design. Its plan included retention of natural features like ponds and mature forests with added roads and paths that followed the natural contours of the land, as well as the planting of hundreds of native and exotic trees and plants. United States Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story delivered

952-545: The Stony Brook and Muddy River , are the predominant sources of E. coli in the lower Charles River. Starting in 2007, the Charles River Swimming Club has organized an annual race for its members, but obtains a special permit and must monitor water quality and rainfall in the days leading up to the race. The "first public swim" in the Charles since the 1950s was conducted on July 13, 2013, by

1008-524: The lawn cemetery . Presently, many of these historic cemeteries are designated landmarks and are cared for by non-profit organizations. David Bates Douglass , a military and civilian engineer, working in the capacity as a consulting architect, designed the landscape layout of Albany Rural Cemetery , 1845–1846. He modeled his design of the Albany Rural Cemetery, as well as his subsequent and final one, Mount Hermon Cemetery (1848), in

1064-414: The puritanical pessimism depicted in earlier cemeteries. Statues and memorials included depictions of angels and cherubs as well as botanical motifs such as ivy representing memory, oak leaves for immortality, poppies for sleep and acorns for life. From their inception, the new cemeteries were intended as civic institutions designed for public use. Before the widespread development of public parks ,

1120-602: The "barbarous names" for "English" ones. The Prince made many such changes, but only four survive today, one of which is the Charles River which Charles named for himself. The native name for the Charles River was Quinobequin , possibly meaning "meandering" in Massachusett from quinnuppe or "it turns." Other sources state this name was transferred from the Kennebec River in Maine to Cambridge by Prince Charles at

1176-599: The 1620s, Captain John Smith of Jamestown explored and mapped the coast of New England, originally naming the Charles River the Massachusetts River, which he derived from the Massachusett people living in the region, not from their actual name for the river, Quinobequin . When Smith presented his map to Prince Charles, future King Charles I , he suggested that the Prince should feel free to change any of

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1232-712: The 1960s, and the program to clean up the Charles for good took shape in 1965 with the creation of the Charles River Watershed Association. In 1978, a new Charles River Dam was constructed downstream from the Science Museum site to keep salt water out of the basin. In 1995, the United States Environmental Protection Agency declared a goal of making the river swimmable by 2005. In 1996, Governor William Weld plunged, fully clothed, into

1288-572: The Charles River drainage basin . Despite the river's length and relatively large drainage area (308 square miles; 798 km ), its source is only 26 miles (42 km) from its mouth, and the river drops only 350 feet (107 m) from source to sea. The Charles River watershed contains more than 8,000 acres (32 km ) of protected wetlands, referred to as Natural Valley Storage. These areas are important in preventing downstream flooding and providing natural habitats to native species. Harvard University , Brandeis University , Boston University , and

1344-659: The Charles River Basin. In the 1950s a highway, Storrow Drive , was built along the edge of the Esplanade to connect Charles Circle with Soldiers Field Road, and the Esplanade was enlarged on the water side of the new highway. The Inner Belt highway was proposed to cross the Charles River at the Boston University Bridge , but its construction was canceled in the 1970s. As sewage , industrial wastewater and urban runoff flowed freely into

1400-543: The Charles River Conservancy, Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), Esplanade Association, and DCR. Both the annual race and the Conservancy event have been held in deep water with swimmers jumping in off a dock, to avoid the toxic sediments on the bottom of the river that still make beach swimming dangerous. Swimming without a permit is punishable by a fine up to $ 250. The Charles River

1456-474: The Charles River is often at its worst after a large rainfall because of pollutants carried by runoff, and sewage overflows. For 2011, the EPA reported that the Charles met state bacterial standards for boating and swimming 96% and 89% of the time on dry days, and 74% and 35% of the time on wet days, respectively. Overall boatability and swimability of 82% and 54% in 2011 compared with 39% and 19% in 1995. In June 2018,

1512-578: The Charles are mostly anadromous species (fish that migrate from sea to freshwater to spawn). These include the Alewife Herring, American Shad, White Perch, and Striped Bass. The only catadromous species (fish that migrate from freshwater to sea to spawn) in the Charles is the American Eel. With the many initiatives to improve the health of the river in the years since the formation of the CRWA,

1568-401: The Charles did great environmental harm. The arsenal was declared a Super Fund site, and after its closure by the government it had to be cleaned at significant expense before it could be safely used again for other purposes. Likewise, the many factories and mills along the banks of the Charles supported a buoyant economy in their time but left a legacy of massive pollution. For several years,

1624-741: The Charles near the Museum of Science and river tour boat excursions depart from a lagoon near the museum. In early June, the Hong Kong Boston Dragon Boat Festival is held in Cambridge , near the Weeks Footbridge . The Charles River Bike Path runs 23 miles (37 km) along the banks of the Charles, starting at the Museum of Science and passing the campuses of MIT, Harvard and Boston University. The path

1680-848: The Lower Basin, Union Boat Club. The Lower Basin between the Longfellow and Harvard (Massachusetts Avenue) bridges has the sailing docks of Community Boating , the Harvard University Sailing Center, and the MIT Sailing Pavilion. Sailboat, kayak, and paddleboard rentals are available at the Boston University Sailing Pavilion. Charles River Canoe and Kayak has four locations along the Charles, renting kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards. Duck Boats regularly enter

1736-566: The MIT Sea Grant College Program and the Charles River Alliance of Boaters (CRAB). Online and hardcopy charts are available as a public service. The river is busy, apart from the winter months, with rowing , sculling , canoeing , kayaking , paddleboarding , dragonboating , and sailing , both recreational and competitive. Most of the watercraft activity occurs from the Museum of Science to

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1792-650: The New Dam at the Charlestown Bridge to the dam near Watertown Square. Eliot first envisioned today's river design in the 1890s, an important model being the layout of the Alster basin in Hamburg , but major construction began only after Eliot's death with the damming of the river's mouth at today's Boston Museum of Science , an effort led by James Jackson Storrow . The new dam, completed in 1910, stabilized

1848-715: The Rural Cemetery movement was the New Burying Ground in New Haven, Connecticut (later named Grove Street Cemetery ). The New Burying Ground was established in 1796, and was the first example in the U.S. of a non-sectarian cemetery outside of church and city control in a park-like setting. In 1804, the first rural cemetery, the Père Lachaise Cemetery , opened in Paris . The new design took

1904-836: The South Cemetery ( Südfriedhof ) in Kiel dates from 1869, the Riensberger Friedhof in Bremen dates from 1875, the 1881 Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde in Berlin, the 1881 Südfriedhof in Leipzig , and the Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg . The Ohlsdorf was transformed from a treeless, sandy plain into 92 acres of sculpted, wooded landscape by its first director, architect Wilhelm Cordes. In 2016 it stands as

1960-751: The U.S. such as Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia , and Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn . Many were accompanied by dedication addresses similar to Storys', which linked the cemeteries to the mission of creating a Christian republic . In 1847, the New York State Legislature passed the Rural Cemetery Act which authorized commercial burial grounds in New York . The law led to the burial of human remains becoming

2016-490: The cemetery out of the control of the church, using an attractive park built on a grand scale, architectural design and careful planting inspired by the English garden movement. The first rural cemetery in the United States was Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts , founded by Dr. Jacob Bigelow and Henry Dearborn of The Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1831. The City of Boston became concerned about

2072-458: The center of Watertown , above which is a dam. These 17 miles (27 km) see motorboat traffic from two marinas and a boat ramp near Watertown, as well as two marinas downstream and boats entering from Boston Harbor through an old lock next to the Museum of Science. A canoe and kayak ADA-accessible launch at Magazine Beach in Cambridge opened 23 September 2019. The Charles is renowned as

2128-541: The country. These cemeteries were decorated with tall obelisks, spectacular mausoleums, and magnificent sculptures. By 1861, the rural cemetery movement began to decline partly due to the high cost of maintaining large landscapes but also due to the development of public parks. Many landscape designers, including Frederick Law Olmsted who designed Central Park in New York City , borrowed ideas from rural cemeteries. As more public parks opened, fewer people went to cemeteries for leisure and relaxation activities. Due to

2184-425: The dedication address on September 24, 1831. Mount Auburn also began the practice of allowing the purchase of family plots large enough to allow the burial of several generations of a single family. Mount Auburn quickly grew as a popular site for both burials and public recreation, attracting locals as well as tourists from across the country and Europe. Mount Auburn inspired dozens of other rural cemeteries across

2240-474: The early 19th century, urban burial grounds were generally sectarian and located on small plots and churchyards within cities. With the rapid increase in urban populations due to the Industrial Revolution , urban cemeteries became unhealthily overcrowded with graves stacked upon each other, or emptied and reused for newer burials. The practice of embalming did not become popular until after

2296-474: The fish. Long before European settlers named and shaped the Charles, Native Americans living in New England made the river a central part of their lives. At the time of European colonization in the early 1600s, settlements of Massachusett people were present along the river at Nonantum in current-day Newton and Pigsgusset in current-day Watertown . Prior to the arrival of Puritan colonists in

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2352-407: The health and variety of fish in the river have greatly improved. One example of this is the reintroduction of American Shad into the Charles. American Shad used to be one of the most common species in the river until the 1800s when population numbers decreased because of new dams and poor water quality. With improved water quality and partial dam breaches created in modern times, the CRWA, along with

2408-503: The health hazards caused by decomposing corpses in cemeteries in the middle of the city. A citizens' group led by Bigelow pulled together residents to discuss the design and location of a cemetery outside city limits. The search for a site took six years and land was eventually purchased on a farm known as Sweet Auburn along the Charles River about four miles from Boston. Coinciding with the growing popularity of horticulture and

2464-803: The largest rural cemetery in the world, and has been the largest cemetery in Europe since its opening in 1875. As of 1911, rural cemeteries were still unusual in Germany. Other examples include the Waldfriedhof Dahlem in Berlin, 1931. Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett : Quinobequin ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles , is an 80-mile-long (129 km) river in eastern Massachusetts . It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along

2520-495: The little long pond"), and Quinnipiac River ("long pond") in present-day Massachusetts , Connecticut , and New Hampshire . As native populations were driven out by European settlers, the Charles River became an early center for hydropower and manufacturing in North America. Although in portions of its length, the Charles drops slowly in elevation and has relatively little current, early settlers in Dedham, Massachusetts , found

2576-849: The river between the Watertown Dam and Wellesley is partially protected by the properties of the Upper Charles River Reservation and other state parks, including the Hemlock Gorge Reservation , Cutler Park , and the Elm Bank Reservation . A detailed depth chart of the lower basin of the Charles River, from near the Watertown Dam to the New Charles River Dam , has been created by a partnership between

2632-443: The river from the surrounding city, the Charles River became well known for its high level of pollutants , gaining such notoriety that by 1955, Bernard DeVoto wrote in Harper's Magazine that the Charles was "foul and noisome, polluted by offal and industrious wastes, scummy with oil, unlikely to be mistaken for water." Fish kills and submerged vehicles were a common sight, along with toxic chemical plumes that colored parts of

2688-456: The river pink and orange. The Standells sang about the sorry state of the Charles in their 1965 song " Dirty Water ". Once popular with swimmers, awareness of the river's high pollution levels forced the state to shut down several popular swimming areas, including Cambridge's Magazine Beach and Gerry Landing public beaches. Efforts to clean up the river and restore it to a state where swimming and fishing would be acceptable began as early as

2744-573: The river to prove his commitment to cleaning up the river. On November 12, 2004, Christopher Swain became the first person to swim the Charles River's entire length, in an effort to raise public awareness of the river's environmental health. In July 2007, the river hosted the Charles River Masters Swim Race, the first sanctioned race in the Charles in over five decades. A combination of public and private initiatives helped drastically lower levels of pollutants by focusing on eliminating combined sewer overflows and stormwater runoff . Since Weld's stunt,

2800-427: The river's condition has improved dramatically, although it was not deemed entirely swimmable by 2005. The Conservation Law Foundation opposes the permit given to Mirant for the Veolia Energy North America Kendall Cogeneration Station , an electricity plant near Kendall Square , charging that the water it releases causes blooms of hazardous microorganisms because of its warm temperature. The water quality of

2856-497: The rural cemetery provided a place for the general public to enjoy outdoor recreation amidst art and sculpture previously available only for the wealthy. The popularity of rural cemeteries decreased toward the end of the 19th century due to the high cost of maintenance, development of true public parks and perceived disorderliness of appearance arising from independent ownership of family burial plots and different grave markers. Lawn cemeteries became instead an attractive design. In

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2912-409: The scale of death caused by the American Civil War (almost 2% the U.S. population died in the war), the U.S. government outsourced many burials to privately owned rural cemeteries. Since family plot owners could do as they wished with their lots, rural cemeteries that began as orderly and scenic ended up as cluttered and unkempt. Rural cemeteries began to fade out of popularity and were replaced by

2968-403: The time he renamed this river in his name. Still another explanation is that Quinobequin was a descriptive term for any long body of water for Eastern Algonquin peoples, which European explorers and settlers interpreted as a local proper name. Examples include the Kennebec River ("long water place") and Kennebunk in Maine , the Quinebaug River ("long pond"), Quinapoxet River ("at

3024-399: The time was the rural outskirts of the city of Québec. The development of the American movement paralleled the creation of the landscaped cemeteries in England , with Mount Auburn inspiring the design of London 's first non-denominational cemetery at Abney Park (1840), one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries . Among the first of the Parkfriedhof established in German-speaking Europe,

3080-434: The water level from Boston to Watertown, eliminating the existing mud flats, and a narrow embankment was built between Leverett Circle and Charlesgate. After Storrow's death, his widow Mrs. James Jackson Storrow donated $ 1 million toward the creation of a more generously landscaped park along the Esplanade; it was dedicated in 1936 as the Storrow Memorial Embankment. This also enabled the construction of many public docks in

3136-422: Was the site of the first fully integrated textile factory in America, built by Francis Cabot Lowell in 1814, and by the 19th century the Charles River was one of the most industrialized areas in the United States. Its hydropower soon fueled many mills and factories. By the century's end, 20 dams had been built across the river, mostly to generate power for industry. An 1875 government report listed 43 mills along

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