The Saugus River is a river in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
.
The river is long, drains a watershed of approximately , and passes through
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
,
Lynnfield,
Saugus, and
Lynn as it meanders east and south from its source in
Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield (elevation ) to its mouth in
Broad Sound. It has at least eight
tributaries
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...
: the Mill River; Bennets Pond Brook; the Pines River; Hawkes Brook; Crystal Pond Brook; Beaver Dam Brook; Strawberry Brook; and Shute Brook.
Although Native Americans called the river ''Aboutsett'' ("winding stream"), European settlers first called it the River at Saugus, where ''Saugus'' (possibly a native word for "long") arguably named the beach running from
Swampscott to
Revere (there are competing theories as to the origin of the word "Saugus"). In early European times,
alewives and
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
were harvested from 1632 onwards. The
Saugus Iron Works
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site is a National Historic Site about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Downtown Boston in Saugus, Massachusetts. It is the site of the first integrated ironworks in North America, founded by John Wint ...
used water power from the river in by 1642, and the river subsequently attracted grist mills, chocolate mills, wool and flannel mills, and a tannery.
References
Saugus River Watershed Council* "A Gathering of Memories: Saugus 1900-2000" by John Burns, Tom Sheehan, et al.; 2000, Jostens /
Saugus.net, ; http://www.saugus.org/GatheringOfMemories/ (Provides at least three conflicting theories as to the origin of the name "Saugus")
{{authority control
Rivers of Essex County, Massachusetts
Wakefield, Massachusetts
Saugus, Massachusetts
Rivers of Massachusetts