The Chicopee River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

in the

Pioneer Valley The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial and promotional name for the portion of the Connecticut River Valley that is in Massachusetts in the United States. It is generally taken to comprise the three counties of Hampden, Hampshire, and Frankli ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, known for fast-moving water and its extraordinarily large basin: the Connecticut River's largest tributary basin.Chicopee River Watershed Council, Chicopee, MA - Frequently Asked Questions
Chicopeeriver.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-15. The Chicopee River originates in a

Palmer, Massachusetts Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,448 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Palmer adopted a home rule charter in 2004 with a counc ...

village called Three Rivers as a confluence of the Ware, Quaboag and Swift rivers. It passes through Wilbraham,

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

, and the Indian Orchard neighborhood of Springfield. After forming the border between Springfield and

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. C ...

for a short distance, the river then flows in a sharply curving path through the city of Chicopee and into the

. (Chicopee was part of Springfield until 1848.)

Watershed

Although the Chicopee River itself is only long, its

drainage area A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...

is the largest in Massachusetts at , and the largest tributary area to the Connecticut River. The Chicopee River Watershed includes all or part of 32 cities and towns. Upstream of the Chicopee River on the Swift River, the

Quabbin Reservoir The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, to the east, and 40 other cities and towns in Greate ...

provides drinking water to Eastern Massachusetts (

MWRA The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is a public authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that provides wholesale drinking water and sewage services to certain municipalities and industrial users in the state, primarily in ...

service area) and Chicopee itself via the Chicopee Valley Aqueduct.

Water power potential

During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, the Chicopee River became a particularly sought-after destination for hydropower, largely because it drops during its course to the Connecticut River. By comparison, the meandering Connecticut River drops just from Chicopee to

Old Saybrook, Connecticut Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybro ...

, where it empties into the

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

. For this reason, numerous mills were built along the Chicopee River; today, many of them can be found in various states of

repurposing Repurposing is the process by which an object with one use value is transformed or redeployed as an object with an alternative use value. Description Repurposing is as old as human civilization, with many contemporary scholars investigating t ...

, with a particularly famous mill in Springfield Indian Orchard serving as artists' space.

Dams and crossings

Due in part to its precipitous drop, as of 2011, there are six hydropower dams on the Chicopee River. The average flow of the Chicopee River is 900 cubic feet per second, or about 581,644,800 gallons per day. The

Chicopee Falls Dam The Chicopee Falls Dam is a masonry stone dam that parallels Route 33 (Bridge Street) in Chicopee, Massachusetts. It is part of the Chicopee River Watershed. The dam was constructed in the late 19th century, and is owned by the City of Chicopee. ...

impounds the river near what is now Bridge Street /

Massachusetts Route 33 Route 33 is a state highway contained entirely within the city of Chicopee and the town of South Hadley in Massachusetts. Its southern terminus is at Route 141 and its northern terminus is at Route 116. Route description Route 33 begins at R ...

in the city of Chicopee. There are five other dams on this river segment: Just downstream from the Chicopee Falls dam is Dwight Dam, located off Grape and Front St. in Chicopee. The next dam upstream is the Indian Orchard Dam north of Route 141 adjacent to an old mill on Front Street. Putts Bridge Dam at Route 21 between

and the Indian Orchard section of

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, the Collins Hydro Dam at Chapin Street between Ludlow and Wilbraham, and the Red Bridge Dam off Red Bridge Road in Wilbraham. The Putts Bridge Dam was constructed in 1918 as a concrete gravity structure. It rises 22 ft (6.7 m) from the bed of the Chicopee River. The Indian Orchard Dam is a cut stone dam with 28 ft (8.53 m) of height above the river. Each of these dams generate

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

. The Dwight Dam is cut stone with height of 15 ft. There is the remnants of the Ames Sword Company Dam, just downstream from Dwight Dam, this is the last dam on the Chicopee River before it empties into the Connecticut. There also used to be a low-head dam just upstream of the Putts Bridge Dam alongside the old Ludlow Mills. A bridge across the river at what is now Springfield Street /

Massachusetts Route 116 Route 116 is a north–south (though in its northern part it is more east-west) state highway in Massachusetts. The route runs from Route 20A in Springfield through mill towns, college towns and rural towns, crossing the Connecticut River th ...

in Chicopee opened in 1783. It was replaced by a covered wooden bridge in 1846, and then the steel and concrete William F. Devitt Memorial Bridge in 1931. This was demolished and replaced by a modern bridge, along with the bridge over the Dwight Manufacturer’s Canal immediately to the south, in 2012-2013. Around 1900, the Spalding and Pepper Rubber Co. under Noyes W. Fisk constructed a pedestrian suspension bridge at Oak Street as a shortcut for workers. It was destroyed by the

1938 New England hurricane The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

.Stephen Jendrysik: "Swing bridge" made for fine Chicopee dare before being destroyed in Hurricane of 1938
/ref>

References

External links

rofile and documents from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Massachusetts' 28 Watersheds
(official map) {{authority control Rivers of Hampden County, Massachusetts Chicopee, Massachusetts Geography of Springfield, Massachusetts Tributaries of the Connecticut River Rivers of Massachusetts