The Pequabuck River is a river, approximately 19 miles (30.6 km) in length, which rises in
Litchfield County
Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
, and courses through neighboring
Hartford County
Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains the ...
before emptying into the
Farmington River
The Farmington River is a river, U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in length along its main stem, located in northwest Connecticut with major tributaries ex ...
in
Farmington
Farmington may refer to:
Places Canada
*Farmington, British Columbia
* Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
*Farmington, Arkansas
*Farmington, California
*Farmington, Connecticut
*Farmington, Delaware
* Farmington, Georgia
* ...
. The river has played a crucial role in the development of
Plainville, Connecticut
Plainville is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,525 at the 2020 census.
History
Plainville first was inhabited by Europeans around 1650. By the 1660s, the land was incorporated as land for nearby Farm ...
, in particular.
The river's lower drainage basin consists of industrial and urban areas, and effluents from these areas pollute the river's waters.
The Pequabuck drove a water wheel that provided 8
horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...
to the Upper Lock Shop in
Plymouth, Connecticut
Plymouth is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England. The population was 11,671 at the 2020 census, down from 12,243 at the 2010 census. The town of Plymouth includes the villages of Plymo ...
, a facility which would eventually become the Lewis Lock Company in 1851 and, finally, the once-renowned
Eagle Lock Company.
The river banks were historically the site of one of United States' first malleable iron-producing units, known as Malleable Iron Works (later Andrew Terry and Company).
Etymology
The name ''Pequabuck'' was derived from an indigenous
Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
phrase meaning "clear pond" or "open pond". It is believed that this term originally referred to a pond or wetland at the headwaters of the Pequabuck River.
See also
*
List of rivers of Connecticut
References
Rivers of Connecticut
Rivers of Hartford County, Connecticut
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