Brockways Mills Falls 10-25-2013 10-30-59 AM

Brockways Mills Gorge 10-25-2013 10-31-14 AM

Bartonsville covered bridge 10-25-2013 10-40-28 AM

The Williams River is a US Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed April 1, 2011 river in the US state of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. It is a

tributary 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 they ...

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 into Long Isl ...

. Its watershed covers 117 square miles; land use is about 80% forested and 4% agricultural, and the upper river supports wild brook trout and brown trout.Williams River basin summary, 2014 http://dec.vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/wsm/mapp/docs/mp_williamsriver.pdf Rev

The river was named for

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

Deerfield, Massachusetts Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachus ...

. He preached the first Christian sermon in what would become Vermont near the mouth of the river on March 5, 1704. His text was from Lamentations 1:18: "Hear now, all peoples, And behold my sorrow; My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity." A historical marker was placed near the site of the sermon in 1912 (see photo). At the time, he and part of his congregation were captives of the French, the Mohawk and the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

after the Deerfield Raid, being marched from Deerfield, MA to Quebec, Canada. The Williams River rises in the northern part of the town of Andover and flows east through a corner of

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

and into

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, where it turns southeast. The river then flows in a narrow valley near Vermont Route 103 between rolling hills into the town of Rockingham, where it joins the

at Herricks Cove. Its major tributaries (from upriver to downriver) include Wheaton Brook, Lovejoy Brook, and Bear Brook in Andover and

. In

, it is joined by the Middle Branch Williams River, which starts in Windham; the tributaries of the Middle Branch include Lyman Brook, Andover Branch, and South Branch Williams River. Named tributaries in Rockingham include Wright Brook, Stearns Brook, Wiley Hill Brook, and Divoll Brook (flowing north), and Skunk Hollow Brook, Petty Brook, Brockways Mills Brook, Lillie Brook, Locke Brook, and O'Brien Brook (flowing south). The lower part of Petty Brook (in Bartonsville) was the mainstem of the river until a flood in 1869 changed its course.Bartonsville Covered Bridge History http://www.bartonsvillecoveredbridge.com/history/ The Williams River watershed lies south of the Black River watershed, which includes most of Springfield, and north of the Saxtons River watershed. In Rockingham it is crossed by the Bartonsville Covered Bridge that was washed away in

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth tropical cyclone naming, named storm, first hurricane, and first major ...

in August 2011, rebuilt in 2012, and reopened in January 2013, as well as the Worrall Covered Bridge, the only 19th century covered bridge left in town. Below those bridges, it flows over Sokoki Falls, named for the local band of the Abenaki,Geographic names Information System, Sokoki Falls https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names/0e37f417-aedc-5852-a71d-cb2cf66ab7b9/summary and through Brockways Mills Gorge. The river is a target for prospectors who can be seen panning for placer gold, south of the Town of Ludlow, near the site of the Rio Tinto open-pit talc mine.

References

US Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

topographic maps, 1:100,000-scale series, Claremont (NH) quadrangle * {{authority control Rivers of Vermont Tributaries of the Connecticut River Rivers of Windsor County, Vermont Rivers of Windham County, Vermont

See also

References