The Monatiquot River is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed April 1, 2011 river in
Braintree, Massachusetts
Braintree (), officially the Town of Braintree, is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a towBraintree is a city, with a mayor-council government, mayor-council form of government, and i ...
, formed by the confluence of the
Farm River and
Cochato River
The Cochato River is a stream rising from Avon, Massachusetts and running several miles north to its confluence with the Monatiquot River in Braintree. It is part of the Weymouth Fore River watershed and empties into Boston Harbor. The river se ...
() in the Braintree Municipal Golf Course, flowing in swampy meanders to the northeast, and emptying into the tidal
Weymouth Fore River
Weymouth Fore River is a small bay or estuary in eastern Massachusetts and is part of the Massachusetts Bay watershed.
The headwater of Weymouth Fore River is formed by the confluence of the Monatiquot River and Smelt Brook in the Weymouth Land ...
estuary. The name roughly translates to either “at the deep tidal place” or “lookout place”. Its drainage area is .
The river was a key aspect of colonial Braintree for its river
herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
. Later its strong flow was useful for early industry such as
grist mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
s. It has remained a relatively clean river to date, with wildlife including birds,
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
s,
muskrat
The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...
s and fish, but recently has been polluted by sediments from the Graziano Inc. concrete batching operation.
The river was also where Paul Revere opened a nail mill, which remained open after his death until the 1860s, when the Mill was retooled. That nail company has since moved to southeastern Massachusetts and is still in business today producing nails on the same equipment installed during that 1860s retooling.
The river is home to a variety of aquatic life. Rainbow smelt use the river as a spawning ground and the smelt that spawn here provide fishing opportunities in the surrounding area.
References
Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States Geological Survey*
Landforms of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Watersheds of Boston Harbor
Rivers of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Rivers of Massachusetts
Geography of Braintree, Massachusetts
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