The Taunton River (historically also called the "Taunton Great River"), is a river in southeastern
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. It arises from the confluence of the
Town River and
Matfield River The Matfield River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. It flows south through the town of East Bridgewater to a co ...
, in the town of
Bridgewater. From there it meanders through the towns of
Halifax,
Middleborough
Middleborough (frequently written as Middleboro) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,245 at the 2020 census.
History
The town was first settled by Europeans in 1661 as Nemasket, later changed to M ...
and
Raynham, through the city of
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
for which it is named, the towns of
Berkley,
Dighton,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, and the
Assonet section of
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...
, to
Fall River where it joins
Mount Hope Bay
Mount Hope Bay is a tidal estuary located at the mouth of the Taunton River on the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border. It is an arm of Narragansett Bay. The bay is named after Mount Hope, a small hill located on its western shore in what is ...
, an arm of
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...
.
Description
The total length of the river is 37.0 miles (59.5 km) from the junction of the
Town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
and
Matfield
Matfield is a small village, part of the civil parish of Brenchley and Matfield, in the Tunbridge Wells borough of Kent, England. Matfield was awarded the title of Kent Village of the Year in 2010.
Buildings and amenities
St Luke's Church is ...
Rivers in
Bridgewater to the mouth of the
Quequechan River
The Quequechan River is a river in Fall River, Massachusetts, that flows in a northwesterly direction from the northwest corner of the South Watuppa Pond through the heart of the city of Fall River and into the end of the Taunton River at Mou ...
in
Fall River. It has a watershed of 562 square miles (1,456 km²). The river's watershed includes the
Hockomock Swamp The Hockomock Swamp is a vast wetland encompassing much of the northern part of southeastern Massachusetts. This land is considered the largest freshwater swamp in the state. It acts as a natural flood control mechanism for the region.
History
Dur ...
, the largest freshwater wetland in the state. The Taunton River is one of the flattest rivers in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
, dropping only about twenty feet (6 m) in elevation over its length.
[Taunton River Ecology](_blank)
/ref> The river is tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
as far north as Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
.
The Taunton River is the longest coastal river in New England without dams, and is the principal river that makes up the Taunton River Watershed.[Herald News June 26, 2008](_blank)
Battleship Cove
Battleship Cove is a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial in Fall River, Massachusetts, United States. Featuring the world's largest collection of World War II naval vessels, it is home to the highly decorated battleship . It is located at ...
, the world's largest museum of warships
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster an ...
, is located on the Fall River side of the river at its confluence with Mount Hope Bay, beneath the Braga Bridge
The Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, also known as the Braga Bridge, is a through truss bridge that carries Interstate 195 over the Taunton River between the town of Somerset and the city of Fall River, near the mouth of the Quequechan R ...
.
Ecology
The river is home to much biodiversity, including some animals found nowhere else in the state.
Over 154 bird species (including bald eagles) have been documented along the Taunton River, primarily during breeding season. The watershed supports 28 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 29 species of fish, including native brook trout and Atlantic sturgeon
The Atlantic sturgeon (''Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus'') is a member of the family Acipenseridae and along with other sturgeon it is sometimes considered a living fossil. The Atlantic sturgeon is one of two subspecies of '' A. oxyrinchus'', ...
, which can be found in the lower part of the watershed.[ Some comprehensive surveys along the entire length of the river identified over 70 distinct species of fish.][ The Mystic Valley amphipod, which is native only to eastern New England, has been found in various wetlands throughout the watershed. River otters are common throughout the river, and ]harbor seals
The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared se ...
have been sighted in the watershed,[ as well as in some of the smaller tributaries, such as the Nemasket River. The watershed also is home to seven species of freshwater mussels, as well the largest herring run in New England.][ Other common wildlife within the watershed include river otter, mink, foxes and deer.]
Due to its direct connection with the Atlantic ocean, the Taunton River and its tributaries are occasionally visited by marine species not normally found in rivers. In 2005, a young harp seal
The harp seal (''Pagophilus groenlandicus''), also known as Saddleback Seal or Greenland Seal, is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Originally in the genus ''Phoca'' with a numbe ...
was found in the Nemasket. In early summer 2014, a young male beluga whale
The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the ...
was sighted in the lower Taunton River, and in late August 2014, a basking shark
The basking shark (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Adults typically reach in leng ...
was also spotted in the lower Taunton.
Over 360 plant species were sampled from the floodplain wetlands and the immediate river corridors, and various vegetative communities can be found along the river. These include Atlantic white cedar
''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' (Atlantic white cedar, Atlantic white cypress, southern white cedar, whitecedar, or false-cypress), a species of ''Cupressaceae'', is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is found from southern Maine to ...
swamps, forested bogs, and coastal plain pondshores, among many others.[
]
History
Since the development of industry beginning with the iron works of the mid-17th century, the Taunton River has played an important role in the economy of the Greater Taunton Area
200px, A map of the Greater Taunton Area
The Greater Taunton Area is the suburban area surrounding the city of Taunton, in northeastern Bristol County, Massachusetts. It comprises various present-day municipalities that were once under the jurisd ...
. The shipbuilding industry was very active in the Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
area during the 19th century.
After over five years of study for possible inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic River
The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...
System, such designation was obtained in April 2009.Decades-long fight to protect Taunton River succeeds
/ref>
Crossings
*List of crossings of the Taunton River
This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Taunton River, from its mouth at the Mount Hope Bay upstream to its source at the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, near the Paper Mill Village neighborhood of the town of Bridge ...
Main tributaries
* Winnetuxet River, at Halifax
* Nemasket River, at Middleborough
Middleborough (frequently written as Middleboro) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,245 at the 2020 census.
History
The town was first settled by Europeans in 1661 as Nemasket, later changed to M ...
* Mill River, at Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
* Three Mile River at Dighton
* Assonet River at Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...
See also
*Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state.
Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
* List of Massachusetts rivers
*Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...
* Three Mile River
*Weetamoo
Weetamoo (c. 1635–1676), also referred to as Weethao, Weetamoe, Wattimore, Namumpum, and Tatapanunum, was a Pocasset Wampanoag Native American Chief. She was the ''sunksqua'', or female sachem, of Pocasset tribe, which occupied contempora ...
References
External links
*
Taunton River Stewardship Program: The Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts
Taunton River Watershed Alliance
critical resource atlas.
{{authority control
Taunton, Massachusetts
Fall River, Massachusetts
Rivers of Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Greater Taunton Area
Taunton River watershed
Rivers of Bristol County, Massachusetts
Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States
Rivers of Massachusetts