The Willimantic River is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or 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 drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Shetucket River
The Shetucket River is a tributary of the Thames River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in eastern Connecticut in the United States.
It is formed at ...
, approximately 25 mi (40 km) long in northeastern
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 ...
in the
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 ...
region of the United States.
It is formed in northern
Tolland County, near
Stafford Springs by the confluence of Middle River and Furnace Brook. It flows south to the city of
Willimantic, where it joins the
Natchaug River to form the Shetucket. It is joined by the
Hop River on the
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
,
Columbia, and
Windham town border.
Name
The word ''Willimantic'' is of
Algonquian origin, either
Mohegan-Pequot or
Narragansett. It is commonly translated as "land of the swift running water", but the word more likely originally meant "place near the evergreen swamp".
The word was first attested in English writing as ''Waramanticut'' in 1684,
and later as ''Wallamanticuk'', ''Wewemantic'' and ''Weammantuck'' before being standardized as ''Willimantic''.
Geography
Shortly upstream from its confluence with the Natchaug, the Willimantic experiences a drop of ninety feet in one mile. The river powered textile mills from Stafford Springs to Willimantic, including the
American Thread Company mill. None of these mills are operating as of 2007, having all been destroyed or converted to other uses such as apartment space.
A popular long paddling route begins south of Stafford Springs along
Route 32 where the river is mostly quickwater all of the way to the flatwater of Eagleville Pond. The remainder is fairly easy going to the take-out at
Route 66. Beware of the dam at the
Route 275 bridge. Other access points may be at the N. River Road bridge, the
Route 74 bridge, the Depot Rd bridge, the
Route 195 bridge, the Jones Crossing bridge, the Merrow Road bridge, the
U.S. Route 44 bridge, Brigham bridge, near the Route 275 dam, the Depot Rd bridge, the
Route 31 bridge, and the Flanders Rd bridge.
Crossings
See also
*
List of Connecticut rivers
References
External links
Meet the Willimantic River
Online paddling map of the Willimantic River.
{{Authority control
Rivers of Windham County, Connecticut
Rivers of Tolland County, Connecticut
Connecticut placenames of Native American origin
Windham, Connecticut
Willimantic, Connecticut
Rivers of Connecticut
Tributaries of the Thames River (Connecticut)