The Madaket Ditch, formerly spelled as Maddequet Ditch, is a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

connecting Long Pond to Madaket Harbor on the western edge of Nantucket,

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. The ditch was first dug circa 1665 by English settlers and Native Americans as the first public works project on Nantucket. It runs roughly southwest for about 1 mile, and was cut as freshwater channels running through freshwater cattail marsh and salt marsh, in order to create more meadow and catch fish running through it in a

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

. Fish runs have historically included

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...

, herring,

smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''Ath ...

, and

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s. In the early 20th century, a large

dip net A hand net, also called a scoop net, is a fishing net or meshed basket held open on a rigid hoop, which may or may not be mounted to the end of a handle. A hand net with a long handle is often called a dip net. When it is used by an angler to ...

, about four feet in diameter and eight feet long, subconical in shape, was used instead of a weir to scoop up fish. Today the ditch still exists at Second Bridge, with depths between two and four feet. As it is tidal, there is little variation in water level at the pond's end.

References

Every Man a King: The Story of English Settlement of Nantucket
* ''Tourists Guide - Down the Harbor, Hull, Nantasket and the South Shore of Massachusetts'', The Old Colony Newsroom Edition, 1897, page 92.
Madaket Harbor / Long Pond Annual Report

{{coord, 41, 15, 40, N, 70, 11, 28, W, display=title Canals in Massachusetts Transportation buildings and structures in Nantucket, Massachusetts Bodies of water of Nantucket, Massachusetts Infrastructure completed in 1655