For many people, summertime in Boston means canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing, and even swimming in the rivers that run through and around our city. To celebrate the season this week we’re coming three classic episodes about industry, adventure, and romance on the water. We’ll hear about the nearly 400 year history of corn, cotton, and condos on the Mother Brook; some late-nineteenth century fake news about Vikings on the Charles; and the early 20th century canoe craze that drove the state police to ban kissing in canoes on the Charles River. Listen now!
Header image is excerpted from a map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library
Mother Brook
- A 1900 historical sketch of the Mother Brook that we used a lot in preparing this episode.
- An 1827 history of Dedham, that we also drew from heavily.
- The header image above is taken from the 1915 Boston Daily Globe.
- The New England Chronology mentions the famine in 1630.
- Archaeology at Boston’s tidal mill pond during the Big Dig.
- Boston’s windmill is hit by lightning.
- The 1723 Bonner map of Boston shows a windmill atop Copp’s Hill in the North End.
- Dorchester orders Israel Stoughton to build a gristmill in 1634.
- The owners of mills on the Charles and the Mother Brook sue each other.
- The Hyde Park Historical Record discusses the process by which Dedham Low Plains became Readville in Hyde Park.
- An optimistic 1967 recreation plan for swimming, canoeing, and hiking on the Mother Brook in Readville.
A driving tour of the Mother Brook, starting at the floodgate along the Charles, and then visiting the 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th dam privileges.
Vikings on the Charles River
- The header image at the top of the post shows how Eben Horsford imagined Leif Erikson’s house, near Harvard Square. To be clear, he just read some books about Vikings, walked to the banks of the Charles nearest his house, kicked at some rocks, and said, “Oh, here’s Leif Erikson’s house!”
- An open letter Horsford wrote defending his theories against criticism from the president of the American Geographical Society.
- A 2012 news story about the capture of Boston’s Burl Bandit.
- “Guidebook to Norumbega and Vineland, or the Archaeological Treasures Along the Charles River”
Canoes and Canoodling on the Charles River
Plan your paddling trip on the Charles River with Jake’s interactive Charles River Guide.
- This story in Collectors Weekly is where I first heard of the ban on kissing in canoes.
- An excellent article in the New England Quarterly on the kissing controversy.
- A 1903 guide to Boston that raves about Riverside and Norumbega.
- This report on Massachusetts state parks was prepared for the 1900 Paris Exposition.
- The 1902 Metropolitan Parks Commission annual reportcomments on canoeing along the upper Charles.
- Historic Newton discusses on the Charles.
- A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe invented recreational paddling.
- This souvenir pamphlet features ads and articles about boathouses, canoe makers, and recreational diversions along the Charles.
- Today, the Charles River Watershed Association protects and monitors the river’s water quality, while the Charles River Conservancy plans a swimming park in the Charles River Basin.
Featured Historic Site
The Waterworks Museum interprets unique stories of one of the country’s first metropolitan water systems through exhibitions and educational programs on engineering, architecture, social history, and public health.
From the museum’s website:
In the summer of 1876, the formation of the Boston Water Board signaled a major step forward. The new board replaced the Cochituate and Mystic Water Boards. In its first report, the board noted the importance of a high service station at Chestnut Hill. Such a station was needed to provide water to the higher regions of the city. When the Chestnut Hill Pumping Station opened in 1887 it was equipped with two Holly-Gaskill pumping engines, each with a capacity of eight million gallons per day.
The “High Service Pumping Station,” now housing the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, was designed by architect Arthur H. Vinal in 1886-1887 and seamlessly expanded by Edmund M. Wheelwright, in 1897-1898. The building was constructed at the height of what is sometimes referred to as Boston’s “Golden Age,” a period of great prosperity that lasted from the Civil War through World War I.
The centerpiece of the Waterworks Museum is its collection of steam engines. Three original coal-powered, steam-driven water pumps are preserved at the Museum and are monuments to 19th century technology and innovation. Leavitt, Worthington, and Allis stand in the Great Engines Hall and reach more than 3 stories tall. Walk around each and see the multitude of perfectly engineered parts that pumped millions of gallons of freshwater a day into the City of Boston.
Located on the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday 11AM-4PM. The Museum is free for general admission (except for reserved tours or groups of 10+), but donations are very welcome! The Waterworks is a small, private, nonprofit organization that maintains and preserves the historic building and its collections. They suggest $5 per person to help support our education and preservation efforts.
Upcoming Event
On Monday, July 30, at 6:30 PM , prolific local author Anthony Sammarco will present a lecture and slide deck on Molasses in Boston From the Slave Trade to the Great Flood at the Allston branch of the Boston Public Library.
The BPL calendar was a bit light on details, but it still sounds pretty interesting to us. If you want to study up a bit in advance, you can check out episode 73 for first hand accounts of the molasses flood.