Charles River in Waltham

Zena Casteel

“Massachusetts, aside from Merrimac and the Connecticut, neither of which she can claim as wholly or even principally her own, must depend upon the beauties of the Charles.”[1]>

The Charles River has been utilized in many ways throughout history. This Essay will briefly cover some of its major uses in the Waltham area, beginning with food, water and transportation for Native Americans and early settlers, to the vital role the River played in the Industrial Revolution, and finally, to its importance as a recreational resource and habitat for animals and plants. River systems across the nation have been used in similar ways. For instance, John Smith explored the Charles River much as he explored the James River in Virginia. And the story of water power fueling the Industrial Revolution is mirrored in nearby Lowell and elsewhere nationwide. Finally, efforts to restore river systems as recreational resources and essential habitat for wildlife are occurring around the country.

THE CHARLES RIVER, NATIVE AMERICANS, AND JOHN SMITH

In the 1600s the Charles River provided Native Americans in the Waltham area with plentiful freshwater fish. A story from 1630 tells: “We went up Charles River, until the river grew narrow and shallow, and there we landed our goods with much labour and toil...the Indians came and stood at a distance off, looking at us, but came not near. But when they had been awhile in view, some of them came and held out a great bass towards us; so we sent a man with a biscuit, and changed the cake for the bass.”[2]> This story is depicted in pictures on the official Watertown Seal and until 1738 Waltham was a precinct of Watertown.

During John Smith’s adventures in Jamestown, he was injured in an accidental explosion and spent years recuperating in England. He never returned to Jamestown or Virginia. He DID however return to the New World. He sailed up the New England coast and the Charles River, naming and mapping parts of Massachusetts as he went. Upon returning to England he showed the King of England his maps. He had given land and water bodies Native American names. On the maps, the Charles River was named “Massachusett”. He told the King to change any of the "barbarous names" to whatever pleased him.[3]> The King renamed the River after himself: The River Charles.[4]> Unfortunately, the name change was symbolic of losses for Native Americans as their population had been decimated by this time due to European diseases. But a very new use for the River was coming...

THE CHARLES RIVER AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Waltham was to be the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution for our country, but it wasn’t there yet in the beginning of the 19^th century. Francis Cabot Lowell dreamed of a plan to combine the different steps of making cloth in one location. Lowell went to England on a mission: to memorize the design of looms there. He kept the plans in his head until he returned to Boston. Once in America, several major problems needed to be resolved for his dream to succeed. The first problem was assistance in carrying out his plans. The second was a good power source. The third was A LOT of money to invest in building these new machines and factories. He found answers to all these problems.

The answer to his first problem came in the person of Paul Moody who he met in Amesbury. Moody was a highly skilled mechanic. It was Paul Moody and Francis Cabot Lowell together who found the solution to designing and powering the new machines.

What was a good source of energy to power the new machines? Electricity? Not invented yet. Solar power? Not even close to being invented yet. “Enter Waltham. In 1813, Waltham, Massachusetts, was a long country carriage ride from Boston, a farming community nestled in the hills near the storied villages of Lexington and Concord. But Waltham had something its better-known neighbors lacked, something that caught the eyes of Paul Moody and Francis Cabot Lowell: a 12-foot waterfall over which rushed the liquid power of the Charles River.”[5]> Paul Moody began working on a method to harness the power of the River. Paul Moody’s plan was to us the Breast Water Wheel. Water hits the middle of the wheel rather than above or below as in other water wheels. This was a more efficient use of the water’s power. In the meanwhile, Lowell worked on solving the third problem...money.

Lowell convinced rich citizens to give him money for his ‘new, exciting project’ and they did - four hundred thousand dollars! A lot of money even today. With this funding, he founded the Boston Manufacturing Company. Life changed drastically in America after that. Textiles could now be made locally. With mechanization, items were easier to make and without transportation costs, were cheaper also. Several years later Paul Moody and Francis Cabot Lowell opened another factory in Lowell, because the Merrimac River was faster moving and had a greater drop and was therefore more powerful than the Charles in running the textile machines But where did it all begin? The Charles River in Waltham powered the first integrated factories in America.

A HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE

The Charles River has been used for many things but one use often overlooked is as a habitat for wildlife. Fish certainly have been an important part of the Charles. Native Americans in Waltham fished for bass and other large food fish.

Now, many people in Waltham enjoy fishing and sitting on the benches along the Charles River to feed the many Mallard ducks and Canada geese. But if you spend enough time at the River Street section of the Charles, you can see many different waterfowl, including Wood Duck and Mute Swan. I have also spotted gulls, Great Blue Herons, Night Herons, Cormorants, and many songbirds in the trees along the Bleachery district of the River.

In addition to plentiful fish and birds, the Charles also offers habitat for reptiles, mammal, amphibians, and insects. I have seen dozens of turtles sunning, and a muskrat bobbing around. Salamanders and frogs love the puddles along the banks. Countless insects also inhabit the River area. The health of the River for all its uses depends upon this thriving ecosystem.

RECREATION ON THE CHARLES

The Charles offers incredible recreational value. It has beautiful trails and once great beaches for swimming. Nuttings-on-the Charles in Waltham was a boat house used for concerts, dancing, boxing roller skating and more. Once, it even hosted a boat-in movie theater! On some days there would be so many people boating it looked like kayak rush hour! "The life history of humanity has proved nothing more clearly than that crowded populations, if they would live in health and happiness, must have space for air, for light, for exercise, for rest, and for the enjoyment of that peaceful beauty of nature.” (Charles Eliot)[6]>

SAVING THE CHARLES

The nation was prospering, but the Charles River was not. Tons of industrial waste from Waltham’s companies and other factories that sprung up during the Industrial Revolution; and raw sewage from peoples houses was being dumped into the Charles. In 1995 Bernard DeVoto wrote that the river was: "foul and noisome, polluted by offal and industrious wastes, scummy with oil, unlikely to be mistaken for water.” [7]> The River was at its worst in the latter half of the 20^th century. The same thing was happening throughout the country. The Housatonic River in Massachusetts was deadly, contaminated with PCB pollution; the Hudson River in New York was even worse. Rivers in America were neglected and filthy, and the Charles was no exception. By the time Bernard De Voto wrote this, most people had stopped swimming in the Charles. It was hardly suitable for boating. People decided something needed to be done. The federal and state government undertook a long-range plan to eliminate sources of pollution and treat the Charles. Illegal dumping into the River was halted. The banks were cleaned and a beautiful River Bike Trail was built. People wanted to restore the River to its former beauty.

EPILOGUE:

The first college, public school and public park in the English colonies were established on the banks of the Charles River[8]>. In Waltham, the Charles River powered the Industrial Revolution. People have swum, fished and walked its banks in Waltham. Ice was cut and sold from the water near Prospect Street. The River has been part of so many peoples’ lives and shaped not only Waltham’s history but the nation’s history. And the story of the Charles and rivers nationwide still has many chapters to go.

“There are currently no swimmable urban rivers in the United States though many European cities offer their citizens the benefit of a relaxing and exhilarating swim beneath city lights. In this initiative, Boston can thus see itself as following in a great tradition and offer an ‘American First’, providing a beacon to the rest of our country.“[9]>

Sources:

BOOKS

Max Hall, The Charles The People’s River (Boston, David R. Godine, 1986).

Wallace Nutting, Massachusetts Beautiful (New York, Bonanza Books, 1923).

WEBSITES

http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2005/1280/

http://watertown-ma.gov/index.asp?NID=50

http://www.charlesriverconservancy.org

http://www.crmi.org/history.htm

http://www.epa.gov/region01/charles/initiative.html

http://www.friendsofthejohnsmithtrail.org/chronology.html

http://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/dept/fapa/whs_06_07/sow_1/one/one/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_river

OTHER

Waltham Museum visit

Charles River Museum of Industry visit and discussion with Dan Yeager