The (or '''Merrimac River''', an earlier spelling that is sometimes still used) is a -long river in the Northeastern
United States . It rises at the
Confluence of the
Pemigewasset and
Winnipesaukee rivers in
Franklin, New Hampshire , flows southward into
Massachusetts , and then flows northeast until it empties into the
Atlantic Ocean at
Newburyport . From the point where the river turns northeast in
Lowell, Massachusetts onward, the
Massachusetts–New Hampshire Border is roughly parallel to the river, three miles north of it.
The Merrimack is an important regional focus in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, the central-southern part of the state is known as the
Merrimack Valley Region , and in Massachusetts, the "
Merrimack Valley " refers to a cluster of towns and small cities in the northeastern part of the state.
Several U.S. naval ships have been named the
USS ''Merrimack'' and USS ''Merrimac'' in honor of this river.
Prior to glaciation, the Merrimack continued its southward course far beyond the present day New Hampshire-Massachusetts border to enter the Atlantic Ocean near
Boston . Upon the glacier's retreat, debris deposited north of Boston filled the lower Merrimack Valley, redirecting the river into its current northeast bend at Lowell.
The total watershed of the river is approximately , covering much of southern New Hampshire and a portion of northeastern Massachusetts. On its banks are a number of cities built to take advantage of water power in the 19th Century, when textile mills dominated the New England economy:
Concord ,
Manchester , and
Nashua in New Hampshire, and
Lowell ,
Lawrence , and
Haverhill in Massachusetts. At the mouth of the river is the small city of
Newburyport . Prior to the construction of the
Middlesex Canal , Newburyport was an important ship-building city, in a location to receive New Hampshire timber that had been floated downriver.
The river is perhaps best known for the early American literary classic ''A Week on the Concord and Merrimack River'' by
Henry David Thoreau . Among its tributaries are the
Souhegan River , which extends west from the town of
Merrimack, New Hampshire ; the
Nashua River , which flows north into the city of Nashua; the
Concord River , which flows north from
Concord, Massachusetts to Lowell; and the
Shawsheen River , which after also flowing north, joins the Merrimack at Lawrence.
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The etymology of the name of the Merrimack River - from which all subsequent uses derive, such as the the name of the Civil War ironclad - remains unknown.
There is some evidence that it is native American. In 1604 the natives of later
New England told
Pierre Dugua, Sieur De Monts , who was leading a colony of
French Language speakers to
Acadia (later
Nova Scotia ), of a beautiful river to the south. The French promptly pronounced its native name as Merremack. In 1605
Samuel De Champlain followed this lead, found the river and renamed it Riviere du Gas.
The French and their name did not remain on the Merrimack. The natives dwelling along the river at that time were the
Agawam on the lower reaches, the
Pawtucket at
Lowell, Massachusetts , the
Nashua , Souhegan and
Namoskeag around
Manchester, New Hampshire , the
Penacook northward from
Bow, New Hampshire , and the Winnepisseogee at the source,
Lake Winnipesaukee . These were all members of a nation of
Algonquian speakers known as the
Nipmuck .
According to Joseph B. WalkerPages 414-415., relying on Chandler Eastman Potter's ''The History of Manchester'' (1856), Merremack contains the elements merruh, "strong" and auke, "place" (a recognizable
Locative ending), and means "the place of strong current,- a term not inappropriate, when we consider ... the river's rapids ...." Potter was an authority on native American affairs in colonial New England.
Walker goes on to cite spellings of Merimacke, Merimack and Merrimacke in "the colonial records of Massachusetts", as well as the Merrimake and Merrymake of a 1721 land grant at
Penacook, New Hampshire . William Wood's ''New England's Prospect'' of 1634 calls the river the Merrimacke and locates it eight miles beyond Agowamme (
Ipswich, Massachusetts ). It hosts, he says, "Sturgeon, Sammon and Basse, and divers other kinds of fish."Currier (1902), page 23.
Merrimac, Massachusetts , settled in 1638 and originally part of
Amesbury, Massachusetts , was called West Amesbury until 1876, at which time it adopted its current name and spelling.
Merrimack, New Hampshire was incorporated in 1746, spelling its name "Marrymac" in the record of its first town meeting. It is referred to as Merrimac into the early 19th century: in the 1810 decennial census, it was spelled Merrimac, but in the 1820 and afterwards, Merrimack.
See Also: New England Flood of May 2006
While the Merrimack River is prone to minor
Flooding , on
May 15 ,
2006 rainfall raised the river more than above flood stage, forcing evacuations, damaging property, and breaking the main sewage pipeline in the city of
Haverhill, Massachusetts , dumping 35 million gallons of raw sewage waste into the river per day. Reports of total rainfall vary, but most areas appear to have received around a foot of rain with some areas receiving as much as .
According to The Boston Globe, around 1,500 people evacuated their homes to escape the flood.
Flooding besets region; more rain in forecast by Brian MacQuarrie, ''
The Boston Globe '',
16 May 2006 .
This flood also prompted the city of
Lowell, Massachusetts to drop the flood-controlling
Francis Gate for only the third time in its 150 years of service. When lowered, the Francis gate seals the city's canal system off from its source on the Merrimack. The Great Gate, as it is also called, was built in 1850 under the direction of
James B. Francis . Considered unnecessary when it was first constructed, "Francis' Folly" first saved the city in 1852, and has done so a handful of times since, most recently in the April 2007 flood - due to a powerful
Nor'easter . The water level at Lowell reached approximately in this event, or less than a foot less severe than the 2006 flood.
The most significant flood in the recorded history of the Merrimack was in March of 1936, when a double flood of rain and melting snow and ice swelled the Merrimack to , higher than the 2006 flood. The
Jack Kerouac book ''
Doctor Sax '' is set during this event.
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Lowell,_Massachusetts" class="copylinks">Lowell, Massachusetts on University Ave Bridge looking down river
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Lowell,_Massachusetts" class="copylinks">Lowell, Massachusetts on Hunt Falls Bridge looking Up river towards downtownThe Concord River is on the left at the end of the mill
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