Saugus River

The Saugus River is a river in Massachusetts.

The river is 13 miles long, drains a watershed of approximately 47 square miles, and passes through Wakefield, Lynnfield, Saugus, and Lynn as it meanders east and south from its source in Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield (elevation 90 feet) to its mouth at Boston Broad Sound. It has six tributaries: the Mill River; Bennets Pond Brook; the Pines River; Hawkes Brook; Crystal Pond Brook; and Shute Brook.

Although Native Americans called the river "Aboutsett" ("winding stream"), European settlers first called it the River at Saugus, where "Saugus" (possibly a native word for "long") arguably named the beach running from Swampscott to Revere (there are competing theories as to the origin of the word "Saugus"). In early European times, alewives and bass were harvested from 1632 onwards. The Saugus Iron Works used water power from the river in by 1642, and the river subsequently attracted grist mills, chocolate mills, wool and flannel mills, and a tannery.

The most famous story of the Saugus River is about a little boy.

References

* [http://www.saugusriver.org/ Saugus River Watershed Council]
* "A Gathering of Memories: Saugus 1900-2000" by John Burns, Tom Sheehan, et al.; 2000, Jostens / Saugus.net, ISBN 978-0-9703141-0-9; http://www.saugus.org/GatheringOfMemories/ (Provides at least three conflicting theories as to the origin of the name "Saugus")