Westfield River - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Knightville Dam) River in Massachusetts, United States

Westfield River Agawam River (archaic)
Westfield River in Huntington (the "Main Stem")
The Westfield River and its major tributaries
Location
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Region	Metropolitan Springfield
District	Hampden County, Massachusetts
Municipality	Westfield, Massachusetts
Physical characteristics

Source	North Branch Westfield River
• location	Berkshires
• coordinates	42°34′09″N 73°01′54″W / 42.56917°N 73.03167°W / 42.56917; -73.03167
• elevation	1,734 ft (529 m)


Source confluence	debouch of the Swift River
• coordinates	42°26′39″N 72°51′31″W / 42.44417°N 72.85861°W / 42.44417; -72.85861
• elevation	922 ft (281 m)

Mouth	Connecticut River
• coordinates	42°05′03″N 72°35′08″W / 42.08417°N 72.58556°W / 42.08417; -72.58556
• elevation	39 ft (12 m)
Length	78.1 mi (125.7 km)
Basin size	517 sq mi (1,340 km)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Swift River Dead Branch (East Branch)
• right	Middle Branch West Branch Little River

National Wild and Scenic River
Type	Wild, Scenic, Recreational
Designated	November 2, 1993

The Westfield River is a major tributary of the Connecticut River located in the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley regions of western Massachusetts. With four major tributary branches that converge west of the city of Westfield, it flows 78.1 miles (125.7 km) (measured from the source of its North Branch) before its confluence with the Connecticut River at Agawam, across from the city of Springfield's Metro Center district. Known for its whitewater rapids and scenery, the Westfield River provides over 50 miles (80 km) of whitewater canoeing and kayaking, in addition to one of the largest roadless wilderness areas remaining in the Commonwealth.

The Westfield River is the Connecticut River's longest tributary in Massachusetts, although the Chicopee River's basin is much larger, and contributes more water to the Connecticut. The Connecticut's northern tributary, the Deerfield River, is nearly as long as the Westfield, being only 2.1 miles (3.4 km) shorter.

During the mid-20th century, the Westfield River was so polluted that it would change color based on the nature of the contaminant. Today, the river is clean enough for swimming. It is a state and locally managed river featuring native trout fishing and rugged mountain scenery in the context of a historical mill town settlement (at Westfield).

History

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On its initial discovery by Massachusetts Bay Colony explorers John Cable and John Woodcock in 1635, the area stretching from the Westfield River's confluence with the Connecticut River to Westfield itself—which, the next year, would all be encompassed in the settlement that came to be known as Springfield—was named the "Agawam River", after the name of the Native American people then occupying the area. Historical literature often refers to Springfield as sitting at the confluence of the Connecticut River with the western Agawam River and eastern Chicopee River. This "Agawam River" is now known as the Westfield River, and should not be confused with the Agawam River in southeastern Massachusetts, which was named in tribute to Springfield's tribe of Native Americans.

Course and branches

The Westfield River runs for a total of 78.1 miles (125.7 km). Rising in the Berkshire Hills region of Massachusetts, it flows southeastwardly to join the Connecticut River at Agawam—directly across from Springfield's Metro Center (downtown).

The Westfield River has a 497-square-mile (1,290 km) drainage area that includes three named branches, which join in Huntington to form the Westfield River's main stem, which flows through Russell into Westfield. The branches are the North Branch (sometimes called the East Branch), which rises in the town of Savoy and flows southeast through Windsor, Cummington, and Chesterfield; the Middle Branch, which rises in the town of Peru and flows southeast through Worthington, Middlefield, and Chester; and the West Branch, which has its origins in Washington and Becket, then flows east through Chester.

The three branches converge in the town of Huntington: the Middle and North Branch (or "East Branch") merge near the village of Goss Heights, 2 miles (3 km) north of their junction with the West Branch (designated a National Wild and Scenic river) at Huntington village. From Huntington, the main stem of the Westfield River flows through Russell and Westfield, then forms the boundary between West Springfield and Agawam before ending at the Connecticut River.

Every April, the Westfield River in Huntington is the home of the Westfield River Whitewater Races, the oldest continuously run whitewater race in the United States.

Portions of the river's watershed have been designated the Westfield Creek Wild and Scenic River, and form part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Hydropower facilities and dams

From the mouth heading upstream, the first dam is the West Springfield Dam, which creates a reservoir north of Robinson State Park. This powers two hydropower turbines owned by A & D Hydro, rated at 900 and 466 kW. The 18-foot-high stone and concrete dam includes a 50-foot-wide power canal, and was constructed in 1836.

The second dam (actually two dams, north and south, with an island in the middle) is in the village of Woronoco in the town of Russell. Woronoco hydro station, owned by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, is at Salmon Falls, also known as Woronoco Falls. It has three Francis turbines, rated for a total of 2.7 MW. These falls were first dammed in the 1870s by the Woronoco Paper Company, later merged with the Strathmore Paper Company. The current dams were constructed in 1938 and 1950 by Strathmore; the paper mills operated until 1999.

The third dam is at the Indian River Power Supply plant on Station Road in Russell. The modern hydroelectric plant is also owned by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, and is rated at 1.4 MW, with two Francis turbines. The dam and plant were originally constructed by the Westfield River Paper Company in 1909.

The fourth dam is Crescent Dam, located in the Crescent Mills neighborhood of Russell at mile 24 of the river. This site was formerly a Chapin and Gould Paper Company mill (later known as Texon). The Texon Hydroelectric Project at the site is rated at 1.5 MW, and is owned by Gravity Renewables.

The fifth dam is the Knightville Dam in Huntington, Massachusetts. After the 1936 flood on the Westfield and Connecticut Rivers, it was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers from August 1939 to December 1941 for $3.3 million. It is only used for flood control and does not normally impound a reservoir. Construction required relocation of Route 112 and a cemetery. Thirty-three homes were demolished, two were moved, and a gas station and store were obliterated. The dam is credited with averting hundreds of millions of dollars in downstream flood damages.

References

^ National Wild & Scenic Westfield River [Map & Segment Descriptions]. Westfieldriverwildscenic.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-15.
U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 1, 2011
"What's Special". Westfield River Wild & Scenic Committee. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
"Westfield River Watershed Association - Taylor's History (1953-2002)". www.westfieldriver.org.
West Springfield's A&D hydropower facility receives state funding
LIHI Certificate #19 - West Springfield Project, Massachusetts
^ Westfield River Facilities
United States Army Corps of Engineers (February 1979). "Phase I Inspection Report, National Dam Inspection Program, Woronoco Mills (60 feet) Dam MA 00738, Woronoco Mills (29 feet) Dam MA 00737" (PDF).
History (Town of Russell)
Texon Hydroelectric Project
^ Knightville Dam Flood Risk Management Project
Images show ‘forgotten valley’ life before Knightville Dam

External links

Westfield River Watershed Association
The Westfield River Watershed Open Space and Recreation Plan Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, 2003.
USGS site
Geographic Names Information System feature detail report – ID 619263

Rivers of Massachusetts by drainage system

Atlantic Ocean

Buzzards Bay	Acushnet River Agawam River Back River Copicut River Crooked River Mattapoisett River Nasketucket River Paskamanset River Pocasset River Sippican River Slocums River Wankinco River Westport River Weweantic River
Nantucket Sound	Bass River Bumps River Childs River Coonamesset River Mashpee River Mitchell River Oyster Pond River Popponesset Creek Quashnet River Santuit River
Others	Tiasquam River

Gulf of Maine

Cape Cod Bay	Bluefish River Eel River Herring River Jones River Little Pamet River Pamet River Town Brook
Massachusetts Bay	Aberjona River Alewife Brook Canton River Charles River Chelsea Creek Cochato River Fore River Fresh River Indian Head River Malden River Millers River Monatiquot River Muddy River Mystic River Neponset River North River Saugus River Stony Brook (Boston) Stony Brook (Waltham) Stop River Weir River Weymouth Back River
Merrimack River Watershed	Artichoke River Assabet River Back River Beaver Brook Cochichewick River Concord River Little River Merrimack River Nashua River Nissitissit River North Nashua River Phillips Brook Powwow River Quinapoxet River Salmon Brook Shawsheen River Souhegan River South Branch Souhegan River South Nashua River Spicket River Squannacook River Stillwater River Sudbury River Trout Brook Vine Brook Whitman River
Others	Annisquam River Blackwater River Eagle Hill River Egypt River Ipswich River Jericho Creek Roger Island River Rowley River Skug River

Long Island Sound

Connecticut River Watershed	Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Connecticut River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Farmington River Fall River Five Mile River Green River Hubbard River Manhan River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mirey Brook North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Otter River Quaboag River Scantic River Seven Mile River Tarbell Brook Ware River Westfield River
Housatonic River Watershed	Housatonic River Konkapot River Schenob Brook Umpachene River
Thames River Watershed	French River Quinebaug River

Narragansett Bay

Mount Hope Bay (Taunton River Watershed)	Assonet River Canoe River Cedar Swamp River Cocasset River Cotley River Forge River Hockomock River Matfield River Mill River Nemasket River Poor Meadow Brook Quequechan River Rumford River Salisbury Plain River Satucket River Segreganset River Shumatuscacant River Snake River Taunton River Three Mile River Town River Wading River Winnetuxet River
Providence River Watershed	Abbott Run Blackstone River Bungay River Chockalog River Mill River Mumford River Peters River Quinsigamond River Sevenmile River Tannery River Ten Mile River West River Wilde River
Others	Barrington River Cole River Coles Brook Kickemuit River Lees River Palmer River Runnins River

Upper New York Bay

Hudson River Watershed	Hoosic River Kinderhook Creek

Connecticut River watershed

Tributaries

Connecticut	Blackledge River Coginchaug River Connecticut River Duck River Eightmile River Falls River Farmington River Hockanum River Hubbard River Jeremy River Lieutenant River Mattabesset River Nepaug River Pameacha Creek Park River Pequabuck River Salmon River Scantic River
Massachusetts	Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Connecticut River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Farmington River Fall River Five Mile River Green River Hubbard River Manhan River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mirey Brook North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Otter River Quaboag River Scantic River Seven Mile River Tarbell Brook Ware River Westfield River
New Hampshire	Ammonoosuc River Ashuelot River Blow-me-down Brook The Branch Cold River Connecticut River East Branch Mohawk River Gale River Great Brook Halls Stream Ham Branch Indian River Indian Stream Israel River Johns River Knox River Little River Little Sugar River Mascoma River Millers River Mink Brook Mirey Brook Mohawk River Nash Stream North Branch Gale River North Branch Millers River North Branch Sugar River North Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Oliverian Brook Otter Brook Partridge Brook Perry Stream Phillips Brook Simms Stream South Branch Ashuelot River South Branch Gale River South Branch Israel River South Branch Sugar River Stocker Brook Sugar River Tarbell Brook Upper Ammonoosuc River West Branch Mohawk River West Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Wild Ammonoosuc River Zealand River
Vermont	Black River Connecticut River Deerfield River Fall River Green River Halls Stream Leach Creek Moose River Nulhegan River Ompompanoosuc River Ottauquechee River Passumpsic River Rock River Saxtons River Utley Brook Waits River Wells River West River Whetstone Brook White River Williams River Winhall River

Lakes

Connecticut	Barkhamsted Reservoir Lake Beseck Lake Hayward Lake Pocotopaug
Massachusetts	Brooks Pond Browning Pond Lake Monomonac Quabbin Reservoir Lake Wyola
New Hampshire	Ashuelot Pond Back Lake Canaan Street Lake Cedar Pond Christine Lake Comerford Reservoir Connecticut Lakes Crystal Lake Dublin Pond Eastman Pond Echo Lake Lake Francis (Murphy Dam) Goose Pond Grafton Pond Granite Lake Lakes of the Clouds Little Sunapee Lake Mascoma Lake McIndoes Reservoir Lake Monomonac Moore Reservoir Pearly Lake Silver Lake Spofford Lake Lake Sunapee Surry Mountain Lake Lake Tarleton
Vermont	Ball Mountain Lake Comerford Reservoir Harriman Reservoir Harvey's Lake McIndoes Reservoir Moore Reservoir North Hartland Lake Lake Rescue Townshend Lake

Towns

Connecticut	Chester Cromwell Deep River East Haddam East Hampton East Hartford East Windsor Enfield Essex Glastonbury Haddam Hartford Higganum Lyme Middletown Moodus Old Lyme Old Saybrook Portland Rocky Hill South Windsor Suffield Thompsonville Wethersfield Windsor Windsor Locks
Massachusetts	Agawam Chicopee Deerfield Easthampton Gill Greenfield Hadley Hatfield Holyoke Longmeadow Millers Falls Montague Northampton Northfield South Hadley Springfield Sunderland Turners Falls West Springfield Whately
New Hampshire	Bath Charlestown Chesterfield Claremont Clarksville Colebrook Columbia Cornish Dalton Groveton Hanover Haverhill Hinsdale Lancaster Lebanon Littleton Lyme Monroe Northumberland Orford Piermont Pittsburg Plainfield Stewartstown Stratford Walpole West Lebanon Westmoreland Woodsville
Quebec	East Hereford
Vermont	Ascutney Barnet Beecher Falls Bellows Falls Bloomfield Bradford Brattleboro Brunswick Canaan Concord Dummerston Fairlee Gilman Guildhall Hartford Hartland Lemington Lunenburg Maidstone Newbury Norwich Putney Rockingham Ryegate Springfield Thetford Vernon Waterford Weathersfield Wells River Westminster White River Junction Wilder Windsor

Crossings

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

National Historical Parks	Adams Blackstone River Valley Boston Lowell Minute Man New Bedford Whaling
National Historic Sites	Boston African American Frederick Law Olmsted John Fitzgerald Kennedy Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters Salem Maritime Saugus Iron Works Springfield Armory
Other National Park Service units	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Cape Cod National Seashore
National Wildlife Refuges	Assabet River Great Meadows Mashpee Massasoit Monomoy Nantucket Nomans Land Oxbow Parker River Silvio O. Conte Thacher Island
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Assabet Concord Sudbury Taunton Westfield
Other protected areas	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve West Hill Dam (USACE)

State parks

Parks	Alewife Brook Ames Nowell Ashland Bash Bish Falls Blackstone River and Canal Heritage Borderland Boston Harbor Islands Bradley Palmer C. M. Gardner Callahan Castle Island State Park Chicopee Memorial City Square Clarksburg Cochituate Connecticut River Greenway Demarest Lloyd Dighton Rock Dunn Ellisville Harbor Fall River Heritage Gardner Heritage Governor Thomas Dudley Great Brook Farm Greycourt Halibut Point Hampton Ponds Holyoke Heritage Hopkinton Lake Lorraine Lake Wyola Lawrence Heritage Lowell Heritage Lynn Heritage Massasoit Maudslay Moore Mount Holyoke Range Natural Bridge Nickerson Pearl Hill Pilgrim Quinsigamond Robinson Roxbury Heritage Rutland Skinner South Cape Beach Wahconah Falls Webb Memorial Wells Western Gateway Heritage Whitehall Wompatuck
Reservations	Beaver Brook Belle Isle Marsh Blue Hills Breakheart Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Dorchester Shores Elm Bank Fort Phoenix Hammond Pond Hemlock Gorge Horseneck Beach Jug End Lynn Shore Middlesex Fells Mount Everett Mount Greylock Mount Sugarloaf Mount Tom Myles Standish Mystic River Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Nasketucket Bay Neponset River Pope John Paul II Purgatory Chasm Quincy Quarries Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Salisbury Beach Sandy Point Scusset Beach Stony Brook Upper Charles River Wachusett Mountain Walden Pond West Island Weymouth Wilson Mountain
Other	Appalachian Trail Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Cape Cod Rail Trail Fort Revere Lake Dennison Recreation Area Lower Neponset River Trail Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside Nashua River Rail Trail Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail Quabbin Reservoir Southwest Corridor Park Squantum Point Park Streeter Point Recreation Area Sudbury Reservoir Wachusett Reservoir Ware River Watershed Area

State forests

Wildlife management areas

Wildlife
management areas

Wildlife
sanctuaries

The Nature Conservancy
Black Pond Bog Boat Meadow Francis Newhall Woods Grassy Pond Greene Swamp Halfway Pond Island Hawley Bog Hockomock Swamp Hoft Farm Homer-Watcha Katama Plains McElwain-Olsen Miacomet Moors Reed Brook Roger and Virginia Drury Sandy Neck David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail Stacy Mountain Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

Audubon Society wildlife sanctuaries

Other
Concord Land Conservation Trust Harvard Forest Lincoln Land Conservation Trust Lloyd Center for the Environment Lynn Woods Reservation Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary Old Harbor Wildlife Refuge

Category
Boston
Emerald Necklace
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Commons

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