Stony Brook (Charles River tributary, Weston)

(Redirected from Stony Brook (Charles River, Weston)) Stream in Lincoln and Weston, Mass. This article is about the brook in Weston. For the largely culverted brook in Boston, emptying into the lower Charles River basin, see Stony Brook (Boston).

Stony Brook is a stream largely running through Lincoln and Weston, Massachusetts, then forming the Weston/Waltham boundary, and emptying into the Charles River across from the Waltham/Newton boundary. It has two tributaries, Cherry Brook and Hobbs Brook, and its watershed includes about half of Lincoln and Weston as well as parts of Lexington and Waltham. Since 1887, it has been the water supply for Cambridge, along with the Hobbs Brook Reservoir.

History

As early as 1662, water flowing into the Charles River helped spark business enterprise. Various water mills have been erected at the mouth of Stony Brook. A corn mill was built in January of 1679-80. A paper mill was built in about 1780 that was later purchased by the Boston Manufacturing Company in 1798 and converted into a cotton mill. In about 1802, another mill was built on Stony Brook to manufacture wrapping paper

In the late 19th century, Eben Norton Horsford identified the mouth of Stony Brook as the location of a supposed Norse city, Norumbega, and commissioned the Norumbega Tower, which carries a long inscription describing the supposed city.

There are three large ponds, all artificial, in the Stony Brook watershed: the Cambridge Reservoir (Hobbs Pond), the Stony Brook Reservoir (Turtle Pond), and Flint's Pond (also known as Sandy Pond).

In 1887, on the site of Turtle Pond, the city of Cambridge completed construction of the Stony Brook Reservoir Dam, where Stony Brook joins the Charles, as part of its water supply. Stony Brook Reservoir has a drainage area of 23.57 square miles (61.0 km) and an available storage capacity of 354,000,000 US gallons (1,340,000 m) (1087 acre-feet). In 1910, Hobbs Pond was dammed to become the Cambridge Reservoir. Its drainage area is 7.25 square miles (18.8 km) and its storage capacity is 2,338,000,000 US gallons (8,850,000 m) (7178 acre-feet). Flint's Pond (also known as Sandy Pond) was dammed to become the reservoir for the town of Lincoln; the DeCordova Museum is on its southeast bank.

External links

Map of Stony Brook watershed

References

"Where Does Our Drinking Water Come From? - Water - City of Cambridge, Massachusetts". www.cambridgema.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
Percival R. Eaton, "The Works of the Watch City", New England Magazine 36:3:365-66 (May 1906)
Eben Norton Horsford, The discovery of the ancient city of Norumbega, 1890 full text
"Stony Brook Reservoir". findlakes.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
"Cambridge Reservoir". findlakes.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
Division of Sanitary Engineering, "Advice to Cities, Towns and Others relative to Water supply, Drainage and Sewerage", in State Department of Health of Massachusetts, "Second Annual Report", Public Document No. 34 (1917) p. 384

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

Canals and reservoirs of Massachusetts

Canals

Reservoirs

Connecticut River Watershed	Ashley Reservoir Lake Monomonac Lake Wyola Quabbin Reservoir Whiting Street Reservoir
Merrimack River Watershed	Haggetts Pond Lost Lake Wachusett Reservoir
Taunton River Watershed	Little Quittacas Pond Norton Reservoir
Others	Aaron River Reservoir Accord Pond Assawompset Pond Big Pond Blackmore Pond Briggs Reservoir (Manomet) Briggs Reservoir (Plymouth) Chestnut Hill Reservoir East Head Reservoir Fisher Hill Reservoir Fort Meadow Reservoir Fresh Pond Great Quittacas Pond Great Sandy Bottom Pond High Service Water Tower and Reservoir Little South Pond Littleville Lake Miscoe Lake Neponset Reservoir Otis Reservoir Round Pond Silver Lake South Meadow Brook Reservoir Stockbridge Bowl Stony Brook Stump Pond Sudbury Reservoir Sugden Reservoir Tully Lake Walden Pond (Lynn) Weston Reservoir

42°22′41.9″N 71°16′57.9″W / 42.378306°N 71.282750°W / 42.378306; -71.282750

Categories:

Misplaced Pages