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About the Mystic River
The Mystic River headwaters are the Aberjona River starting in Reading, MA to the North. The river
technically begins at the southern end of the Lower Mystic Lake on the Arlington/Medford town border
and runs southeastward into Boston Harbor, where it converges with the Charles River. Along the way,
it is joined by tributaries such as Mill Creek, Alewife Brook, Malden River, Island End River, and
Chelsea Creek. The Mystic River was a tidal river until the Craddock Locks were built in 1909,
preventing tides from affecting the Upper Mystic River. In 1966, the Amelia Earhart Dam was built
near the mouth of the Mystic, preventing tidal flooding of the Malden and Lower Mystic Rivers.
Before the dam and the locks were built, the river would actually run backwards as the tide came
in through Boston Harbor.
Historically, Native Americans and European settlers used the river for travel and as a source of food and freshwater. The Mystic River has long been central to regional economic vitality, serving the needs of various industries, such as brickyards, shipyards, and tanneries. The lower Mystic is presently a busy industrial port with large tankers and tugs regularly seen on the water. By contrast, a dynamic biological event occurs every year as thousands of river herring swim up the Mystic River to spawn every spring, navigating past dams and other barriers to reach their goal- the shallow shores of the upper Mystic River and its tributaries. |
This website is sponsored by the Mystic Watershed Collaborative,
a partnership between Tufts University and The Mystic River Watershed Association.
Copyright © 2002 Tufts University. All rights reserved.