Willimantic River

The Willimantic River is a tributary of the Shetucket River, approximately 25 mi (40 km) long in northeastern Connecticut in the New England region of the United States.

Willimantic River
The Willimantic River flows past the old American Thread Company mill in Willimantic, CT.
Location
CountryUnited States
StateConnecticut
CountiesTolland, Windham
Physical characteristics
SourceConfluence of Middle River and Furnace Brook
  locationStafford Springs, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States
  coordinates41°57′09″N 72°18′07″W[1]
MouthConfluence with Natchaug River to form Shetucket River
  location
Willimantic, Windham County, Connecticut, United States
  coordinates
41°42′46″N 72°11′30″W[2]
Length25 mi (40 km)
Basin size225 sq mi (580 km2)
Discharge 
  locationCoventry, CT
  average216 cu ft/s (6.1 m3/s)Average, 1931-2005
  minimum97.9 cu ft/s (2.77 m3/s)Annual mean, 1965
  maximum370 cu ft/s (10 m3/s)Annual mean, 1938

It is formed in northern Tolland County, near Stafford Springs by the confluence of Middle River and Furnace Brook. It flows south to the city of Willimantic, where it joins the Natchaug River to form the Shetucket. It is joined by the Hop River on the Coventry, Columbia, and Windham town border.[3]

Name

The word Willimantic is of Algonquian origin, either Mohegan-Pequot or Narragansett. It is commonly translated as "land of the swift running water", but the word more likely originally meant "place near the evergreen swamp".[4] The word was first attested in English writing as Waramanticut in 1684,[5] and later as Wallamanticuk, Wewemantic and Weammantuck before being standardized as Willimantic.[6]

Geography

Shortly upstream from its confluence with the Natchaug, the Willimantic experiences a drop of ninety feet in one mile. The river powered textile mills from Stafford Springs to Willimantic, including the American Thread Company mill. None of these mills are operating as of 2007, having all been destroyed or converted to other uses such as apartment space.[7]

A popular long paddling route begins south of Stafford Springs along Route 32 where the river is mostly quickwater all of the way to the flatwater of Eagleville Pond. The remainder is fairly easy going to the take-out at Route 66. Beware of the dam at the Route 275 bridge. Other access points may be at the N. River Road bridge, the Route 74 bridge, the Depot Rd bridge, the Route 195 bridge, the Jones Crossing bridge, the Merrow Road bridge, the U.S. Route 44 bridge, Brigham bridge, near the Route 275 dam, the Depot Rd bridge, the Route 31 bridge, and the Flanders Rd bridge.[7]

Crossings

County Town Carrying
Windham Windham
Closed Bridge
The Garden

Bridge

South St.

(Frog Bridge)

Providence and Worcester

Railroad

Willimantic Footbridge
Route 32
Windham/Tolland Windham/Columbia Air Line State Park Trail
Route 66
Windham/Coventry US 6

(Willimantic Bypass)

Tolland Mansfield/

Coventry

Flanders Rd.
Route 31
Providence and Worcester

Railroad

Depot Rd.
Providence and Worcester

Railroad

Route 275
Plains Rd.
Merrow Rd.
Mansfield/

Tolland

Route 195
Willington/

Tolland

Providence and Worcester

Railroad (Twice in a row)

S. River Rd./Depot Rd.
Route 74
I-84
Providence and Worcester

Railroad

Route 32
Ellington/

Willington

Providence and Worcester

Railroad

Stafford Private Dr.

See also

References

  1. Geographic Names Information System, United States Geological Survey (September 12, 1979). "Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report: Willimantic River". Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  2. Geographic Names Information System, United States Geological Survey (September 12, 1979). "Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report: Natchaug River". Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  3. "Meet the Willimantic River Watershed". www.willimanticriver.org. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
  4. Eves, Jamie H.; Eves, Katherine L. S. "Swift Waters or Cedar Swamp? Native American Placenames in Connecticut and the Meaning of "Willimantic"". Windham Textile and History Museum. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  5. Trumbull, J. Hammond (1859). The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, May, 1678 - June, 1689. Case, Lockwood & Co. p. 202. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  6. Douglas-Lithgow, Robert Alexander (1909). Dictionary of American-Indian place and proper names in New England: with many interpretations, etc. Salem Press. p. 296. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  7. "Meet the Willimantic River". www.willimanticriver.org. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
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