Historical changes in the uses of the
Neponset estuary by its surrounding society
Todd B Duval
Laurentide ice sheet retreats ~14,000 ybp◦ Mile-wide glacial river
Clovis culture ~11,000 ybp◦ Spear points recovered in Canton, MA
Land clearing◦ Early European explorers report vast stretches of
treeless, cultivated land Massachuset tribes
◦ Shifting agriculture (~4,000 years)◦ Shellfish, herring and fur trapping◦ “Neponset”- meaning “harvest river” or “a good fall”
Pre-European contact
Heath 1996; Taylor 2003; Perry 2009
Post-European Settlement 1619- Trading outpost on
Thompson’s Island
Smallpox reduces indigenous people
1630- Mary and John
Dorchester founded◦ Land use changes
1634- First grain mill
1728- Paper mills◦ Long fight over rights to
anadromous fish begin
Detail of Wood’s map, 1633Heath 1996; Taylor 2003; Perry 2009Dorchester Historical Society
Savin Hill, 1830Dorchester Historical Society
Industrial Age Multiple dams
Multiple industries◦ Early: leather, copper, paper,
gunpowder, chocolate, biscuits, nails
◦ Later: electronics, toys, cameras◦ Pollutants include Cu, Pb, As,
PCBs
Immigration◦ Urban infill
Sewage outfalls◦ Fowl Meadow becomes “Foul
Meadow”
Dorchester Historical Society
Taylor 2003; Perry 2009
Recreation 1890s to Present
Dorchester Historical Society
Post-industrial Age Factories abandoned
Demographic shift ◦ Suburban sprawl◦ Racial segregation
North of river: high poverty South of river: wealthier, less
dense
Reclamation efforts◦ 1972 to present
Clean Water Act MA State laws John Paul II Park Dorchester Historical Society
Heath 1996; Taylor 2003; Perry 2009; MDC 2012
Dorchester Historical Society
Possible historical evidence of C. virginicus oyster
Palmer, pers. comm. 2012
ReferencesCarlisle, B.K., R.W. Tiner, M. Carullo, I.K. Huber, T. Nuerminger, C. Polzen, M. Shaffer. 2006. 100 years of estuarine marsh
trends in Massachusetts (1893 to 1995): Boston Harbor, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Boston MA; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley MA; University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA. Cooperative report.
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. 2012. Neponset River Reservation. www.mass.gov/dcr. Accessed 10/11/2012Michaels, S. 1999. Configuring who does what in watershed management: the Massachusetts Watershed Initiative. Policy
Studies Journal 27(3):565-577Michaels, S. 2001. Making collaborative watershed management work: the confluence of state and regional initiatives.
Environmental Management 27(1):27-35Heath, R. 1996. The converging cultures of the Neponset River estuary. Dorchester Historical Society www.dorchesteratheneum.org. Accessed 10/4/2012. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1997. NOAA’s estuarine eutrophication survey, volume 3: North Atlantic region. Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment, National Ocean Service, NOAA, Silver
Spring MD. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2012. Estuaries- Habitat of the Month. www.habitat.noaa.gov. Accessed
9/24/2012Neponset River Watershed Association. 2004. Neponset River Watershed 2004 assessment report. Neponset River Watershed
Association, Canton MA; University of Massachusetts; Urban Harbors Institute . Neponset River Watershed Association. 2006. Strategic Plan 2006-2011. Neponset River Watershed Association, Canton MA.
Palmer, T. 2012. Personal communication. Neponset River Watershed Association, Canton MA. Perry, S.L. 2009. More than one river: local place-based knowledge and the political ecology of restoration and remediation
along the lower Neponset River, Massachusetts. Open Access Dissertations paper 117. scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/117Shand-Tucci, D. 1999. Built in Boston: city and suburb 1800-2000. University of Massachusetts Press. Amherst, MASmith, K., C. Nielsen, P. Downey. 2003. Trio of experts instream habitat assessment: East Branch Neponset watershed. ESS
Group, Inc. Wellesley, MATaylor, E. 2003. Dorchester MA, town history 1630-1870. Dorchester Historical Society www.dorchesteratheneum.org.
Accessed 10/4/2012.
Top Related