# Satucket River

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River in the United States of America

Satucket River and environs

The **Satucket River** is 5.5-mile-long (8.9 km)[1] river in southeastern [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts) within the [Taunton River Watershed](/source/Taunton_River_Watershed). It flows generally west from [Robbins Pond](/source/Robbins_Pond_(Massachusetts)) in [East Bridgewater](/source/East_Bridgewater%2C_Massachusetts), and into the [Matfield River](/source/Matfield_River).

Satucket River at Plymouth Street

The Satucket River drains a watershed of 34.9 square miles and 700 acres of natural ponds."Satucket River, East Bridgewater Mass. Fish Passage and Boating Improvement Project".[2] It includes parts of [Abington](/source/Abington%2C_Massachusetts), [Whitman](/source/Whitman%2C_Massachusetts), [Hanson](/source/Hanson%2C_Massachusetts), East Bridgewater and [Halifax](/source/Halifax%2C_Massachusetts). The river is rich with iron and has a tint the color of tea. It is generally slow-moving water and relatively shallow, no more than 8 feet deep, even in its deepest spots. It is fed by the [Poor Meadow Brook](/source/Poor_Meadow_Brook) that takes in the flow of the [Shumatuscacant River](/source/Shumatuscacant_River), which drains into Abington and Whitman. Poor Meadow Brook then joins the Satucket just below Robbins Pond in East Bridgewater."Satucket River, below Robins Pond in East Bridgewater".[3] Robbins Pond, which is another body of water in East Bridgewater, is a 124-acre natural warm water pond. Its predominantly sandy bottom has a fairly uniform 6-foot depth. The pond is mostly still water however it does drain into the Satucket."Robbins Pond, East Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Taunton River Watershed".[4] Located above Robbins Pond is Stump Brook, which drains through Halifax from [Monponsett Pond](/source/Monponsett_Pond), a 528-acre pond to form Robbins Pond which turns into the Satucket River at its outlet.

The Satucket River is very winding; it never freezes in the winter and is unmaintained, which results in many fallen trees, which clog the river and make it hard for the river to be a means of travel. It is undammed now but had one working dam in the past, provided by the Murray Carver Mill. This small dam co-existed with a water wheel and generated electricity to power the cotton gin. As a result of the unused dam 4.4 miles of the Satucket River up to Robbins Pond are unreachable by the once common river herring and other fish and the river and pond serve as suitable environments for these fish to swim up and spawn."Managing Massachusetts’ River Herring Fishery, Restoring a Historic Source of Plenty".[5]

## Tributaries

The Satucket rivers tributaries Include:

• [Poor Meadow Brook](/source/Poor_Meadow_Brook)

• Stoney Brook

• Black Brook

## History

The river drainage from Monponsett to Stump Brook to the Satucket formed a very important water way link of transportation for the [Wampanoags](/source/Wampanoag). It was part of the historic Wampanoag Canoe Passage and was utilized for years."Satucket River and Robbins Pond River Herring Habitat Assessment".[6] By travelling up the Taunton River from [Mount Hope Bay](/source/Mount_Hope_Bay) they could cross over up the Satucket to the [North River](/source/North_River_(Massachusetts_Bay)) watershed into [Massachusetts Bay](/source/Massachusetts_Bay). Later in the early 1900s, the river played an important role in the economy of the town and the Carver Cotton Gin Mill.

## Wildlife

The Satucket River is home to many fish including:

• Largemouth Bass

• Brook Trout

• Brown Trout

• Sun Fish

• Blue Gills

• Perch

• Catfish

• Pickerel

The list is very extensive; however, these are the more common fish. On certain occasions, fish have been found to swim upstream from the ocean, and stripers have been caught out of this water along with otters and many other animals."Satucket River Fishing near East Bridgewater, Massachusetts".[7] The Satucket River is included in the [Taunton River Watershed](/source/Taunton_River_Watershed). The Taunton and [Nemasket Rivers](/source/Nemasket_River) contain 45 species of fish and support the largest [alewife](/source/Alewife_(fish)) run in Massachusetts. "Freshwater Quality".[8]

In the past, the river was rich with alewives that would travel upstream to spawn in the slow moving waters. Until the 1950s the Satucket had Alewives runs, however, due to certain changes in the environment over the years they are not found in the Satucket waters anymore. The Wampanoags would live off the alewives as a food source and the river had many fish weirs built to spear fish for this abundant species. Some of these weirs still exist today and are simply miniature dams made of rocks shaped in a V position that face up stream. The Wampanoags would wait on the rocks until a fish would swim through. The only opening is at the tip of the V so the fish had to swim through the weir and the Native Americans would spear them.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NHD_1-0)** U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. [The National Map](https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/), accessed April 1, 2011

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [\[1\]](http://www.friendsofsebago.org/SatucketProposal.pdf) www.friendsofsebago.org

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [\[2\]](http://www.glooskapandthefrog.org/satucket%20river.htm) www.glooskapandthefrog.org

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [\[3\]](http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pdf/dfwrobbi.pdf) www.mass.gov

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [\[4\]](http://ea.pomona.edu/wp-content/uploads/Tyack-report.pdf) ea.pomona.edu

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [\[5\]](http://www.tauntonriver.org/satucket.pdf) www.tauntonriver.org

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [\[6\]](http://www.hookandbullet.com/fishing-satucket-river-east-bridgewater-ma/) [http://www.hookandbullet.com](http://www.hookandbullet.com)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [\[7\]](http://www.watershedcounts.org/freshwater_quality.html) [http://www.watershedcounts.org](http://www.watershedcounts.org)

v t e Taunton River Watershed Tributaries Assonet River Canoe River Cedar Swamp River Cocasset River Cotley River Forge River Hockomock River Lady Slipper Brook 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 Lakes/Ponds Assawompset Pond Assonet Bay Great Quittacas Pond Little Quittacas Pond Lake Nippenicket Norton Reservoir Lake Mirimichi Lake Rico Lake Sabbatia Leach Pond Long Pond Pocksha Pond Somerset Reservoir Turnpike Lake Watson Pond Winnecunnet Pond Miscellaneous Hockomock Swamp

v t e 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

[42°00′45″N 70°57′16″W / 42.01250°N 70.95444°W / 42.01250; -70.95444](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Satucket_River&params=42_00_45_N_70_57_16_W_type:river_region:US-MA_source:gnis)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Satucket River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satucket_River) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satucket_River?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.