The Kickemuit River (sometimes written Kickamuit; kick-eh-MEW-it[1]) is a river in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island flowing approximately 7.9 miles (12.7 km).[2]
| Kickemuit River Kickamuit River | |
|---|---|
 An informational display tells the history of the Kickemuit River. | |
| Etymology | Narragansett |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Cities | Warren, Rhode Island Rehoboth, Massachusetts |
| Towns | Bristol, Rhode Island |
History
editThe name Kickemuit is a Narragansett word that has numerous spellings.[clarification needed] The river was a major traffic artery during the American Revolutionary War, and supplies traveled upriver daily.[3] By the 1800s, oyster beds were a major revenue source, but effluent from the nearby Parker Mills and general sewage pollution killed most of the oysters by 1910.[3] The Kickemuit River oyster industry was ended with the 1938 New England hurricane.[3]
The Kickemuit River is classified as a Class A, Type II Waterway and open to both recreational activities and shell-fishing.[citation needed]
Course
editThe river's source is in Rehoboth, Massachusetts in the swamps north of Locust Street in Swansea. From here it flows due south to Swansea and into the Warren Reservoir, which drains approximately 2,300 acres (9.3 km2). The reservoir's dam forms the boundary between fresh and salt water. From the dam it flows generally southwest, then southeast to Mount Hope Bay, passing to the east of the center of the town of Warren, Rhode Island and ending with Bristol, Rhode Island to the west and part of Warren, Rhode Island to the east. The river exits in a passage through the Bristol Narrows into Mount Hope Bay.
Crossings
editBelow is a list of crossings over the Kickemuit River. The list starts at the headwaters and goes downstream.
- Swansea, Massachusetts
- Locust Street
- Reed Street
- Interstate 195
- Stephen French Road
- Colletti Lane
- Fall River Avenue (U.S. 6)
- Burnside Drive
- Lynnwood Road
- Bushee Road
- Warren, Rhode Island
- Schoolhouse Road
- Child Street (RI 103)
Tributaries
editHeath Brook is the Kickemuit River's only named tributary, though it has many unnamed streams that also feed it.
Gallery
edit
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Farzan, Antonia Noori. "Rhode Island pronunciation guide: 35 names that visitors and even some locals get wrong". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 1, 2011
- ^ a b c History of the Kickemuit River (Informational display on Warren Bike Path at Kickemuit River), RI Department of Environmental Management
External links
edit- Maps from the United States Geological Survey
- Environmental Protection Agency
- American Indian Place Names In Rhode Island
- Kickemuit River Council
- Black, Billy (18 September 2013). "Educational Video on the Kickemuit River Fish Ladder, Warren, Rhode Island" (YouTube video). Kickemuit River Council. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 6 January 2021.