Skug River

Skug River

Skug River watershed and environs, 1893.
Basin
Main source Harold Parker State Forest
42°38′06″N 71°05′53″W / 42.635°N 71.098°W / 42.635; -71.098
River mouth Martin's Pond, North Reading, MA
42°35′56″N 71°07′26″W / 42.5988°N 71.1238°W / 42.5988; -71.1238Coordinates: 42°35′56″N 71°07′26″W / 42.5988°N 71.1238°W / 42.5988; -71.1238
Location Essex County, Massachusetts
Length 4.9 mi (7.9 km)

The Skug River, said to be named either for the Native American word Skug, meaning Snake, or a misspelling of Skunk River,[1] is a 4.9-mile-long (7.9 km) river[2] in North Andover, Andover, and North Reading, Massachusetts that constitutes part of the Ipswich River watershed.

The nearly-frozen Skug River in Andover

The river arises from wetlands just south of Boston Hill in the Harold Parker State Forest, and flows mainly southwest to empty into Martin's Pond in North Reading. From there, Martin's Brook carries its waters onwards to the Ipswich River.

The river was dammed over 200 years ago for a sawmill and grist mill. Although the dam has since disappeared, the large stone walls of its millrace can still be seen in the Harold Parker State Forest and Andover Village Improvement Society Skug River Reservation,[1] as can the old Jenkins Soapstone Quarry abutting the river.

References

  1. 1 2 A.V.I.S. Skug River Reservation
  2. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 1, 2011
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, February 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.