Umpachene River

Umpachene River and environs

The Umpachene River is an 8.3-mile-long (13.4 km)[1] tributary of the Housatonic River in New Marlborough, Massachusetts. Issuing from small ponds and wetlands on the east side of town, it meanders generally westward through mostly wooded areas before emptying into the Konkapot River near the village of Southfield.

History

The name of the river was derived from a Native American sachem of the Mohicans, Aaron Umpachene (1676–1751), who lived in Massachusetts in the vicinity of Great Barrington and Sheffield.[2][3] Accounts told of him making his summer camps in the meadows alongside the river.[4]

During the early 19th century, settlers in the area harnessed the waters of the Umpachene River to operate waterwheel mills. One author noted in 1829 that as many as four mills were situated along its banks.[5]

Recreation

A small town park with a swimming hole flanks the Umpachene River at the site of a 40-foot waterfall known as Umpachene Falls.[6]

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 1, 2011
  2. ↑ Douglas-Lithgow, Robert Alexander (1909). Dictionary of American-Indian place and proper names in New England: with many interpretations, etc. Salem, Massachusetts: Salem Press. p. 168. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Leveille, Gary (2014). Legendary Locals of the Southern Berkshires. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 9781467101240. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Turner, Hadley K (1944). A History of New Marlborough: 1735-1944. p. 58.
  5. ↑ Field, David Dudley; Dewey, Chester; Thomas, Hunt (1829). A History of the County of Berkshire, Massachusetts, in Two Parts: The First Being a General View of the County; the Second, an Account of the Several Towns. Pittsfield, Massachusetts: Samuel W. Bush. p. 290. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Parsons, Greg; Watson, Kate. "Umpachene Falls". NewEnglandWaterfalls.com. NewEnglandWaterfalls.com. Retrieved 6 May 2016.


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