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.