Kickamuit River
Kickemuit River
An informational display tells the history of the Kickamuit River.
EtymologyNarragansett
Location
CountryUnited States
CitiesWarren, Rhode Island
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
TownsBristol, Rhode Island

The Kickamuit River (often called the Kickemuit River) is a river in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island flowing approximately 7.9 miles (12.7 km).[1]

History

The name Kickamuit is a Narragansett word that has numerous spellings. The river was a major traffic artery during the American Revolutionary War, and supplies traveled upriver daily.[2] 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.[2] The Kickamuit River oyster industry was ended with the 1938 New England hurricane.[2]

The Kickamuit River is classified as a Class A, Type II Waterway and open to both recreational activities and shell-fishing.

Course

The 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

Below is a list of crossings over the Kickamuit 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

Heath Brook is the Kickamuit River's only named tributary, though it has many unnamed streams that also feed it.

A snow squall over the Kickamuit River
Kickamuit River panorama taken at Warren Bike Path. Remains of train bridge in center.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 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
  2. 1 2 3 History of the Kickemuit River (Informational display on Warren Bike Path at Kickemuit River), RI Department of Environmental Management
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