Pequonnock River
Encyclopedia
The Pequonnock River is a 16.7 miles (26.9 km) waterway in eastern Fairfield County, Connecticut
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Fairfield County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The county population is 916,829 according to the 2010 Census. There are currently 1,465 people per square mile in the county. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut and contains...

, flowing through the city of Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...

. The river has a penchant for flooding, particularly in spring since the removal of a retention dam in Trumbull
Trumbull, Connecticut
Trumbull, a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut in the New England region of the United States, is bordered by the towns of Monroe, Shelton, Stratford, Bridgeport, Fairfield and Easton along Connecticut's Gold Coast. The population was 36,018 according to the 2010 census.Family Circle magazine...

 in the 1950s. There seems to be a sharp difference of opinion among historians as to just what the Indian word Pequonnock signifies. Some insist it meant cleared field or open ground; others are sure it meant broken ground; while a third group is certain it meant place of slaughter or place of destruction.

Geography

The eastern branch river flows southerly from Monroe
Monroe, Connecticut
Monroe is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,479 at the 2010 census. The current first selectman is Steve Vavrek....

 through Trumbull past the Old Mine Park Archeological Site
Old Mine Park Archeological Site
The Old Mine Park Archaeological Site is a historic site in the Long Hill, Trumbull, Connecticut section of Trumbull, Connecticut. It was mined from 1828 to 1920 and during 1942-1946...

 and continues to the Beardsley Zoo
Beardsley Zoo
- The park :In 1878, James W. Beardsley, a wealthy farmer, donated over of hilly, rural land bordering on the Pequonnock River with a distant view of Long Island Sound to the city of Bridgeport on condition that "the city shall accept and keep the same forever as a public park...." In 1881, the...

 in Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...

, merging at the mouth of Bridgeport Harbor
Bridgeport Harbor
Bridgeport Harbor is an inlet on the north side of Long Island Sound in the state of Connecticut in the United States. The harbor area is an inlet carved by the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago...

 with Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

 at the Bridgeport Harbor Light
Bridgeport Harbor Light
Bridgeport Harbor Lighthouse was a lighthouse in Connecticut,United States, on the west side of the Bridgeport Harbor entrance and the north side of Long Island Sound, Bridgeport, Connecticut in the United States.-History:...

.
The river is dammed in Bridgeport by the Bunnell's Pond Dam (41.208°N 73.187°W) near the Beardsley Zoo.

The western branch of the river flows southeasterly in a wide "S" pattern from near the Monroe border with Newtown, Connecticut
Newtown, Connecticut
Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 27,560 at the 2010 census. Newtown was founded in 1705 and incorporated in 1711.-Government:...

. The two branches link in Monroe east of the intersection of Route 25 and Purdy Hill Road (41.3004°N 73.2458°W). Less than a mile south of that point in Trumbull, a tributary called North Farrars Brook joins the Pequonnock. Belden Brook in Trumbull flows into the river southwest of the intersection of Route 25 and Daniels Farm Road. The third tributary is Booth Hill Brook, also in Trumbull. It merges northeast of the Route 25 interchange with Route 15 (41.2396°N 73.1858°W). The fourth and final tributary is Island Brook, which joins the river in Bridgeport south of Bunnell Pond and north of the River Street Bridge (41.1970°N 73.1867°W). Island Brook is dammed in Bridgeport by the Forest Lake Dam. (41.220°N 73.207°W)

Crossings and navigation

There were no bridges crossing the river until after the Revolutionary War. The first bridge opened in 1798 and led to the foundation of Bridgeport.

Bridgeport
  • The southernmost mile of the river is navigable from Long Island Sound
    Long Island Sound
    Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

     by most vessels.
  • The Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge
    Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge
    The Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge is a railroad drawbridge over the Pequonnock River in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Owned by the State of Connecticut and maintained and operated by Metro-North Railroad, it is also referred to as Pequonnock River Bridge, PECK Bridge, and Undergrade Bridge 55.90...

     was constructed in 1902 and is a notable crossing in Bridgeport. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
    National Register of Historic Places
    The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

     in 1987.
  • Bridgeport has multiple drawbridge crossings including the Stratford Avenue Bridge, the railroad bridge
    Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge
    The Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge is a railroad drawbridge over the Pequonnock River in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Owned by the State of Connecticut and maintained and operated by Metro-North Railroad, it is also referred to as Pequonnock River Bridge, PECK Bridge, and Undergrade Bridge 55.90...

    , the Congress Street Bridge, the East Washington Street bridge and the Grand Street bridge. The Congress Street bridge is impassible (since 1997) due to being frozen in the open position. The movable leaves of Congress Street Bridge were taken out in May 2010.


Trumbull
  • A wooden walking bridge is located at Old Mine Park Archeological Site
    Old Mine Park Archeological Site
    The Old Mine Park Archaeological Site is a historic site in the Long Hill, Trumbull, Connecticut section of Trumbull, Connecticut. It was mined from 1828 to 1920 and during 1942-1946...

    .
  • The Twin Brooks Bridge (or Liz's Bridge) carries Brock Street over the river, connecting Twin Brooks Park to Route 127
    Connecticut Route 127
    Route 127 is a state highway in southwestern Connecticut, running entirely from Bridgeport to Trumbull. It serves as a minor arterial, connecting all four major limited access highways in the Bridgeport area.-Route description:...

    . It is the only covered bridge on the river.


Pequonnock village

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Pequonnock Indians of the Paugussett nation lived on the banks of the river. One village on the west bank of the Pequonnock consisted of about five or six hundred inhabitants in approximately 150 lodgings. The first English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 settlement on the west bank of the mouth of the Pequonnock was made in about 1665 and was called Pequonnock. This village was renamed Newfield sometime before 1777. During the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, Newfield was a center of privateering. In 1800, Newfield village was chartered as the borough of Bridgeport, forming the nucleus for the city of Bridgeport.

Mills

In January 1722, Gideon and Ephraim Hawley agreed to build or rebuild a mill or mills on the stream of the Pequonnock River at the narrows by White Plain just east of White Plains Road
Connecticut Route 127
Route 127 is a state highway in southwestern Connecticut, running entirely from Bridgeport to Trumbull. It serves as a minor arterial, connecting all four major limited access highways in the Bridgeport area.-Route description:...

. In the mid-18th century, Daniel Hawley built a mill "at the spring on the Pequonnock River" along White Plains Road just north of Daniels Farm Road in Trumbull Center near. Daniel, who resided just northeast of the present bridge, was a grand nephew of Gideon and Ephraim Hawley.

Reuben Fairchild and his brothers, Daniel and Eben built the Fairchild Paper Mill in 1826 at a place commonly called since 1674 as the "Falls" of the Pequonnock River. They were guided in their endeavors by Andrew Tait, who had learned the art of paper making in Scotland. Fairchild Paper Mill was the first mill to make white note paper. The company also ran a boarding house for its female employees. The mill stood to the west of White Plains Road
Connecticut Route 127
Route 127 is a state highway in southwestern Connecticut, running entirely from Bridgeport to Trumbull. It serves as a minor arterial, connecting all four major limited access highways in the Bridgeport area.-Route description:...

 near what is today the entrance to Fairchild Memorial Park.

Housatonic Railroad

From 1840 - 1931, a 15 miles (24.1 km) segment of the Housatonic Railroad ran along much of the river with stations at Bridgeport, North Bridgeport (Lyons), Trumbull, Long Hill, Stepney, Pepper (Pepper Crossing) & Botsford, finally terminating in New Milford, Connecticut
New Milford, Connecticut
New Milford is a town in southern Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States north of Danbury, on the Housatonic River. It is the largest town in the state in terms of land area at nearly . The population was 28,671 according to the Census Bureau's 2006 estimates...

. The Railroad also maintained the Parlor Rock Amusement Park. The railroad was ripped up and replaced with Connecticut Route 8 up to Trumbull, north of which became Pequonnock River Valley State Park.

Historic events

  • 11 January 2010: a man was killed when his car fell into the river.
  • 18 July 2007: The dismembered corpse of Charles Gerber was found floating in a barrel near the Stratford Avenue Bridge.
  • 29 December 1989: for $9,275,000 the 382 acres (1.5 km²) Pequonnock River Valley State Park was founded.
  • 1964: Dredging of Bridgeport Harbor by the Army Corps of Engineers.
  • 16 September 1933: the body of notorious Bridgeport gang boss Patsy Santoro was found in the river.
  • 30 July 1905: A major flood caused 52 people to be drowned and devastation as houses were swept downriver. The schooner Hope Haynes
    Hope Haynes
    The Hope Haynes was a ship notable for causing a massive fire and gas explosion in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1905.-Ship information:The schooner Hope Haynes was a wooden three masted type, home ported in Bath, Maine...

    hit a bridge, causing a fire which led to a massive gas line explosion in Bridgeport.
  • 1836: Andrew Tait built a paper and strawboard mill in Trumbull.

Recreational activities

  • (Mountain) Biking & Hiking: There are several bicycle and hiking trails in Pequonnock River Valley State Park.
  • Fishing: The Connecticut DEP stocks the river with a variety of fish before the spring fishing season.
  • Hunting: Bird hunting is legal in Pequonnock River Valley State Park from October 20 to December 22 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Watershed

The Pequonnock River watershed is approximately 80 acres (323,748.8 m²), located at the head of the river in Monroe
Monroe, Connecticut
Monroe is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,479 at the 2010 census. The current first selectman is Steve Vavrek....

 where it feeds the Easton Reservoir.

Water quality

The river was measured for e. coli on ten separate dates from May through September 2009. Results concluded that the river is to be considered class B (on the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection rating system) from the watershed through Trumbull and to the entry of Bunnell Pond in Bridgeport. Areas further south on the river such as the Washington Street Bridge
Washington Street Bridge
The Washington Street Bridge was built 1932-1934 in Brainerd in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It carries four lanes of Minnesota State Highway 210 across the Upper Mississippi River....

 and into Bridgeport Harbor
Bridgeport Harbor
Bridgeport Harbor is an inlet on the north side of Long Island Sound in the state of Connecticut in the United States. The harbor area is an inlet carved by the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago...

 have considerably higher levels of e.coli and are correspondingly more polluted.

Other uses of the word Pequonnock

  • Pequonnock Iron Works Inc. - A metal fabrication company in Bridgeport.
  • Pequonnock National Bank - A bank in Bridgeport in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
  • Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge
    Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge
    The Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge is a railroad drawbridge over the Pequonnock River in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Owned by the State of Connecticut and maintained and operated by Metro-North Railroad, it is also referred to as Pequonnock River Bridge, PECK Bridge, and Undergrade Bridge 55.90...

  • Pequonnock Road, in Trumbull.
  • Pequonnock Yacht Club

See also

  • History of Bridgeport, Connecticut
    History of Bridgeport, Connecticut
    The history of Bridgeport, Connecticut was, in the late 17th and most of the 18th century, one of land acquisitions from the native inhabitants, farming and fishing. From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, Bridgeport's history was one of shipbuilding, whaling and rapid growth...

  • History of Trumbull, Connecticut
    History of Trumbull, Connecticut
    -Introduction:Trumbull, a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut in the New England region of the United States, was settled owned and controlled by the town of Stratford from 1639 until May 1725 when the northwest farmer's of Stratford petitioned the Colony of Connecticut to establish their own...

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