Middlesex Canal Association: 2020-2029 Archived Items
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Middlesex Canal Commission
Leonard H. Harmon
Chairman
Michael J. McInnis
Vice Chairman
Thomas W. Lincoln
Secretary
Betty M. Bigwood
Treasurer |
MEETING of the MIDDLESEX CANAL COMMISSION
3rd Day of the 3rd Week of the 3rd Month at 3:00pm at the
Middlesex Canal Museum & Visitor Center, 71 Faulkner St., Billerica, MA
(doors open at 2:00pm)
MIDDLESEX CANAL COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING
Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 3:15 at the Middlesex Canal Museum and Visitor Center,
Faulkner Mllls, 71 Faulkner Street, North Billerica, MA.
Members or their designees or alternate are requested to attend. Visitors welcome.
AGENDA
(1) Registration and refreshments - 2:15pm
(2) Introduction, Chairman Len Harmon - 3:15
(3) Secretary's Report - Thomas Lincoln
(4) Treasurer's Report - Betty M. Bigwood
(5) Discussion: Rails, Trails and Towpaths - Andrew Jennings
(6) Section Activities Reports:
a. Lowell
b. Chelmsford
c. Billerica
d. Wilmington
e. Woburn
f. Winchester
g. Medford
h. Somerville
i. Charlestown
(7) Current Statue of the New Museum - Betty M. Bigwood
(8) Current Status of the Talbot Dam - J. Breen
(9) New Business
(10) Election of Officers
(11) Adjournment
CITY/TOWN CLERKS : PLEASE POST
c/o NMCOG, 672 Suffolk St. Suite 100, Lowell, MA 01854 Tel: 978-454-8021
Middlesex Canal Association
P.O. Box 333, Billerica, Massachusetts 01821 |
Inside Old Elm - January 2020 |
Inside Old Elm - January 2020 |
Betty Bigwood and MCA President J Breen |
Winter Meeting: The winter meeting of the Middlesex Canal Association was held on February 9, 2020 at 1:00pm at the Middlesex Canal Museum and Visitors’ Center at 71 Faulkner Street in North Billerica, MA 01862. Alison Field-Juma presented the first-ever River Report Card for the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers. She is the Executive Director of OARS, the watershed organization for SuAsCO (www.oars3rivers.org) which monitors water quality and works to improve the health of the three-river system. The Middlesex Canal lies near the border of the Upper Concord River which received a B and the Lower Concord River which received a C+. Come find out why, and enjoy a lively dialogue about what matters to our communities and what we can do about it! See the Report Card at ecoreportcard.org.
Spring Walk – Sunday, March 22, 2020, 1:30pm, Billerica South to Small Pox Cemetery
[Cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic]
As stated above, you'll have to navigate this on your own. The walk should be about 2-3 hours over generally level wooded terrain and streets. The route follows the canal for a round trip of under three miles south of the Concord River. Sites to be visited include: two guard locks; an anchor stone; the causeway at opposite ends of the floating towpath across the summit pond; the 1825 iron bolt pond-level reference; the “deep cut”; a small pox cemetery; and the photovoltaic facility on High Street. Start at the Middlesex Canal Visitor Center/Museum at the Billerica Falls of the Concord River, 71 Faulkner Street, North Billerica, MA 01862, 3 blocks west of the North Billerica train station. The Visitor Center opens at noon.
Note: In light of the coronavirus crisis, we had to evaluate our options regarding the Spring Walk. We could have either (a) gone ahead with the walk as scheduled (using appropriate caution); (b) postponed it for another month or so when we'll have a better handle on things; (c) canceled it; or (d) provided a how-to guide with maps for people to explore on their own. These are trying times for all of us. Even if the declaration hadn't come, the fact that we would likely draw people from various communities - even if adequate social distance was maintained - seems contrary to the wisdom of doing all that we can to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. - Robert Winters
With the Governor's emergency declaration that groups of 25 or more are prohibited, we will have to postpone the Middlesex Canal Spring Walk. That said, if you want to explore this section on your own or with a small group (maintaining appropriate social distance) we encourage you to do so in much the same way we would have done as an organized group. The features we would have highlighted (as well as road crossings, etc.) go something like this:
(1) From the museum, you might want to first head over to the parking area (across the canal remnant) next to the site of our new museum now under construction. There at the point where the canal segment opens up onto the Concord River is the anchor stone of the floating towpath that was used to convey boats across the Concord River. This is also the site of the original groundbreaking of the canal in thelate 18th century. The only visible remnant of an original lock is on the opposite side of the street.
(2) From there, backtrack toward the museum and into the active parking lot across from the museum. If you scramble down the embankment (you will likely need MCA President J. Breen as a guide) you can find the iron bolt that was used to mark the river level two centuries ago.
(3) Continuing out of the parking lot, head south around the bend to Rogers Street to a point where the canal once crossed (there should be a marker). From there you can follow on the left (north/east) side of the canal southward.
(4) You will soon cross the railroad tracks (not the active line!!) after which you can continue along the right (west/south) side of the canal to a point where it meets High Street. (You'll see the Iron Mountain building across the canal.) At High Street there's an historical marker of the canal.
(5) Crossing High Street, continue south/east along the canal. This is where the going may get a bit tougher. You'll still be walking to the right of the canal, but there will be points where the canal is only barely distinguishable from the adjacent wetland area. Carful not to take any turns here and keep the water to your left. You will reach a point where you'll be next to a capped, fenced-off landfill containing hazardous materials. You may also encounter some abandoned rails. This is around the point where the original route of the canal was diverted after its abandonment, so as you continue further you'll actually be following the channel that was created after the canal was abandoned.
(6) At some point along the relatively clear path you may find a plank of wood off to the left of the path that connects over the narrow channel to the site of the smallpox cemetery. The track to the cemetery is just after the overhead RR phone line crossing the sandy railbed of the walk. The track intersects the railbed where the railbed is overgrown, there being no need to clear the railbed after the intersection. That's probably where you will want to turn around and retrace your steps back to the museum.
Map (2 pages) Smallpox cemetery (Google Map)
Note: Much of this description is from memory with the help of Google Maps and our own MCA maps. If I missed a detail and you have better information, please let me know. - Robert Winters
Note: The State emergency order of March 23, 2020 closes all non-essential facilities until (at least) May 4th, including our museum.
Bike Tour South – Sunday, April 19, 2020, 10:44am
[Cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic]
On Sunday April 19, 2020, the Middlesex Canal Association will lead a bicycle tour of the Middlesex Canal. Incorporated in 1793 with John Hancock as the first proprietor, the canal connected the Merrimack River at Lowell with the Charles River at Boston by a ditch 3½ feet deep, 30 feet wide and 27 miles long. It was the greatest work of its kind in the United States until the Erie Canal. The canal operated for 50 years, then the one-horse power canal boat quickly lost to the new competitor, the 30 horse-power steam locomotive.
The tour will start at the train station in Lowell after the 10:44am, when the 10:00am train arrives from Boston. This year an early group will take the 8:00am train from North Station to allow more time in Lowell and breakfast at the Owl Diner, United States Historic Landmark, www.owldiner.com. Train fare is $10.00. The tour visits Lowell canals, River Walk, Francis Gate, the canal plaque at Hadley Field, then south on the route of the Middlesex Canal. Riders will stop at the mini-mall, 95 Boston Road (Rte. 3A), Billerica, MA for lunch around 1:00 P.M. followed by a quick visit to the Middlesex Canal Visitor Center/Museum, 71 Faulkner Street, North Billerica, MA 01862 and then back to Boston.
A long day, but the sunset is late. Cyclists wanting a shorter tour can plan their own start and stop points using the Lowell line schedule available at www.mbta.com. Anderson/Woburn station off 128/I-95 and I-93 is popular. Another possible start/stop point is North Billerica because the Visitor Center is two blocks from the station and is open noon-4:00pm.
The route is pretty flat – the summit pond was 27 feet above the Merrimack – and we will average 5 miles per hour, so the ride will be an easy one for most cyclists. The ride will be led by Bill Kuttner, bkuttner@ctps.org, 617-241-9383, and Dick Bauer, dick.bauer@alum.mit.edu. 857-540-6293. Helmets are required. Steady rain cancels. The map for the bike tour south is in two parts, tinyurl.com/lowellsouth and tinyurl.com/wedgemere.
Spring (Annual) Meeting, 1:00pm, Sunday, May 3, 2020
Due to the Pandemic caused by the COVID-19 Virus this meeting will be held virtually.
Note: “The History, Development, Operation, and Economic Impact of Early Canals in England” by Bill Gerber will have to wait until another day. After the annual meeting, the Building Committee will talk about the new Visitor Center/Museum. Bill will not be doing a talk on English Canals. Photos, documents, etc. for the meeting are downloadable here.
Special Event – “Walk with Thoreau Along the Middlesex Canal”
10:00am, Saturday, June 20, 2020
Leader: Marlies Henderson
Special Event – “Middlesex Village Walk”
10:00am - 11:30am, Saturday, June 27, 2020
Leader: Dick Howe
Virtual Topping Off of the New Museum at 2 Old Elm Street
18th Annual Bike Tour North: On Saturday, October 3, 2020, riders are to meet at 9:00am at the Middlesex Canal plaque, Sullivan Square MBTA Station (1 Cambridge Street, Charlestown, MA 02019). As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic the ride has been abbreviated this year. Please visit the MCA website, www.middlesexcanal.org, for details.
Sunday, October 3, 2020, 9:00am – Historic Bicycle Tour of Middlesex Canal
On Saturday, October 3, 2020, the Middlesex Canal Association and the Middlesex Canal Commission will sponsor the 18th annual historic bicycle tour of the Middlesex Canal. Although the MBTA is doing track work and not running trains south of Anderson, we should be able to get bikes back by bus.
Because of the pandemic, we are doing the ride differently from other years. The ride will go only as far as Wilmington, and then we will bike back to Boston rather than taking the train. Masks will be required in addition to helmets. And there will be no place to stop for food, so please bring a lunch with you. But we are pleased that with these modifications, we should be able to do the ride safely.
 The Canal was the "big dig" of the end of the 18th century. Completed in 1803 after 10 years of construction, the Canal connected the Merrimac River in what is now Lowell with the Charles River at Sullivan Square in Charlestown. In many ways it served as a model for later canals including the Erie Canal. The Canal remained in operation for 50 years, providing both passenger and freight service, but could not compete successfully with the Boston and Lowell Railroad which began operation in the 1830's.
The ride will start at the Canal marker on the front of the Sullivan Square MBTA station just to the right of the main entrance at 9:00. From there we will ride about 15 miles to Wilmington. We will make a lunch stop in Woburn, and there will be no place to stop for food, so we recommend that you bring a lunch.
 Most of the route is pretty flat and level and we will do an overall average 6-7 miles per hour, so the ride should be an easy one for most cyclists. Along the way we will stop at a number of remnants and restored sections of the Canal, as well as the Mansion of Loammi Baldwin, the chief engineer of the Canal (who discovered the Baldwin apple while building the Canal), one of the remaining aqueducts (which carried the Canal over rivers and brooks), and will get to walk along the bed of the canal and see traces of the ropes that connected the hoses to the canal boats.
The ride will be led by Dick Bauer and Bill Kuttner of the Middlesex Canal Commission. Helmets and masks required. Steady rain cancels. For more information, contact Dick at dick.bauer@alum.mit.edu (857-540-6293), or Bill at bkuttner@ctps.org (617-241-9383).
For more information about the Middlesex Canal and the Middlesex Canal Association go to: http://www.middlesexcanal.org
For more information about the Middlesex Canal Commission go to: http://www.middlesexcanal.org/commission/ |
Sunday Walk during Fall Foliage
The MCA will sponsor a canal walk on October 18, 2020 at 1:30pm. Participants are to meet at the kiosk, 35 Towpath Drive, Wilmington. We'll walk through the 14-acre tract gifted to the MCA by Stanley Webber and his daughter, Julia Ann Fielding, and finally Patches Pond. The Wilmington Train Station is 1/2 mile from 35 Towpath Drive. The walk is easy - it's a towpath, of less than two miles, round trip. The fall colors should be glorious. An article on the canal cross section is at https://tinyurl.com/xsection8.
Please visit the MCA website, www.middlesexcanal.org, for details.
 |
| The walkers are standing at the Maple Meadow Aqueduct, the beginning of 14 acres with 0.8 miles of canal, a gift in 1983 of Stanley Webber and his daughter Julia Ann Fielding to the Middlesex Canal Association. On Sunday, October 18, the Association will lead a walk in the Maple Meadow gift. Meet at the kiosk, 35 Towpath Drive, Wilmington 01887, at 1:30pm. The Wilmington Train Station is 1/2 mile from 35 Towpath Drive. The walk is easy - it's a towpath, of less than two miles, round trip. The fall colors should be glorious. An article on the canal cross section is at https://tinyurl.com/xsection8. |
FREDERICK L. LAWSON, 1935 - 2020
LAWSON, Frederick L. Jr. April 15, 1935 - December 19, 2020 Age 85 of Billerica from complications of a stroke. “Freddie” spent his early life in Brighton, MA.
He attended Boston Latin until his senior year when his family moved to Billerica. He graduated from Howe High School in 1954. He then joined the Air Force where he was a jet engine mechanic. After a medical discharge, he returned to Billerica, where he eventually was reacquainted with Catherine Ann Masters and they married in 1961. They stayed happily married for over 50 years until Cathy's passing in 2012.
He lived a full and creative life. He was active with the First Parish Church of Billerica, helping with the committees that helped rebuilding it after a fire in 1967. He was one of the founders of the Middlesex Canal Association. In 1971, he was introduced to Colonial Fife and Drum music and spent many years playing the Bass Drum in several corps including The Bilge Rat Volunteers, Lexington Minute Men, Sudbury Minute Men, The Middlesex County Volunteers, and many others. Through the music he delved into other aspects of re-enacting the Revolutionary War, eventually founding the Royal Irish Artillery.
He accomplished all of this while taking over his father's business, Arlington Lawn Mower. He was a small engine mechanic and helped service lawn mowers and snow throwers in the greater Boston area until 1994. He even appeared on The Victory Garden.
Always enthusiastic about history and crafting, he was an avid weaver. He got tired of being tied to a loom and eventually went into basketry. For many years he was an active member of the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society with their basketry guild. He also had Wicker'd Good Baskets and went to many local craft fairs vending his wares. His baskets can be found all over the world. He loved sharing his knowledge with everyone and demonstrated his crafts at historic sites all around New England including The Paul Revere House, Strawberry Banke, Gore Place, The Wayside Inn, and so many more.
He is survived by his daughter, Zo? Lawson of Billerica, his loving companion Audrey Jones Childs of Watertown, and so many other friends and family. When it is safe to do so, there will be a celebration of life - what a life to celebrate.
No flowers, please. Do good in his name, teach someone something, tell a story, laugh, share a hug (when safe to do so). Please go to the Burns Funeral Home, website to leave a message. www.burnsfuneralhomes.com
To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store.
Published in Boston Globe from Dec 24 to Dec 27, 2020.
Fred Lawson's "Start of the Middlesex Canal Association, Oct 1961" talk is available at the Internet Archive:
Fred Lawson – Founders Day: Middlesex Canal Association (recorded Feb 11, 2018 by Roger Hagopian)
Winter Meeting, 1:00pm, Sunday, February 14 , 2021
Topic: video of Tom Dahill’s 2016 Valentine Day lecture “Summit Pond: Middlesex Canal Circa 1822” For ZOOM meeting instructions see www.middlesexcanal.org
Video of Professor Dahill's talk (Feb 14, 2016) in the Internet Archive: https://tinyurl.com/160214professorFall Meeting:
The Fall Meeting of the Middlesex Canal Association took place on Sunday, October 25, 2020 at 1:00pm virtually via Zoom.
Spring Walk: 1:30pm, Sunday March 21, 2021
Meet at Woburn Cinemas, 25 Middlesex Canal Park Drive, Woburn, MA
Meet at the corner of the parking lot marked with X in the above image.
The canal is at the right of the image and the walk will head south from there.
Later, participants will shuttle to the north side of Route 128
(Baldwin Mansion/Sichuan Garden) for the northbound part of the walk.
Photos from Spring Walk in Woburn (Mar 21, 2021) - click on photo for larger image (photos by Britton Boughner)
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Mar 25, 2021, 6:00pm
Topic: CPC [Community Preservation Committee, Town of Billerica]
Agenda
1. Open the Meeting
2. Public Comment
3. Public Hearing on Community Preservation Applications
4. CPC Vote to Recommend Projects on Warrant Article 16 to the 2021 Spring Town Meeting
5. CPC Vote on Bonding Amount for [Peggy Hannon Rizza] Project — 2021 Spring Town Meeting Warrant Article
6. Adjournment
June 19, 2021 – Walk on Thoreau Towpath, part of SuAsCo Riverfest. Meet at the gazebo by the Billerica Falls, 10 AM. Easy walk north to the MC plaque, 121 Riverneck Road, Chelmsford. Knee high boots if the beavers have flooded the towpath or turn around. A round trip of three hours. Leader - Marlies Henderson
Please note registration required for Riverfest walk. Eventbrite signup: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/145377338533
Saturday, October 2, 2021 – 19th Annual Bike Tour North. Meet at 9:00am on Sat, Oct 2, 2021 at the Middlesex Canal plaque right of the entrance to Sullivan Sq T Sta. (1 Cambridge St, Charlestown 02129). [Last fall eighteen cyclists met 9:00am at Sullivan Square T station with unusual route as trains for return trip were not running on weekends. This year's ride may also be dependent on the eventual schedule of the Lowell Line weekend trains. Details will be posted at www.middlesexcanal.org. Leader(s) to be announced.]
Historic Bicycle Tour of Middlesex Canal
This Saturday, October 2, 2021, the Middlesex Canal Association and the Middlesex Canal Commission will sponsor the 19th annual historic bicycle tour of the Middlesex Canal. After several years when we could not take the train back, the Lowell train is running again on weekends, and we will be able to take the train back to Boston, arriving about quarter after 4. Masks are required for the train ride.
The Canal was the “big dig” of the end of the 18th century. Completed in 1803 after 10 years of construction, the Canal connected the Merrimac River in what is now Lowell with the Charles River at Sullivan Square in Charlestown. In many ways it served as a model for later canals including the Erie Canal. The Canal remained in operation for 50 years, providing both passenger and freight service, but could not compete successfully with the Boston and Lowell Railroad which began operation in the 1830’s.
The ride will start at the Canal marker on the front of the Sullivan Square MBTA station just to the right of the main entrance. We will leave promptly at 9:00am. From there we will ride about 28 miles to the Historic Mill Village and Canal Museum on the Millpond in North Billerica. We should get to North Billerica in time to catch the 3:38pm train back to Boston. Halfway to Billerica, we will make a lunch stop in Woburn, so we recommend that you bring a lunch.
 Most of the route is pretty flat and level and we will average about 10 miles per hour, so the ride should be an easy one for most cyclists. Along the way we will stop at a number of remnants and restored sections of the Canal, as well as the Mansion of Loammi Baldwin, the chief engineer of the Canal (who discovered the Baldwin apple while building the Canal), one of the remaining aqueducts (which carried the Canal over rivers and brooks), and will get to walk along the bed of the canal and see traces of the ropes that connected the hoses to the canal boats.
The ride will be led by Dick Bauer and Bill Kuttner of the Middlesex Canal Commission. Helmets and masks required. Steady rain cancels. For more information, contact Dick at dick.bauer@alum.mit.edu (857-540-6293) or Bill at bkuttner@ctps.org.
For more information about the Middlesex Canal and the Middlesex Canal Association go to: http://www.middlesexcanal.org
For more information about the Middlesex Canal Commission go to: http://www.middlesexcanal.org/commission/
Cue sheet for the Oct 2, 2010 Ride (similar to what is planned for Oct 2021) |
March 9, 2022 - Wednesday
Acre Forum talk by Brian Mitchell, PhD
Author of The Paddy Camps, the Irish of Lowell 1821-1861
Sponsored by St Patrick Parish Irish Cultural Committee
7:00pm
At Mt Pleasant Golf Club
141 Staples St. Lowell MA
Info & reservations: lowellirish.weebly.com
March 20, 2022 - Sunday
Middlesex Canal Spring Walk, Billerica to Chelmsford
1:30pm
Middlesex Canal Museum
71 Faulkner St. Billerica, MA
Info: www.middlesexcanal.org |
April 3, 2022 - Sunday
Lowell Bicentennial
This Enchanted Land: Middlesex Village
the tragic novel by Wayne Peters, and
'Lowell Economics: the Middlesex Canal'
1:00pm
Middlesex Canal Museum
71 Faulkner St. Billerica, MA
Info: www.middlesexcanal.org
April 7, 2022 - Thursday
Almost a Riot: Irish labor and working conditions on the canals and railroads
Talk by Kate Viens, Ph.D.
7:00pm
Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation
154 Moody St. Waltham, MA
Info & reservations: www.charlesrivermuseum.org |
April 10, 2022 - Sunday
Lowell Talks: The Irish Canal Builders
Discussants: Dave McKean, Robert Forrant, Kate Viens, and J. Jermiah Breen
Moderator: Frank Clark, LNHP
1:00pm
Lowell National Historical Park
246 Market Street, Lowell, MA
April 24, 2022 - Sunday
Middlesex Canal Bike Tour South
11:15am
Meet at the Lowell train station
101 Thorndike St Lowell, MA
Info: middlesexcanal.org |
Sponsored by:
Flyer |
Sunday, April 3, 2022 – Lowell Bicentennial
1:00pm. This Enchanted Land: Middlesex Village A presentation by Peri Benjamin "Canal Builders", talk by J. Breen In the Reardon Room, 71 Faulkner St, Billerica 01862
Sunday, April 24, 2022 – Bike Tour South
11:15am. Meet at the Lowell train station. Dick Bauer and Bill Kuttner.
Sunday, May 15, 2022 – Spring Meeting
1:00pm. Hopefully at the Museum.
Sat-Sun, June 18-19, 2022, Father's day weekend – Riverfest
Walk north on Sat, 10:00am.
Tuesday, June 21, 2022, is 1st day of Summer 2022
