About The Oldest Canal In America
Mother Brook Canal is the oldest man-made canal in North America
A canal is defined as an artificial waterway constructed for the purpose of water transportation, irrigation, drainage or flood control. Canals are typically man-made and can vary in size from small irrigation channels to large navigable water routes.
Mother Brook Canal in Dedham, Massachusetts is the oldest canal in America. It is recognized as the first canal in America dug by English settlers by The American Canal Society. It is defined as both the oldest man-made canal in North America and the first canal constructed in the U.S. by the State of Massachusetts.
The canal’s story starts with a practical problem: the settlers in Dedham, established in 1635, needed a reliable way to grind corn. Hand mills were grueling, windmills unreliable, and the closest water-powered mill was 17 miles away in Watertown.
Mother Brook Canal is one of the very few hydraulic canals in America. It initially was not used for transportation. It was originally built to divert water from the Charles River to power mills and support agricultural irrigation in the Dedham area.
On March 25, 1639, Massachusetts Bay Colony Gov. John Winthrop approved the first manmade canal in the British colonies. Immediately after the approval, the Mother Book Canal began construction in the summer of 1639 and took about 16 months to complete.
The ditch to be dug would connect the East Brook (behind the present-day Brookdale Cemetery) and the Charles, diverting enough water to power a water wheel. From 1639 to 1640, the settlers dug the canal, spanning about 3.8 miles long.
Thus a ditch was dug from the Charles River to East Brook, creating what is called Mother Brook today. The colonists dug the 4,000-foot (1,200 m) ditch connecting the Neponset River with the Charles River.
Apparently, the slow Charles River couldn't support a mill for the early settlers of Dedham, southwest of Boston. Instead, the diversion to the Neponset River was made for a good head of water.
Over time, the canal and dam facilitated the growth of local industries such as gristmills, sawmills, and textile mills. The mills provided water power to the town until the early 20th century.
Today, a quarter of the water in the Charles is still diverted to the Neponset River and the Hyde Park section of Boston still comes from Mill Pond on Mother Brook Canal. The canal serves primarily as a flood control structure, helping to regulate water levels in the surrounding area.
The canal's flow is under the control of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and is used for flood control on the Charles. There are three remaining dams on the stream, plus a movable floodgate that controls flow from the Charles into Mother Brook.
The brook has given its name to the modern day Mother Brook Community Group, the Mother Brook Arts and Community Center, Riverside Theatre Works, and the erstwhile Mother Brook Club and Mother Brook Coalition.
The Mother Brook Canal area has historical significance and is now part of a scenic recreational area, offering nature along the canal's bank. Today, you can walk along a stretch of the brook, beginning at the Mill Pond Park in East Dedham, Massachusetts.