Recent Towpath Topics

January 2012 (HTML) - new

January 2012 (color PDF)

January 2012 (Flash)

September 2011 issue (HTML)

September 2011 issue (color PDF)

September 2011 issue (Flash)

April 2011 issue (HTML)

April 2011 issue (color PDF)

April 2011 issue (Flash)

Reardon Room Rental

For the past ten years a group of dedicated volunteers has operated the Middlesex Canal Museum and Visitor Center at the Faulkner Mill in North Billerica. We have good facilities for rental in a charming Museum. Should you plan a function, we hope that you will consider us. The reasonable charge of $200 covers the room and a committee member who will be present throughout to assist you. For more information phone 978-670-2740, leave a message and someone will return your call.

Calendar of Middlesex Canal Association Events and Related Events

First Wednesday - MCA Board of Directors' Meetings - The Board meets the first Wednesday of every month (except July and August), at the Museum, from 3:30 to 5:30pm. Members and the public are invited to attend.

Sun, Feb 12, 2012, 2:30 PM - MCA Winter Meeting: Uneasy Partners: Wamesit Power Company and the Lowell Bleachery, a talk by Mr. Gray Fitzsimons, Member of the Board of Directors of the Lowell Historical Society and former Historian for the National Park Service in Lowell.

One of the earliest of Lowell's large-scale textile companies, the Lowell Bleachery was established in 1832 not along one of the major power canals or waterways, but instead along Hale's Brook, a small tributary of the Concord River. The Bleachery is very likely the least studied of any of Lowell's large textile concerns and its relationship to the Wamesit Power Company, organized in 1865 out of the industrial enterprises of local capitalist Oliver Whipple, has never been explored. This presentation will highlight both the history of the Lowell Bleachery and the Wamesit Power Company's Wamesit Canal, and will examine the relations between a company, composed largely of outside investors, with the locally held Wamesit concern. As will be seen, a lawsuit in the 1880s over the Wamesit Power Company's legal requirement to upgrade the Wamesit Canal and hydro-mechanical works, sheds a great deal of light not only on the Wamesit system, but also on the relationship between Wamesit Company, the Bleachery, and the other industrial concerns served by the Wamesit Canal.

Directions to the Museum/Visitors Center: Telephone: 978-670-2740.
By Car:
From Rte. 128/95, take Route 3 toward Nashua, to Exit 28 "Treble Cove Road, North Billerica, Carlisle". At the end of the ramp, turn left onto Treble Cove Road toward North Billerica. At about ¾ mile, bear left at a fork. After another ¾ mile, at a traffic light, cross straight over Route 3A. Go about ¼ mile to a 3-way fork; take the middle road, Talbot Street, which will put St. Andrew's Church on your left. Go about ¼ mile and bear right onto Old Elm Street. Go about ¼ mile to the falls, where Old Elm becomes Faulkner Street; the Museum is on your left and you can park across the street on your right, just beyond the falls.
From I-495, take exit 37, N. Billerica, south to the road's end at a "T" intersection, turn right, then bear right at the Y, go 700' and turn left into the parking lot. The Museum is across the street.
By Train: The Lowell Commuter Line runs between Boston's North Station and Lowell's Gallagher Terminal. Get off at the North Billerica station, which is one stop south of Lowell. From the station side of the tracks, the Museum is a 3-minute walk down Station and Faulkner Streets on the right side.

Sun, Apr 15, 2012 – Joint MCA-AMC Middlesex Spring Canal Walk, N. Billerica. (rain date Sun, Apr 22) Level 5-mi. walk along historic canal N to Chelmsford, 1:30-4pm. Meet at the Middlesex Canal Museum (opens at noon). From Rt. 128/95, take Route 3 toward Nashua, to Exit 28 "Treble Cove Road". End of ramp, turn L toward North Billerica. At about ¾ mile, bear L at a fork. At traffic light, cross over Route 3A. Go thru "S" to a 3-way fork; take Talbot Street (straight ahead, which puts St. Andrew's Church on your left). Go about ¼ mile and bear R onto Old Elm Street, which becomes Faulkner Street. Go about ¼ mile to the falls at the dam; the Museum is on your left, park across the street. No registration required. Info: www.middlesexcanal.org or Roger Hagopian (781-861-7868 to 10pm). L Robert Winters (617-661-9230; Robert@rwinters.com).

Sun, April 29, 2012 - MCA's Annual Spring Meeting will take place in the museum, at 1:00 PM. The program is yet to be developed, but the election of officers will occur at that time.

Other Canal-Related Events

Mar 10, 2012 - Canal Society of New York State Winter Meeting and Symposium, Rochester, NY. For details, visit www.newyorkcanals.org.

Apr 13-15, 2012 - Canal Society of Indiana 30th Anniversary Tour, headquartered in Batesville, IN. Bus & Whitewater Valley Railroad tour of Whitewater Canal locks and dam (Connersville to Brookville). Visit Whitewater Canal headquarters, Gateway Park, Yellowbank Lock 21, railroad shops and yard. Meals at historic Laurel Hotel and Sherman House. Teddy Roosevelt re-enactor on NY and Panama canals

May 4-6, 2012 - Virginia Canals & Navigations Society Annual Canal Conference, Covington, VA. Contact: Phil de Vos, phipfox@yahoo.com.

June, 2012 - The Canadian Canal Society and the American Canal Society's Historic Canals Conference, Hamilton, Ontario. The conference will examine the Desjardins Canal (which will be celebrating its 175th anniversary), the Burlington Ship Canal, and Hamilton Harbour and its environs. L. Bob Sears, 416-285-7254; dawnofdestiny@sympatico.ca.

September, 2012 - World Canals Conference, Yangzhou, China. www.worldcanalsconference.org.

Sept 30 - Oct 2, 2012 - New York State Canal Conference, Oswego, New York. For updates, please check www.newyorkcanals.org.

September, 2013 - World Canals Conference in Toulouse, France.

Heritage Corridor Map Book (4.6MB, 41 page PDF)
[Note: Use landscape format for printing pages]

Volunteers and docents are welcome at the museum! If interested in helping out, contact Betty Bigwood. [pictured: Gerry & Betty Bigwood, Traci Jensen, and Tom Dahill]

David Dettinger - October 3, 2011

David Dettinger, age 92, of Winchester, died Oct. 3, 2011. Born in 1919 in Little Falls NY, he was the loving husband for 59 years of Carolyn (Poole). He was the devoted father of Douglas Dettinger of Woburn, and Ellen Fleischer and her husband Balint of Groton. Dave was the loving grandfather of Kyle and Ryan Fleischer and the dear brother of the late Jane Anthony and her husband Dave of Costa Mesa CA. He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law Archie and Harriet Mathews of Knoxville TN, loving nieces and nephews, and many dear friends. Dave was a graduate of St. Lawrence University and attended graduate school at MIT.

A Memorial Service will be held at the Crawford Memorial United Methodist Church, 34 Dix St., Winchester (corner of Dix and Church St.), on Sat., Oct. 15th at 10am. Relatives and friends are kindly invited.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Dave's memory may be made to CARE Gift Center, PO Box 7039, Merrifield VA 22116-9753 or online at www.care.org.

Dave has been a long-time Board member of the Middlesex Canal Association and the prime mover of the Bicentennial Decade commemoration marking the 200th Anniversary of the opening of the Middlesex Canal. He was one of the nicest and most decent men you could ever know.

April 3, 2011 - Former MCA President and long-time MCA Board Member Wilbar Hoxie passed away peacefully today, April 3, 2011 at 6:00PM at the Bear Hill Nursing Center. He was 94 years old and in failing health for the last few years. Atty. David Fitch, Past President of the Middlesex Canal Association, has been handling Will's affairs and will arrange for him to be cremated and have his ashes scattered in Maine as his wife Edith's were. There will be a celebration of his life to be arranged within a week or so. Wil was a very early member of the Middlesex Canal Association, served on its Board of Directors for about 35 years and as its President from 1975 to '77. He was also actively involved with several other historical and preservation oriented organizations. As a career Army Officer, he served in Coastal Defense, Air Defense Artillery and Civil Engineering assignments. Obituary/Guest Book

Historic Bicycle Tour of Middlesex Canal

On Saturday, October 2, 2010, MassBike, the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission, the Middlesex Canal Commission and the Middlesex Canal Association sponsored the 8th annual historic bicycle tour of the Middlesex Canal. 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 met at the Canal marker on the Sullivan Square MBTA station at 9:00am and proceeded from there about 28 miles to the Historic Mill Village and Canal Museum on the Millpond in North Billerica. After a lunch stop in Woburn, the ride continued to North Billerica (for those who wished to catch the 3:07pm train back to Boston) and on to the northern section of the Canal another 10 miles from North Billerica to Lowell and catch the 5:00pm train back from there.

The route is pretty flat and level and cyclists average about 5 miles per hour including all the stops at important remnants, 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), the two remaining aqueducts (which carried the Canal over rivers and brooks), and the northern end of the floating towpath that carried horses over the Millpond.

The ride was led by Dick Bauer of the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission and the Middlesex Canal Commission, Robert Winters of the Middlesex Canal Association, and Bill Kuttner of the Shirley-Eustis House. Steady rain cancels. For more information, contact Dick at dick.bauer@alum.mit.edu (857-540-6293), Robert at robert@middlesexcanal.org, or Bill at bkuttner@ctps.org.

If anyone on the ride has some good photos taken during the ride, we would love to post them here or link to them.

Cue sheet for the Oct 2, 2010 Ride

Sat, Oct 1, 2011 - 9th Annual Middlesex Canal Bicycle Ride. Meet 9:00am at the Middlesex Canal plaque, Sullivan Square T Station. The ride will follow the Canal route 38 miles to Lowell, and return by train to Boston. [Cue sheet for the Oct 2, 2010 Ride]. Snack at Kiwanis Park, Woburn (across Canal from Baldwin Mansion, 2 Alfred St); visit the Canal Museum, 71 Faulkner St, N. Billerica. Riders who leave early can take a Lowell line train back to Boston with opportunities at Wilmington and N. Billerica. Leader: Dick Bauer.

The MCA-AMC Fall Walk took place on Sunday, October 17, 2010 along a scenic section of the Middlesex Canal from the Wilmington Town Park to Patch's Pond. Photos from the 2010 Fall Walk

Middlesex Canal Prism
75 ft. Buffer

From the April 2005 issue of Towpath Topics:
Middlesex Canal Facts

From the archives:

A COMPARISON OF THE BLACKSTONE AND MIDDLESEX CANALS
by B. H. DICKSON
[This article originally appeared in the April 1968 issue of Towpath Topics (Vol. 6, No. 1).]

AN EXACTING STUDY OF THE COMPLEXITIES, OBSTACLES, 
SUCCESSES AND FAILURES ENCOUNTERED IN THE 
BUILDING AND OPERATION OF THE MIDDLESEX CANAL
by ALEC INGRAHAM
[This article was originally published in two parts in the April 1969 and September 1969 issues of Towpath Topics. It was prepared by the author as a course paper at Nasson College, and was revised by the author for publication (1969).]

Sun, Oct 18, 2009 - MCA-AMC Fall Walk. Middlesex Canal, N. Billerica. Level 5-mi. walk along historic canal N to Chelmsford, 1:30-4pm. From Rte. 95/128, take Rte. 3 N to exit 28, Treble Cove Rd., L towards N. Billerica 1.7 mi., L on Rte. 3A/129 0.7 mi., R on Lowell St. 0.7 mi. becomes Faulkner St., cross river at Faulkner Mills, R into pkg. lot opp. Middlesex Canal Museum (opens at noon). No reg. Joint w/Middlesex Canal Assoc. Info: www.middlesexcanal.org or Roger Hagopian (781-861-7868). L Robert Winters (617-661-9230; robert@middlesexcanal.org).

Oct 18, 2009 update - In spite of poor weather, MCA Board member and videomeister Roger Hagopian (right) led eight intrepid souls along the canal route in the rain and snow. Speaking of intrepid souls, check out the footwear of the fellow next to Roger!

Pleasure Barge - watercolor by Thomas Dahill
(story in a recent issue of Towpath Topics)

Plaque at Sandy Beach on the Upper Mystic Lake

1890 photo of the remains of the Shawsheen Aqueduct of the Middlesex Canal (from a glass slide)

The Middlesex Canal Association Annual Meeting on May 4, 2003 featured guest speaker J.R. Greene, historian and author of many books on the history of the Quabbin Reservoir and the towns that were eradicated to create the reservoir. If you are interested in the books of J.R. Greene, a listing and contact information is provided here.
Books by J.R. Greene

The first issue of the Middlesex Canal Association newsletter was published in October 1963. Originally named "Canal News", the first issue featured a contest to name the newsletter. A year later, the newsletter was renamed "Towpath Topics".
 

Calendar of meetings of the
Middlesex Canal Association
and Museum volunteering

Officers and Directors of the
Middlesex Canal Association

By-Laws of the
Middlesex Canal Association

Middlesex Canal Corporation Records
Mogan Center Archives
at UMass Lowell