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Mother Brook

1639 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay ColonyCanals in MassachusettsCanals opened in 1639Charles RiverNeponset River
Parks in Dedham, MassachusettsRivers of MassachusettsRivers of Norfolk County, MassachusettsTransportation buildings and structures in Norfolk County, MassachusettsWatersheds of Boston Harbor
Fish sculpture at Mill Pond Park
Fish sculpture at Mill Pond Park

Mother Brook is a stream that flows from the Charles River in Dedham, Massachusetts, to the Neponset River in the Hyde Park section of Boston, Massachusetts. Mother Brook was also known variously as East Brook and Mill Creek in earlier times. Digging the brook made Boston and some surrounding communities an island, accessible only by crossing over water, making Mother Brook "Massachusetts' Panama Canal."Dug by English settlers in 1639 to power a grist mill, it is the oldest such canal in North America. Mother Brook was important to Dedham as its only source of water power for mills, from 1639 into the early 20th century.Today, Mother Brook is part of a flood-control system that diverts water from the Charles River to the Neponset River. The brook'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.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Mother Brook (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Mother Brook
Dana Avenue, Boston Hyde Park

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Wikipedia: Mother BrookContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 42.252222222222 ° E -71.123055555556 °
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Address

Dana Avenue 57-59
02136 Boston, Hyde Park
Massachusetts, United States
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Fish sculpture at Mill Pond Park
Fish sculpture at Mill Pond Park
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Nearby Places

Hyde Park, Boston
Hyde Park, Boston

Hyde Park is the southernmost neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Situated 7.9 miles south of downtown Boston, it is home to a diverse range of people, housing types and social groups. It is an urban location with suburban characteristics. Hyde Park is covered by Boston Police Department District E-18 located in Cleary Square, and the Boston Fire Department station on Fairmount Avenue is the quarters of Ladder Company 28 & Engine Company 48. Boston EMS Ambulance Station 18 is located on Dana Avenue. Hyde Park also has a branch of the Boston Public Library. The George Wright Golf Course, named for Baseball Hall of Fame and Boston Red Stockings shortstop George Wright, is in Hyde Park and Roslindale. It is a Donald Ross–designed course and is considered one of his finest designs. Hyde Park has taken the motto "A Small Town in the City" because of its suburban feel. It was the only town annexed by majority vote of the residents into the City of Boston. The area was established in the 1660s and grew into a hub of paper and cotton manufacturing in the eighteenth century. The extension of rail lines from Boston in the 1850s spurred the area's residential development. The Readville section of Hyde Park contained a large manufacturing base housing the massive operations of the B. F. Sturtevant Company and the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Locomotive and Car Shops. Hyde Park and some of its residents have been important part of societal change in the United States. It was once home to the first all African-American army unit, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The regiment was made famous in the movie Glory. Hyde Park was home to the prominent abolitionists the Grimké sisters, Sarah and Angelina, as well as Theodore Dwight Weld, for whom Weld Hall in Hyde Park is named.