So far in this program we have explored many of the physical and biological features of watersheds. In this month's material attention is turned to the historical and present day ties that exist between river systems and human culture. In a very real sense, rivers are the thread that connects generations across the temporal landscape of the Northeast.
The shape of New England's countryside is largely the result of glaciers. As recently as 15,000 to 20,000 years ago a great sheet of ice covered the region as far south as Long Island, New York. In some places the glacier was up to one mile thick. As the ice advanced from the northwest it carved the landscape. Mountains, valleys, lakes and rivers were left behind as the glacier retreated.
At the height of the last glaciation up to twenty percent of the earth's water was ice - a significanly higher percentge than today. Ocean levels were much lower than they are today, perhaps by as much as 400 feet along the New England coast. Less water in the oceans meant more exposed land. At the time the New England coastline extended to what is now know as Georges's Bank.
Some archaeologists believe the first people to appear in North America originated from Asia, having crossed an exposed stretch of land that connected Siberia to Alaska. This "land bridge" was located where the Bering Strait is today. These first native people probably entered North America in pursuit of migrating herds of large animals, their principal food source.
Native Americans are known, through the archeological record, to have inhabited the New England region 17,000 years ago. Other than ice, the landscape at the time was primarily tundra. The native people lived in small nomadic groups. Because much of their time was probably spent following herds of musk ox, reindeer and mammoth, permanent setltlements were nonexistent. Stone tools and spear points were the principal artifacts left behind by these ancient people.
As the climate gradually grew warmer, tundra gave way to forest. Early forests were predominantly coniferous, later transitioning to oak and other deciduous species. The changes in vegetation attracted new animal species, driving many of the more cold tolerant species further north. The lifestyles of the natives adapted to these changes.
Archeologists divide New England's Native American history into several periods: Paleo, Archaic and Woodland. Each period is indexed to certain major cultural developments recorded in the archeological record. Nomadic Paleo-Indians hunted large animals using stone spear points. The Archaic period is characterized by considerably more plant gathering, the introduction of fishing, and a continued evolution in tool-making. Farming, pottery and more permanent settlements are characteristic of the Woodland Period.
It is apparent, based upon the location of known archeological sites and the historical record, that rivers played an important role in Native American life. Canoes, both dugout and birch bark, were a principal means of transportation. Spring spawning runs of fish provided a bounty of food. The fertile soils along the rivers provided for crops of corn, beans and squash.
Prior to European contact, many distinct tribal groups existed across the New England region. Each had a leader or sachem, a title that was often passed down from father to son. Agriculture and permanent settlements predominated as the way of life in the southern part of the region, while tribes in the colder north depended more on hunting, fishing and gathering.
Tribes, many of which shared a common language, frequently traded with each other. In this way technological advances were shared across the region. At different times certain tribes confederated, a tactic that protected them from hostile groups - whether they were other tribes or, later, European settlers.
Europeans, primarily from France and England, first made contact with New England's native people during the early 1600's. Most of what is known of Native American society at the time has been gleaned from the jounals of early explorers, missionaries and fur traders. Early relations between the Europeans and natives were generally friendly. In fact, fur trading forged an important economic tie between Europe and the native people.
Interest in the "New World" grew rapidly as word of seemingly unlimited natural resorces reached the shores of western Europe. Economic interest in furs and expansive virgin forests were strong incentives helping to drive the rapid settlement of New England. For many of the same reasons that native people settled along rivers and coastal waters (fertile soils, commerce and transportation) the colonists desired much of the same land. Such dynamics frequently resulted in armed conflicts. As the colonial population continued to grow, the natives were forced off their lands in growing numbers.
European-introduced diseases had a catastrophic impact on the native people of the Northeast. Lacking the natural defenses to fight such diseases, they died by the thousands throughout the seventeeth century. Tragically, entire tribes were wiped out.
The ultimate consequence of European colonization of New England was the gradual loss of Native American culture. The availability of European manufactured products to the natives led to less dependence on traditional skills. Native languages became a thing of the past in an English dominated culture. Christianity competed with traditional native spirtitual beliefs. In a very real sense, Native American culture became a memory.
The early colonial economy in New England was largely agricultural. A thriving timber industry supported an equally healthy ship building industry. Such econommic vitality continued to draw European settlers to the shores of New England. As forests were cleared and the limited acres of farm lands claimed, people began to settle in town, which quickly grew into cities.
The earliest cities were built along the coast, frequently in proximity to the mouth of a river. Rivers were the equivalent of our modern day highway system. Trees, felled hundreds of miles inland, were floated downriver to ports in huge log drives. Many rivers were changed by the construction of canals and locks, providing people and products safe passage up and downstream - except during the cold winter months.
During the early 1800's New Englanders were still buying many of their products, including textiles, from Great Britain. European products were cheaper. New England was still a region of "cottage indurstries," where products were made in private homes and small businesses, not in large and more efficient factories.
Francis Cabot Lowell, an enterprising Boston businessman, introduced the power loom to New England in 1814. Similar to the weaving machines he had seen on a trip to England, his power loom made mass production of textiles possible. In the early 1820's Lowell and his company, The Boston Manufacturing Company, built the first large scale textile mill in what is today Lowell, Massachusetts. The mill was totally self contained and had the ability to process cotton, wool and flax from "bale to bolt." Similar mills soon appeared in cities across the region.
Situated along rivers, mills were powered by the mechanical energy of moving water. Many of the canal systems, originally built for river transportation and commerce, were put to a new use - channeling water to mill turbines.
In many cases, cities were actually created by the mills. Company owners built churches, stores and boarding houses for their employees.
In Lowell the first mill workers were women from nearby farms. The "mill girls," as they were known collectively, made more money in the mills than they could doing farm work. Women dominated mill workforces into the mid-1840's. As a result of an increasingly competitive market, mill owners began to pay lower wages and demand longer work days. As a result, women began to leave the mills, forcing employers to esearch for other sources of labor.
Immigrant laborers were the backbone of New England's mill workforce for much of the Industrial Revolution. In Lowell Irish immigrants were the first group of people to work in the mills. French-Canadians, Greeks, Poles, Portugese and Russian Jews were among the later ethnic groups to occupy these same positions. Similar shifts in the composition of mill workforces occurred throughout New England. It was this era that defined the term melting pot.
Many of the mill cities in New England fell on hard times in the early part of this century. The discovery of electricity meant that mills no longer had to depend on water power. Textile mills moved south to take advantage of cheaper labor and fuel costs. Since cotton was grown in the south, expensive transportation costs disappeared. As mills closed, high unemployment and urban decay were often left behind.
Some of the mill towns of the past have had an economic and cultural renaissance in recent years. New industries have brought jobs back to New England. Perhaps more importantly, many people have re-discovered their cultural heritage and take great pride in who they are and where they live. One need only attend the annual Folk Festival in Lowell, or similar events elsewhere, to witness this change. This cultural celebration has also occurred among the region's remaining native people, some of whom live on tribal reservations.
Despite centuries of physical manipulation and overuse, rivers continue to play a central role in all of our lives. As recently as twenty years ago, New England had some of the foulest rivers in the country.
Today's rivers serve many of the same cultural purposes they have for centuries. They supply drinking water to thousands of households across the region. Industry uses river water to produce many of the products we use in our daily lives. Many agricultural fields and golf courses are irrigated with river water.
Rivers have always played a major role in the human waste stream. Their currents carry away our waste - residential, municipal and industrial - "out of sight, out of mind." This fact is best appreciated when we consider what would happen if, for some reason, we were no longer allowed to discharge treated effluent into rivers. Where would it go?
Rivers and other water bodies also have definite commercial value. Production of electricity and aquaculture are just two of these. Both, to some degree and in different ways, have implications for the restoration of sports fisheries.
With the discovery of electricity, the mechanical energy of fallilng water was put to a new use - a use that accounts for nearly ten percent of all electricity now generated in the United Sates. At present there are approximately 485 hydropower dams in New England. Some of these are quite small. Others produce enough electricity for thousands of households.
Producing electricity from river water is remarkably simple. A dam creates a deep pool of water called a head pond or reservoir. Water from the reservoir flows down through a penstock to a turbine. Falling water spins the tubine which, in tern, rotates the shaft of a generator, producing electricity. Water is then discharged from the base of the powerhouse through a tailrace, continuing its downstream journey - perhaps to another hydropower plant.
Once a hydropower plant is built and paid for, the river provides an almost limitless supply of low cost renewable energy. Because most of the desirable hydropower site in New England have already been developed, unless there is some revolutionary developlment in technology, hydropower has probably reached a peak in its contribution the region's electrical energy pool.
While hydropower is a relatively clean source of electrical energy, it does have several negative impacts on a river and, as a result, wildlife:
As overfishing has depleted wild poplulations of many fish species favored by sports and many of the fish species favored in restaurants and supermarkets, a new industry has stepped forward to help satisfy the American appetite for fish, both for sport and for food. Aquaculture usually refers to raising the fish until it is harvested for food. Hatcheries are usually used to produce young fish which are released into the wild. However, some hatchery fish are raised untl they are large enough to be immediately captured. Experiencing only a brief interlude in the wild, these hatchery fish might almost be considered as aquaculture.
Salmon, both Atlantic and Landlocked, and Trout, either Brown, Brook or Rainbow, are dominant aquaculture/hatchery fish species.
As with any other activity, aquaculture and hatchery fish production has pros and cons. While the economic benefits are evident, biologists and others are concerned about: