Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Stony Brook - It Keeps Getting Bigger!

When I first read about Stony Brook in Jamaica Plain, I understood it to be a stream running between today's Washington Street and the Amtrak train line, from Forest Hills to somewhere in what is now Roxbury. Three tributaries are commonly listed - The Bussey Brook, (formerly the Sawmill) that starts in today's Allendale Woods and flows in front of Hemlock Hill in the Arnold Arboretum, the Canterbury Brook, which drained a wetland near today's American Legion Highway, and the Goldsmith, which originated on Moss Hill and drained through the South Street area. At least one online source states that the Stony Brook Reservation in Hyde Park is not connected to our Stony Brook. I have yet to see any old maps that show Stony Brook running out from Hyde Park, but the Water Resources study found in the Links section (and here) shows all above-ground and underground connections to Stony Brook, and it definitely does show that the Reservation does drain into today's underground Stony Brook. My initial assumption was that the Stony Brook Reservation would drain south into Mother Brook, but although they are very close to each other, it seems I was wrong. In my photo postings, I'll be giving evidence for all current above-ground connections to Stony Brook, and yesterday I think I found the inlet that connects the Reservation wetlands to our own Stony Brook. Which, of course, makes sense. The people who named the Reservation would have known Stony Brook in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury as well as they knew the Charles River. Why would they confuse matters in naming the Reservation?

No comments: