Mystic Crossing History

A Great Tide Rises Again

The Indians called it Missi-Tuk or "great tidal river" and when the English came the name evolved to Mystic River. The river held great promise for those English settlers as the water was deep enough for trading vessels and the tide swift enough to power industry. The Mystic River became home to tide mills that were built throughout the length of the river on both sides of the shore. Their waterpower was used to grind grain and spices, saw wood, and process paints, cloth and other products. Shipbuilding on the Mystic dates from earliest Colonial times and peaked in the 1840s. Schooners and sloops transported timber, molasses for rum distilleries, and other products, along the trade route between Medford and the West Indies. Industries from chemical

manufacturing and oil refining to boiler and automobile assembly plants grew along the shores until the 1960's when, in the demand to control flooding from communities as far up stream as Arlington and Belmont, a dam was built to hold back the great tide that gave the river its name.

The dam was named after a local woman who braved new frontiers in aviation, Amelia Earhart, and was a great success in holding back the oceans tide. But new waves of people, highways and progress chased all the industry away leaving only brownfields behind. Tiny pockets of greenspace showed itself along the banks but the once busy Mystic grew quiet and mostly uninhabited.

When the Amelia Earhart Dam was built in 1966 a chemical plant in Everett and an automobile assembly plant in Somerville bordered it. Residents of both communities shied away from the river back then for it was no place to visit. The rivers surrounding the southern portion of Everett were simply an obstacle one had to cross in order to get to Boston, Malden or Medford. A few years later, yet only a mile south, a dam was built on the Charles River and because it was bordered by a park and street leading into North Station it was built with pedestrian walkways to allow a "crossing" of the Charles River.

On the Mystic River today both the chemical plant and assembly plant are malls with restaurants and parks along the riverbank and so the residents are rediscovering the Mystic and the opportunities it presents. Yet the Earhart Dam is still closed to

pedestrians and an important link to the new future of the Mystic River is missing.

As city officials from bordering communities, developers, watershed and other citizens groups strive to increase the vitality of the Lower Mystic Basin they see a major impediment in the lack of a "Mystic Crossing". So, these sometimes-adversarial groups have come together with a common goal…to make the pedestrian crossing at the

Amelia Earhart Dam a reality.

With the help of Tufts students the Mystic Crossing Group was formed. Made up of people from the Mystic River Watershed Association, Groundwork Somerville, Charlestown Waterfront Coalition, MassBike, Friends of the Everett Waterfront, Friends of the Mystic River, Bike to the Sea and officials from Everett And Somerville (among many others), the Mystic Crossing group is dedicated to advocating for the construction of continuous and accessible pedestrian and bicycle connection across the Amelia Earhart Dam. The group intends to assure consistency of actions with planning for the lower Mystic Basin and the goal of increasing access to, across and along the river.

Major planning studies such as the Assembly Square Planning Study in 2000, the

Assembly Square Urban Renewal Plan and the Everett Waterfront Assessment of 2003 have described the benefits of such a connection both in terms of the recreational opportunities as well as the benefit of connecting Somerville residents to the shopping in Gateway Center. Currently the long-term vision for Assembly Square includes over 1000 units of new housing and a new MBTA Orange Line stop. In Everett, reclaiming the waterfront for the citizens has been made a priority for the Administration as Everett has established both a Waterfront Development Advisory Committee and a

Police Marine Division. Modern Continental has proposed a mixed used development at the former Monsanto Chemical site that would include 530 residential units, a

marina, public access parks and a harbor walk tie-in to the Gateway Park and the dam. Taken in conjunction with money already spent on Village Landing Park in Everett at the Mellon Bank site and soon on the GE Land associated with Telecom City and the money pledged by the new development proposed in Somerville, the Earhart Dam Connection would serve as a vital link to the improved and expanded Mystic

Reservation. It is envisioned that the improved riverfront would serve the residents of Everett, Medford and Somerville in the same way the Charles River Reservation serves the residents of Cambridge, Watertown, and Boston.

There is a lot of support for the Mystic Crossing and yet more is needed. If you can help or are just looking for more information send an email to:

MysticCrossing@yahoogroups.com

It is expected that soon, with a little help, a great tide will again rise, a rising tide of humanity flowing to, along and across the mighty Mystic River.