THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON. 95 



Jr., of Groton, supplements an article entitled "The Geog- 

 raphy of Groton," in this volume. After speaking of the 

 general direction of the rivers and streams in the County, the 

 writer goes on to say : — 



As we go west from the Merrimac, along the northerly line of the 

 county, we enter the valley of the Nashua. This is a considerable 

 river, and flows through a beautiful section of country. One branch 

 of it rises in New Hampshire, and another in Worcester County. It 

 enters Middlesex from Lancaster, in Worcester. It divides the easterly 

 part of Shirley from Groton ; then crossing the western part of Groton, 

 it becomes, for a space, the dividing line between Groton and Pepper- 

 ell ; then entering Pepperell, for a mile or two, it divides that town 

 from Dunstable. It empties into the Merrimac at Nashua, N. H. 

 Its course, after it enters Middlesex, is north by east. It is a rapid 

 stream, and furnishes abundant water-power throughout its whole 

 course, which is improved in Fitchburg, Lancaster, Shirley, Groton, 

 Pepperell, and especially in Nashua, where it furnishes the principal 

 motive power for the large manufacturing establishments of that flour- 

 ishing city. The soil in the valley of the Nashua is, in general, good. 

 The hills which form this valley, especially on the western side, are 

 many of them broken and abrupt. They yield excellent pasturage. 

 The lower levels, bordering on the river, furnish fertile- mowing lands. 

 There is but little intervale land on the Nashua after it enters the 

 county, and no wet meadows. The first affluent of the Nashua from 

 the west, is the Nissitisset, a short stream, which rises in Poponipos 

 [Potanipas] Pond, in Brookline, N. H. This stream enters Pepperell 

 on its northern line, and passing through the town in a southeasterly 

 direction, reaches the Nashua just above the point where it becomes 

 the boundary between Pepperell and Dunstable. This river is about 

 10 miles in length, and affords good water-power at several points in 

 its course. A few miles to the southwest we find the Squannacook, 

 which is the most important affluent of the Nashua. This river rises 

 in the hills in Ashby, and crossing Townsend in an easterly direction, it 

 turns more to the southeast, and pursues a winding course between the 

 northerly part of Shirley and Groton, and enters the Nashua nearly at 

 right angles, about two miles northwest of Groton Junction [now Ayer]. 

 East of the Nashua is Salmon Brook, which rises in Whitney 's Pond, 

 in Groton, and passing through Massapoag Pond, runs a northerly 

 course through the town of Dunstable, and reaches the Nashua before 

 its entrance into the Merrimac. The valley of the Nashua includes, 



