Willimantic River
River in Connecticut, United States
title: "Willimantic River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-windham-county,-connecticut", "rivers-of-tolland-county,-connecticut", "connecticut-placenames-of-native-american-origin", "windham,-connecticut", "willimantic,-connecticut", "rivers-of-connecticut", "tributaries-of-the-thames-river-(connecticut)", "national-recreation-trails-in-connecticut"] description: "River in Connecticut, United States" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willimantic_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary River in Connecticut, United States ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Willimantic River |
| image | Jillson Mills (Willimantic, Connecticut) (46163127404).jpg |
| image_size | 300 |
| image_caption | The Willimantic River flows past the old American Thread Company mill in Willimantic. |
| subdivision_type1 | Country |
| subdivision_name1 | United States |
| subdivision_type2 | State |
| subdivision_name2 | Connecticut |
| subdivision_type3 | Counties |
| subdivision_name3 | Tolland, Windham, New London |
| length | 25 mi |
| discharge1_location | Coventry, CT |
| discharge1_min | 97.9 cuft/sAnnual mean, 1965 |
| discharge1_avg | 216 cuft/sAverage, 1931-2005 |
| discharge1_max | 370 cuft/sAnnual mean, 1938 |
| source1 | Confluence of Middle River and Furnace Brook |
| source1_location | Stafford Springs, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States |
| source1_coordinates | |
| mouth | Confluence with Natchaug River to form Shetucket River |
| mouth_location | Willimantic, Windham County, Connecticut, United States |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| basin_size | 225 sqmi |
| :: |
| name = Willimantic River | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = Jillson Mills (Willimantic, Connecticut) (46163127404).jpg | image_size = 300 | image_caption = The Willimantic River flows past the old American Thread Company mill in Willimantic. | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Connecticut | subdivision_type3 = Counties | subdivision_name3 = Tolland, Windham, New London | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = | length = 25 mi | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= Coventry, CT | discharge1_min = 97.9 cuft/sAnnual mean, 1965 | discharge1_avg = 216 cuft/sAverage, 1931-2005 | discharge1_max = 370 cuft/sAnnual mean, 1938 | source1 = Confluence of Middle River and Furnace Brook | source1_location = Stafford Springs, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = | mouth = Confluence with Natchaug River to form Shetucket River | mouth_location = Willimantic, Windham County, Connecticut, United States | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = 225 sqmi | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra =
The Willimantic River is a tributary of the Shetucket River, approximately 25 mi long in northeastern Connecticut in the New England region of the United States.
It is formed in northern Tolland County, near Stafford Springs by the confluence of Middle River and Furnace Brook. It flows south to the city of Willimantic, where it joins the Natchaug River to form the Shetucket. It is joined by the Hop River on the Coventry, Columbia, and Windham town border. The river is also designated as a National Recreation Trail.
Name
The word Willimantic is of Algonquian origin, either Mohegan-Pequot or Narragansett. It is commonly translated as "land of the swift running water", but the word more likely originally meant "place near the evergreen swamp". The word was first attested in English writing as Waramanticut in 1684, and later as Wallamanticuk, Wewemantic and Weammantuck before being standardized as Willimantic.
Geography
Shortly upstream from its confluence with the Natchaug, the Willimantic experiences a drop of ninety feet in one mile. The river powered textile mills from Stafford Springs to Willimantic, including the American Thread Company mill. None of these mills are operating as of 2007, having all been destroyed or converted to other uses such as apartment space.
A popular long paddling route begins south of Stafford Springs along Route 32 where the river is mostly quickwater all of the way to the flatwater of Eagleville Pond. The remainder is fairly easy going to the take-out at Route 66. Beware of the dam at the Route 275 bridge. Other access points may be at the N. River Road bridge, the Route 74 bridge, the Depot Rd bridge, the Route 195 bridge, the Jones Crossing bridge, the Merrow Road bridge, the U.S. Route 44 bridge, Brigham bridge, near the Route 275 dam, the Depot Rd bridge, the Route 31 bridge, and the Flanders Rd bridge.
Crossings
::data[format=table]
| County | Town | Carrying |
|---|---|---|
| Windham | Windham | Closed Bridge (Connected to ATC Mill 04.) |
| The Garden Bridge (Former Jillson Bridge) | ||
| South Street (Frog Bridge) | ||
| [[File:MUTCD R15-1.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] New England Central Railroad |
| Willimantic Footbridge | ||
| [[File:Connecticut Highway 32.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] Route 32 |
| Windham/Tolland | Windham/Columbia | [[File:Parkiconsimple.gif |
| [[File:Connecticut Highway 66.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] Route 66 |
| Windham/Coventry | [[File:US 6 (1961).svg | frameless |
| Tolland | Mansfield/Coventry | Flanders Road |
| [[File:Connecticut Highway 31.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] Route 31 |
| [[File:MUTCD R15-1.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] New England Central Railroad |
| Depot Road | ||
| [[File:MUTCD R15-1.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] New England Central Railroad |
| [[File:Connecticut Highway 275.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] Route 275 |
| Plains Road | ||
| Merrow Road | ||
| Mansfield/Tolland | [[File:Connecticut Highway 195.svg | frameless |
| Willington/ | [[File:MUTCD R15-1.svg | frameless |
| South River Road/Depot Road | ||
| [[File:Connecticut Highway 74.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] Route 74 |
| [[File:I-84.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] I-84 |
| [[File:MUTCD R15-1.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] New England Central Railroad |
| [[File:Connecticut Highway 32.svg | frameless | 20x20px]] Route 32 |
| Ellington/Willington | [[File:MUTCD R15-1.svg | frameless |
| Stafford | [[File:3M wordmark.svg | frameless |
| :: |
References
References
- Geographic Names Information System, United States Geological Survey. (September 12, 1979). "Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report: Willimantic River".
- Geographic Names Information System, United States Geological Survey. (September 12, 1979). "Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report: Natchaug River".
- "Meet the Willimantic River Watershed".
- "Willimantic River Water Trail".
- "Swift Waters or Cedar Swamp? Native American Placenames in Connecticut and the Meaning of "Willimantic"". [[Windham Textile and History Museum]].
- Trumbull, J. Hammond. (1859). "The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, May, 1678 - June, 1689". Case, Lockwood & Co..
- Douglas-Lithgow, Robert Alexander. (1909). "Dictionary of American-Indian place and proper names in New England: with many interpretations, etc". Salem Press.
- "Meet the Willimantic River".
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