Peyton’s River’s Edge

I am honored to have nine of my photographs gracing the walls of Peyton’s River’s Edge, a restaurant in Maynard, Massachusetts (86 Powdermill Road).

Here’s a little bit of information about each photograph:

Maynard revolves around the Mill – the complex of buildings that forms the core of our downtown area.  For a time it held the title of largest woolen mill in the United States, with over 1 million square feet of space.  Later it became the headquarters for a pioneering computer manufacturer, Digital Equipment Corporation.   Today, Clock Tower Place (although townie’s still just call it “The Mill”) hosts a large number of 21st century companies.

The Town Clock was a gift to the town from Lorenzo Maynard, son of Amory Maynard for whom the town is named.

 

 

The Ben Smith Dam is located just south of where Routes 62 and 117 split.  It crosses the Assabet River and creates a large pond-like river behind it along with a canal that feeds the Mill Pond in the center of town.   Erected to power the woolen mill complex in the late 1800s, today it just sits there and looks pretty (and keeps the mill pond filled).

 

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The Mill Pond is fed by water from the Assabet River from a canal above the Ben Smith Dam.  Beneath the surface, and occasionally peeking through, are various trestles and beams that were part of the construction project when Building 1 was erected.   During that time the pond was drained and a flume carried water from the river to the mill complex.  When water levels are low you can often see the flume supports and the gulls think they are dandy places to take a nap.

 

Assabet River upstream of the Ben Smith Dam is more like a pond than a river.   This photograph was taken from a kayak while paddling upstream towards Crow Island (in Stow).

 

Hidden from view from most along Main Street, the Assabet River drops quickly and forms rapids.

 

Downstream from Maynard (and Peyton’s) the Assabet River flows over the Powder Mill dam and then is relatively unencumbered on the rest of it’s journey to Concord, where it meets up with the Sudbury River to form the Concord River.  This photograph was taken somewhere on the Acton/Concord border.

 

Winter provides its own magic.  This photograph of the Assabet River was taken from the Mill Street Bridge, looking downstream.

 

My thanks to Jason and Nick of Peyton’s River’s Edge for supporting my photography and bringing the beauty of the river into their restaurant.

To learn more about Maynard’s history, visit the Maynard Historical Society.
To learn more about the Assabet River,  visit OARS – For the Assabet, Sudbury and Concord Rivers.
Better yet, join them and help them preserve our historical and natural heritage!