View source for Saugatuck River

{{Distinguish|Saugatucket River}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2010}}
[[File:Westport, Connecticut.jpg|thumb]]
The '''Saugatuck River''' is a {{convert|23.7|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}}<ref name=NHD>{{cite web | title=Saugatuck River, CT, USA | website=USGS The National Map | url=https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/advanced-viewer/viewer/index.html?find=Saugatuck%20River%2C%20CT%2C%20USA | access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref> river in southwestern [[Connecticut]] in the [[United States]]. It drains part of suburban and rural [[Fairfield County, Connecticut|Fairfield County]] west of [[Bridgeport, Connecticut|Bridgeport]], emptying into [[Long Island Sound]].

The [[Aspetuck River]] is a major tributary of the Saugatuck River.

== Description ==
The Saugatuck River issues from Sugar Hollow Pond, its headwaters located at exactly 41°20'50.4"N 73°28'06.4"W<ref>{{cite book|author=New York and Hartford Railroad|title=Report of the Executive Committee Upon the Statistics of Business|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8YpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA60|year=1845|publisher=Press of Case, Tiffany and Burnham|pages=59–60}}</ref> approximately {{convert|3|mi|0}} southwest of downtown [[Danbury, Connecticut|Danbury]]. It flows generally southeast, passing through the [[Saugatuck Reservoir]] ({{convert|283|ft}} above sea level), then turns south-southwest.  In [[Westport, Connecticut|Westport]], it broadens into a navigable [[estuary]] along its lower {{convert|5|mi|0}} and enters Long Island Sound approximately {{convert|4|mi|0}} southeast of [[Norwalk, Connecticut|Norwalk]]. [[Interstate 95 in Connecticut|Interstate 95]] crosses the river near its mouth downstream from [[Westport Village, Connecticut|Westport center]]. The river is wadeable along much of its course and is a popular seasonal destination for [[trout]] fishing, with the state of Connecticut stocking the river annually.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/fishing/general_information/fishdistributionreport.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708190031/http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/fishing/general_information/fishdistributionreport.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 8, 2013 |title=Connecticut Fish Stocking Report| publisher=Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection|access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref>

In the 17th century the river was the site of a [[Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation|Paugusset]] settlement. The name of the river means "river that flows out" in the Paugusset language.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Arthur H.|last1=Hughes|first2=Morse E.|last2=Allen|title=Connecticut Place Names|publisher=[[Connecticut Historical Society]]|year=1976}} Cited in {{cite web | title=About the Name | website=Saugatuck Technology | url=http://www.saugatech.com/aboutname.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025051738/http://www.saugatech.com/aboutname.htm | archive-date=2006-10-25 | url-status=dead | access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref> The land east of the river was opened to white settlement in 1637 after the defeat of the [[Pequots]] by [[John Mason (c. 1600–1672)|John Mason]] in the [[Pequot War]]. After treaties with the local tribes, members of the [[Connecticut Colony]] began to settle the area between the Saugatuck and the [[Norwalk River|Norwalk]] rivers to the west between 1639 and 1661. In the 18th century farming villages sprang up along the river, which was the principal means of transportation. During the 19th century, the lower river became the site of warehouses and shipyards, as well as an important hub of maritime commerce. The town of Westport was incorporated out of the existing village of [[Saugatuck, Connecticut|Saugatuck]] at the mouth of the Saugatuck River and several surrounding communities in 1835.

In 1908, the author [[Mark Twain|Samuel Clemens]] moved into a villa he named "[[Stormfield]]" built on a hill overlooking the Saugatuck River in [[Redding, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Beard |first=Dan |title=Mark Twain as a Neighbor |work=Review of Reviews and World's Work: An International Magazine |date=January–June 1910 |volume=41 |pages=705–708  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-o06AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA707}}</ref> Clemens died in 1910, and the original Stormfield was destroyed in a 1923 fire.<ref>{{cite web | access-date=2019-09-27 | url=https://www.abaa.org/member-articles/a-virtual-tour-of-mark-twains-last-home-with-a-glimpse-of-his-library | title=A Virtual Tour of Mark Twain's Last Home With a Glimpse of His Library | date=2006 | last=MacDonnell | first=Kevin | website=Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America}}</ref>

Bridgeport Hydraulic Company Holdings (now owned by Aquarion) flooded portions of the Saugatuck River Valley in [[Weston, Connecticut|Weston]], [[Redding, Connecticut|Redding]], and [[Easton, Connecticut|Easton]] after 1938,<ref>{{cite news | access-date=2019-09-27 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/11/27/archives/fight-reservoir-project-residents-offer-to-finance-a-suit-by-weston.html | title=FIGHT RESERVOIR PROJECT; Residents Offer to Finance a Suit by Weston, Conn. | work=The New York Times | date=1937-11-27 | page=9 | language=en-US | issn=0362-4331 | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | access-date=2019-09-27 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/02/03/archives/sue-to-prevent-dam-saugatuck-valley-residents-seek-injunction-and.html | title=SUE TO PREVENT DAM; Saugatuck Valley Residents Seek Injunction and $250,000 | work=The New York Times | date=1938-02-03 | page=10 | language=en-US | issn=0362-4331 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> displacing the villages of Hull and Valley Forge<ref>{{cite web | last=Miner | first=Marcia | title=Valley Forge Forever Gone | website=aspetucklandtrust.org | date=2009-11-03 | url=http://www.aspetucklandtrust.org/html/tbv-story-1.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103084554/http://www.aspetucklandtrust.org/html/tbv-story-1.html | archive-date=2009-11-03 | url-status=dead | access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | access-date=2019-09-27 | url=https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/The-rise-and-fall-of-Valley-Forge-96373.php | title=The rise and fall of Valley Forge | date=2006-03-26 | last=Miller | first=Robert | website=NewsTimes}}</ref> to create the Saugatuck Reservoir.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lomuscio|first=James|title=Village of the Dammed: The Fight for Open Space and the Flooding of a Connecticut Town|url=http://www.upne.com/1584654775.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317233158/http://www.upne.com/1584654775.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 17, 2012|year=2005|publisher=University Press of New England|isbn=978-1-58465-477-3}}</ref>

== Crossings ==
In Westport, [[Connecticut Route 136|Route 136]] crosses the river on the [[Saugatuck River Bridge]], built in 1882, the oldest surviving moveable bridge in Connecticut. The moveable section consists of a hand-cranked swing span made of two pin-connected [[Pratt truss]]es. The bridge replaced a wooden truss structure erected in 1873. Before that, a ferry service, started in 1746, helped passengers cross the river.<ref>Westport Historical Society, plaque in the carriage barn part of the museum, read on September 30, 2007</ref>

[[File:Saugatuck River, Westport.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Saugatuck River, [[Westport, Connecticut]]]]

The crossings of the Saugatuck River are (from mouth to source):
*In Westport:
**[[Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge]] (Metro-North railroad)
**Bridge carrying [[Interstate 95 in Connecticut|Interstate 95]]
**[[Saugatuck River Bridge]] ([[Connecticut Route 136|Route 136]])
**Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge ([[U.S. Route 1 in Connecticut|U.S. Route 1]]) [[vertical-lift bridge]]
**Bridge carrying King's Highway ([[Connecticut Route 57|Route 57]]) [[Bascule Bridge|bascule bridge]]
**Bridge carrying the [[Merritt Parkway]]
**Burrs Bridge (Weston Road/Route 57)
*In Weston:
**River Road
**Cartbridge Road
**Davis Hill Road
**Valley Forge Road
*In Redding:
**Newtown Turnpike ([[Connecticut Route 53|Route 53]])
**Glen Road (Route 53)
**Redding Road (Routes 53 and [[Connecticut Route 107|107]])
**Diamond Hill Road
**Redding Road (Route 53 – twice)
**Station Road
**Simpaug Turnpike
**George Hull Hill Road
*In Danbury:
**East Starrs Plain Road
**Hemlock Hill Road
**Starrs Plain Road (twice)

== Culture ==
{{USS|Saugatuck|AO-75|6}}, a [[United States Navy oiler|U.S. Navy oiler]] that saw service in [[World War II]], was named after the river.<ref>{{cite web | title=Saugatuck | website=NHHC | url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/saugatuck.html | access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref>

The 1972 [[REO Speedwagon]] song ''[[157 Riverside Avenue]]'' mentions the river in its lyrics.

''Secrets of Redding Glen'', a 1973 children's book written and illustrated by Jo Polseno, chronicles the natural cycle of wildlife along a section of the Saugatuck River.<ref>{{cite web | access-date=2019-09-27 | archive-date=2014-07-14 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714112808/http://www.reddingctlandtrust.org/in-tribute-the-landsavers.htm | url=http://www.reddingctlandtrust.org/in-tribute-the-landsavers.htm | title=Redding, Connecticut | date=2014-07-14 | url-status=dead | website=Redding Land Trust, Inc}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

{{Panorama
 | image      = File:View from Saugatuck Bridge, Westport, CT, USA - 2012.jpg
 | alt        = Panoramic view looking out from Saugatuck Bridge, Westport, CT, USA - 2012.jpg
 | fullwidth  = 20051
 | fullheight = 3573
 | caption    = Panoramic view looking out from Saugatuck Bridge, Westport, CT, USA
 | height     = 140
}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Connecticut}}
*[[List of rivers of Connecticut]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web | title=Saugatuck River Bridge | website=Public Archaeology Survey Team, Inc. | date=2016-11-12 | url=http://www.past-inc.org/historic-bridges/movable-saugatuck.html | access-date=2019-09-27}}

{{Rivers of Connecticut}}
{{Coastal waterbodies of Connecticut}}
{{Coord|41.125|-73.369|display=title|format=dms|type:river}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Rivers of Fairfield County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Weston, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Westport, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Long Island Sound]]
[[Category:Connecticut placenames of Native American origin]]
[[Category:Rivers of Connecticut]]
[[Category:Redding, Connecticut]]