How the Acushnet Measures Up to Other Massachusetts Rivers

The Acushnet River is a mere trickle compared to some of the much longer rivers that flow through Massachusetts, but it is our river and the source of much pride in the area.

At 8.6 miles long, the Auchnet River is the largest river flowing into Buzzards Bay. The source of the Acushnet is Long Pond in Lakeville, Massachusetts. The river's root tributary, Squam Brook, flows out of Long Pond through Freetown and into the New Bedford Reservoir in Acushnet.

From the reservoir, the Acushnet separates New Bedford from the towns of Acushnet and Fairhaven on its east side before draining into Buzzards Bay and eventually the Atlantic Ocean.

"Acushnet" comes from the Wampanoag word cushnea, which translates to "as far as the waters.

So how does the Acushnet River measure up with some of the other, much longer rivers in Massachusetts?

It's not even in the top 10.

World Atlas.com says Massachusetts, "the seventh smallest state in the United States," is the "most densely populated in the New England area." The site says, "All of the rivers which pass through Massachusetts empty into the Atlantic Ocean."

The longest rivers in Massachusetts, according to World Atlas.com, include the Connecticut River at 406 miles long. The Connecticut begins at the U.S.-Canada border and crosses four states before dumping into Long Island Sound.

The 139-mile Housatonic River is in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The 117-mile Merrimack River originates in New Hampshire and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

The Charles River is 80 miles long. It originates in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, crosses 23 cities, and empties into the Atlantic. The Deerfield River runs 76 miles from Vermont to the Connecticut River in Massachusetts.

Rounding out the ten longest rivers in Massachusetts, the Hoosic River (76.3 Miles), the Quinebaug River (69 miles), the Westfield River (61 miles), the Millers River (52.1 miles) and the Blackstone River (48 miles).