The Kickemuit River (sometimes written Kickamuit; ) is a river in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island flowing approximately 7.9 mi.

History

The name Kickemuit is a Narragansett word that has numerous spellings. The river was a major traffic artery during the American Revolutionary War, and supplies traveled upriver daily. By the 1800s, oyster beds were a major revenue source, but effluent from the nearby Parker Mills and general sewage pollution killed most of the oysters by 1910. The Kickemuit River oyster industry was ended with the 1938 New England hurricane. The Kickemuit River is classified as a Class A, Type II Waterway and open to both recreational activities and shell-fishing.

Course

The river's source is in Rehoboth, Massachusetts in the swamps north of Locust Street in Swansea. From here it flows due south to Swansea and into the Warren Reservoir, which drains approximately 2300 acre. The reservoir's dam forms the boundary between fresh and salt water. From the dam it flows generally southwest, then southeast to Mount Hope Bay, passing to the east of the center of the town of Warren, Rhode Island and ending with Bristol, Rhode Island to the west and part of Warren, Rhode Island to the east. The river exits in a passage through the Bristol Narrows into Mount Hope Bay.

Crossings

Below is a list of crossings over the Kickemuit River. The list starts at the headwaters and goes downstream.

Tributaries

Heath Brook is the Kickemuit River's only named tributary, though it has many unnamed streams that also feed it.

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