Downstream from Chamberlin Bridge, 1998 Spring
Vault A40 Unit 5
EXTENT: .4 linear feet (one container).
ORGANIZATION: Four series: I. Mill Brook Task Force records (partial), 1995-2001; II. Material related to the history of Mill Brook, 1859-2000; III. Resource material related to the Mill Brook environment, 1992-2000; IV. Mill Brook data collected by Morton and Mary Elizabeth Baker, 1994-2000.
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY: Morton H. ("Terry") Baker (1921-2001) lived in Concord for over fifty years. He was married to Mary Elizabeth ("Betsy") Gillette in 1947. They had two daughters and a son. Morton Baker graduated from Harvard, served in the Air Corps during World War II, and subsequently worked for 35 years in the trade book division of Houghton Mifflin. A skilled watercolorist and an avid outdoorsman, he traveled extensively. An active citizen, he served on the Concord Finance, Town Report, and Records and Archives Committees, and the Mill Brook Task Force. He was also a founder and captain of the Concord Minute Men and a director of the Kalmia Woods Corporation.
The Mill Brook arises in Lincoln, Mass. and flows for three miles into the Concord River. About 2100 acres from Crosby’s Corner to Meriam’s Corner, the Town Forest, and Concord Center are drained by the Mill Brook. The lower Mill Brook is channeled along the backyards of businesses and homes and flows under three local roads as well as small footbridges and walkways. The Mill Brook Task Force was formed in 1995 to restore and protect Concord’s Mill Brook and its watershed by developing, championing, and participating in the implementation of a masterplan. The goal is an ecologically sound and scenic system with clean water and a protected watershed which will provide for passive recreation and will be aesthetically appealing.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: see series descriptions in container list, below.
ASSOCIATED MATERIALS: Concord’s Mill Brook: Flowing Through Time, by Richard Forman (Concord: Natural Resources Commission). All items in Series I are available in photocopied form in Collection of Material from Morton "Terry" Baker Concerning the Mill Brook Task Force, 1999-2000 (C.PAM. 48, Item J3).
SOURCE OF ACQUISITION: Presented by Mary Elizabeth Baker, 2001 July 9.
PROCESSED BY: JHG; finding aid complete 2004 June 1.
CONTAINER LIST
Folder 1:
SERIES I. Mill Brook Task Force records (partial), 1995-2001:
Includes Action Plan Outline, Task List, and Charge to Committee; two meeting agendas (2000 Aug. 30 and 2000 Dec. 5) and one set of minutes (2000 Dec. 5); water level and temperature data from Chamberlin Bridge; and memoranda to the Natural Resources Commission.
Folder 2:
SERIES II. Material related to the history of Mill Brook, 1859-2000:
Includes photocopied entries (1860) from Thoreau’s journal (printed) and two photocopied manuscript Thoreau surveys (1859) from CFPL collection; locations of buildings pumped in the Mill Brook Watershed, 1996 Oct. 20-24, and related Concord Journal article; "History of the Mill Brook from Town Reports" (2000); and description of pollution of Assabet from mills and other industries from L.E. Richardson’s Concord River (1964).
Folder 3:
SERIES III. Resource material related to the Mill Brook environment, 1992-2000:
Includes photocopied pages on water quality from Campbell and Wildberger, The Monitor’s Handbook; notes from Ann L. Riley, Restoring Streams and Cities; Bibliography of Mill Brook and Concord Reference Materials; photocopied article "Restoring the American Chestnut" from Appalachia; map of Mill Brook Watershed, and White Pond Neighborhood Evaluation for Concord Public Works (2000 Feb. 14).
Folder 4:
SERIES IV. Mill Brook data collected by Morton and Mary Elizabeth Baker, 1994-2000:
Includes mounted and loose Mill Brook photos, 1994 and 1998; "Mill Brook Notes" (a manuscript notebook containing records of water levels, nature observations, and trash removal activities at Chamberlin Bridge, 1998 Sept. 6-1999 Sept. 19); several loose pages of background notes on water flow, temperatures, and depths, primarily at Chamberlin Bridge, 1996-2000.
c2004 Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.
Not to be reproduced in any form without permission of the Curator of the William Munroe Special Collections, Concord Free Public Library.
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Mounted 9th June. 2004 rcwh -- rev. 22nd Jan. 2011 rcwh.