Mystic River - Part 1 of 3

The Fellsway and Medford parkland

The Mystic Center and Mystic Wellington Yacht Club

Turn to your right and walk along the Fellsway toward the Mystic River. Stop when you come to the Blessing of the Bay historic marker. The land in this area on both sides of the Mystic River was owned by Governor Winthrop at the beginning of English colonization of Massachusetts, and the Blessing of the Bay, the first sea-going vessel built in Massachusetts, was launched here on July 4, 1631. The Medford side of the Mystic River later became an important shipbuilding area, using timber shipped from New Hampshire on the Middlesex Canal. Between 1803 and 1873 there were ten shipyards along the then-meandering Mystic River, and Medford acquired a reputation as a center for the building of clipper ships.

Looking across the Mystic River at the bridge, you can see two pieces of parkland on the Medford side, to the left and right of the bridge. If you have time, take the bridge over; there is a pedestrian light on the Fellsway that will let you cross over and explore the land on both sides of the bridge in Medford. In the 1960s, the Mystic River was dredged and straightened in connection with the construction of I-93. The natural-looking area to the left of the bridge was actually constructed on hydraulic dredge spoils from this operation. On the right side of the bridge, the Mystic Wellington Yacht Club and the Mystic Center office building, with its manicured lawns, are on land formerly occupied by an MBTA yard.

Returning to the Somerville side of the Mystic River, follow the asphalt path that goes along the water's edge. This path was built by the MDC in the 1970s. This land could function as a continuation of MDC parkland along Shore Drive in Ten Hills, but the Fellsway is difficult to cross. (There is a pedestrian light, but it requires taking a jog away from the shoreline.) The city has plans to build an undercarriage at the bridge to make it easier for pedestrians and bicycles to have continuous access at the shore, but it is not known when funding will be available to carry out this project.