Elizabeth Brook

Click here for a map of Elizabeth Brook and Stow.
Click here for a map of the surficial geology of Elizabeth Brook.

Elizabeth Brook is the second largest of the Assabet River tributaries, with a drainage area of just over 19 square miles. It begins its journey to the Assabet in Harvard above Delaney Pond. Delaney Pond is a popular spot for a number of recreational activities, including boating, fishing, horseback riding, and hiking, and is accessible from Harvard Rd. in Stow. Elizabeth Brook then flows under Delaney Road, where a beaver exclosure has been installed.
The brook flows through the marshy Hiley Meadows, and under Great Road...
...through Wheeler Pond behind the Butternut Farm Golf Course and under Rt. 62 into Fletcher Pond. Fletcher Pond was formed behind a timber buttress dam. The dam was likely built around 1850 by Peter Fletcher to provide power for a tannery.
On one side of Fletcher Pond is the Brookside Cemetery, and on the other is the Carver Hill Orchard.
Elizabeth Brook (aka Assabet Brook below Fletchers Pond) is fed by Potash Brook before running through the Gardner Hill Conservation Area, which is accessible from Bradley Lane (off Great Road). Paths from the conservation area run all the way to the StreamWatch gaging site, about a half a kilometer downstream from the parking area.
Elizabeth Brook finally passes by the Stow Away Golf Course, where it enters the Assabet near the Maynard town line.