This is a history of a Nashua River and the valley that carries the same name. It starts with Native American times, when the river was home to many wild animals, and Native Americans built a village along its banks and used the river for fishing and transportation. The river supplied all they needed. Next came a mountain man, who was welcomed. Then came farmers, who cut down the towering forest and raised crops and animals. They built saw mills along the river and used the power from the river. They trees were cut into lumber to make houses and buildings. Native American fishing rights vanished, as did the forests for hunting.
This was followed by an industrial age. Paper factories dumped leftover pulp and dye into the river. Then came plastics. Chemicals and plastic waste were also dumped. The river became more and more clogged. It also became smelly.
Oweana, a Native American descendant of those early Native Americans, and his friend Marion, both dreamed of the pebbled bottom of the river, which was long gone, and decided something must be done. They began talking to others who imagined a clean river with a pebbled bottom. First the convinces the paper mills to build a waste plant and no longer dump in the river. They also persuaded factories to stop dumping. New laws were enacted and factories stopped polluting. Slowly the river's current began cleaning the river. Today it is a river restored.
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