The Quinnipiac River, called “Long Water Land” or “Quinnipiack” by the indigenous Quinnipiac people, is a fresh water river with a tidal salt water flow from Long Island Sound. It begins near the border of New Britain and Plainville, Connecticut, and flows 38 miles through New Haven Harbor to Long Island Sound. At different times it was also known as the East River, Dragon River, or New Haven River, and it is the largest river in south-central Connecticut. The river was long used for fishing, and by 1650 it had become a commercial waterway when North Haven made a log barge to carry bog-iron to a new foundry at Furnace Pond by Lake Saltonstall in what is now Branford. The foundry melted this impure iron deposit, formed in bogs or swamps, to produce tools and wroughtiron implements, and the barge traveled down the Quinnipiac River to the harbor, around the Palisades of Morris Cove, and up the Farm River to the foundry. Where salt and fresh water meet, the tidal river produced abundant oysters and great wealth for settlers who cultivated oyster farms along its shores until pollution and shoreline building caused a collapse. Oyster farming and recreational boating, kayaking, and canoeing are now enjoying a resurgence, and the river continues to draw people for fishing and boating. Nearby marshes and preserves offer views of egrets, hawks, and native and migratory species. Residents have also found arrowheads and other signs of native encampments at nearby Grannis Island, and a stone marker for the John Davenport Farm dating to 1638 was discovered near the river.