of the Brook for mills, from the 17th to 19th Centuries. In the early 20th Century, however, the practical use of the Brook switched to irrigation for neighboring farms, as Lexington was still very much a farming community up to around the 1950s. In the 1930s, as part of a WPA project, the Brook was widened and deepened from its original shallow, narrow bed from Hayes Lane to Emerson Road, all in Lexington. This was to better use it for irrigation purposes. (Today, much of the brook bed is reverting to its natural size, gradually filling back in with silt.) In addition, it was culverted from Hayes Lane back upstream to Vine Brook Road in Lexington. Today, a great deal of the Brook is on town-owned conservation land parks. Though many sections of the Brook have had their appearance altered over the years, some areas still remain relatively as they were in the Colonial days and before. Mills There have been several mills on Vine Brook over the centuries, and it is this industry that has so connected the brook to the towns it passes through. According to the History of Bedford, at the time it was written, "the only motive-powers, utilized [at that time in Bedford] are on the Shawshine River and Vine Brook." According to the Bedford town website, when Bedford was being incorporated as a separate town from Billerica, there were negotiations as to which town would retain rights to the Vine Brook area, due to its valuable water-power. Following are known mills listed in downstream order, with locations, and dates if known: Muzzey mill, date unknown. Approximate site: Today's 1666 Mass. Ave., Lexington. Estabrook mill, date unknown. Approximate site: Rear of today's 1625 Mass. Ave., Lexington. The millpond created as a result of this mill was used afterwards (19th Century) for baptisms by the First Baptist Church of Lexington. Wyman fulling mill, before 1794. Exact site: At Butterfield's Pond and North Street, Lexington, opposite today's 113 North Street. (See Gibbs mill, below.) Gibbs mill, on same site as Wyman fulling mill (see above). Burned 1840s. Foundations still visible. Locke grist mill, before 1794. Exact site: At Butterfield's Pond and Lowell Street, just over the town line into Burlington. Reed saw mill, before 1794. Still existent in the 1890s. Approximate site: Off Middlesex Turnpike, between Adams Street and Route 128, Burlington. Vine Brook Mill, originally circa 1645,