 The Aberjona River was first identified by Europeans shortly after 1631, when Captain Edward Johnson explored the area.The name "Aberjona" appears in the earliest colonial records, but its origins are unknown.By 1865 there were 21 tanneries and currying shops in Woburn, and by the 1870s pollution from tanneries in Woburn and Winchester was affecting both the river and the Upper Mystic Lake (then a public water supply).