HISTORIC CONTEXT
Nemasket (Middleborough) meaning the fishing place, during the Contact Period, was an important Native community. Located at a key midway point between Wampanoag communities to the west (Mattapuyst [Swansea], Pokanoket [Warren and Bristol, RI]), east (Pawtuxet [Plymouth]), and south (Weweantic and Agawam [Wareham], Acushnet [New Bedford/ Acushnet]) and at least one possible Massachusett community across the Taunton River, the community was, among other things a resting station for travelers between these communities. Native trails spread across the landscape of what is now Middleborough connecting all of them. Native trails that later became Colonial roads include Plymouth/ Main Streets (Route 44 axis), Center Street, Chestnut Street, Rocky Meadow/ Stone Streets, Plympton Street, Thompson Street, Sachem/ Wareham Street, Spruce, and Cherry Streets to name a few (MHC 1981: 3).
The locations of large Native communities or settlements were north of Barden Hills, which may have been the historic community of Nemasket proper, Vernon Street and Fort Hill (Titicut community), and the northeastern shore of Assawompsett Pond with other settlements possibly on the shores of Tispaquin and Woods Ponds (MHC 1981: 3, 4). Seventeenth century explorers noted extensive Native fields along the river and at least two fishing weir locations.
Nemasket became an important community in terms of Native to English relations after the founding of the plantation at Plymouth during the First Settlement/ Plantation Period (1620-1675). English emissaries to Massasoit’s community at Pokanoket, would often travel halfway there one day, overnight at Nemasket, and complete the journey the next day, doing the same on their return from Pokanoket. The first reported European settler in present day Middleborough was Sir Christopher Gardner who, while fleeing English magistrates, arrived in the area for a short-lived stay in 1633, before being captured and returned to England (MHC 1981: 5). In 1637, Elizabeth Poole led a small group of English settlers who established a community at Titicut (MHC 1981: 5). Following her by mid-century was Samuel Eddy who, in 1660, settled what is now Eddyville, George Vaughn and others who settled between the shores of Assawompsett Pond and the river, various other settlers who settled across town along what are now Thompson, Winter and Cedar Streets and at Millers Hill (MHC 1981: 5). Agriculture, fishing and some slight industrial activities formed the economic base of the town at this time. Building of a grist mill and dam on the river next to the junction of the river and East Main Street, occurred at some point before 1675. George Vaughn established the first tavern in 1669 (MHC 1981: 6). A wooden fort protected the community. The location of the fort was on the western bank of the river on a hilltop 200 to 300 feet from Main Street (MHC 1981: 6).
About 75 people made up the non-Native population of the town by the time of Metacomet’s Rebellion in 1675. Native occupation of the town continued during the English settlement of Nemasket and the community remained a major settlement area throughout the Plantation Period. Abandonment of the community at Muttock (Barden Hill) happened by mid-century as a result of increasing colonial, non-Native settlement. Tispaquin, the sachem of this community, moved their settlement to what is now Betty’s Neck at Assawompsett Pond (MHC 1981: 5). Titicut appears to have remained an important native community, even going so far as constructing a fort at Fort Hill in 1660. As an offshoot of larger attempts to bring Christianity to New England’s Native people, the second half of the seventeenth century saw the founding of churches specifically for Nemasket’s Native population. The three churches established for them, were at Titicut, probably at the Pleasant and north end junction, at Assawompsett Pond probably at the site of the Old Pond Church, and at an unknown site at Nemasket (MHC 1981: 5). Missionary surveys show 30 members for the Nemasket church and 35 for the Assawompsett church (MHC 1981: 4). These population numbers do not take into account children and nonmember of the church who probably accounted for a greater percentage of the Native population than the Christianized Natives did.
The Colonial Period (1675-1775) saw the complete destruction and abandonment of the town during Metacomet’s Rebellion (1675-1677). Following the war, resettlement of the non-Native population occurred in 1677. Improvements made to the road system included the erection of bridges over former fordways led to the establishment of a town center, The Green. An increase in mill sites also marks this period. The building of the first meetinghouse occurred in 1679 on the north side of north end . Establishment of a formal town cemetery was in 1717 at The Green. Other churches established throughout the Town included one on the site of the present Congregational Church and a Baptist Church at the site of the “Indian Church” on Pleasant Street opposite the Pleasant Street School. Replacement of the “Indian Church” occurred in 1757 with a larger meetinghouse (MHC 1981: 8). The second half of the eighteenth century saw a second Baptist meetinghouse in 1761 at the junctions of Grove and Locust Streets in South Middleborough, south of the project area. Non-Native population figures show that by 1765 there were 3419 inhabitants and 4119 by 1776, including a small French Acadian population resettled here in 1750 (MHC 1981: 7).
Agriculture remained the most important economic activity in the town during this period, but it also saw the establishment of iron and mill industries on the river. A grist mill and saw mill were constructed on the river at the junction of it and Nemasket Street in 1677 and a sawmill was established on Bartlett Brook in 1715, as well as another on Fall Brook sometime before 1775 (MHC 1981: 8). A large industrial complex was established by Judge Peter Oliver on the site of the former river grist and sawmill between 1745 and 1765. Oliver’s mill included a blast furnace, forge, slitting mill, blacksmith, finishing and hammer shops, grist mill and fuel storage sheds (MHC 1981: 9). Other forges and mills built during this period include one at the junction of the river and Wareham Street in the 1760s, Eddys Furnace on Whetstone Brook after 1750, Stillwater Furnace, Black Brook sawmills, Woods Brook gristmill, Shorts Brook sawmill, Whetstone Brook sawmill and gristmill, Raven Brook gristmill and sawmill, Puddingshear Brook grist mill and a small shipyard at Pratts Bridge in Titicut in the 1750s (MHC 1981: 9). Much of this industrial development appears to be the result of the discovery and subsequent mining of bog iron at Assawompsett and Tispaquin Ponds and the exploitation of Middleborough’s timber and water resources. The degree of involvement in the industrial development throughout Town led to the creation of separate self-contained villages which either were agriculturally based and thus not greatly involved in the new industries, or were completely focused on industry itself. The Town also had several “Border villages” such as South Middleborough, Eddyville, Thomastown and the Soule neighborhood, all of which had strong ties to Middleborough’s bordering towns.
Native population continued in the town with a 1689 survey indicating that there were 20 houses and 80 Native inhabitants at Assawompsett Pond and Quittab (possibly Nemasket or Quitticus Pond) and 40 adults at Titicut (MHC 1981: 7). By the late eighteenth century, Native occupation was only recorded at Betty’s Neck in what is now Lakeville. The selling of the last piece of Native owned land at Muttock Hill on the river,due to over cultivation, deforestation and lack of game, removed the native presence from this section of Middleborough (MHC 1981: 8).
The Federal Period (1775-1830) saw the building of a regional corridor, present-day Route 18, linking Boston and New Bedford via Middleborough (MHC 1981: 10). Industrial products such as shovels, nails and woolens, which had become a productive venture after the 1811 Embargo with England, could now be easily and quickly shipped north and south. Middleborough Four Corners (Center) also developed as a result of an increase in industrial activity with industrial nodes being established at the Upper (Wareham Street dam) and Lower (East Main Street dam)Works (MHC 1981: 11). Industry was the focus of the economy of Middleborough Center, , farming, and possibly charcoal production to supply the iron works, was the most important economic activity in North and South Middleborough. In addition to the iron works, at least five sawmills and nine gristmills were in operation in 1794, and other industries in the town included shoe manufacture and shipbuilding.
The Native population had dwindled by 1793 with only eight families and 30-40 inhabitants recorded. After this period, Native occupants of the Town, while definitely still present, become virtually invisible in the historical record (MHC 1981: 7).
The arrival of the railroad in the 1840s during the Early Industrial Period (1830-1870) gave Middleborough industries new and more accessible markets for their goods, causing continued growth in the Town’s industrial base. Middleborough Four Corners continued to act as a magnet for industrial and residential growth, attracting inhabitants from North and South Middleborough to move here (MHC 1981: 13). Establishment of a large shoe factory in North Middleborough did attract inhabitants to this part of town as well. At the same time, the overall population of the Town remained stable until 1840 when it grew until the end of the next decade, with a slight drop in 1855 with Lakeville’s separation from Middleborough. The iron industry continued in importance but other industries were soon eclipsing iron manufacturers in terms of size, employment and contribution to the economy. These other industries included the manufacture of straw bonnets by Ebenezer Briggs and Albert Alden of the Bay State Straw Works, the shoe industry in the Titicut and Middleborough village areas, the Star woolen mill, Shaw carriages and varnish, and box and coffin manufacture (MHC 1981: 14). Little industrial growth is visible in South Middleborough and this section of Town retained agriculture as the basis of its economy.
Middleborough continued to expand as a regional railroad junction during the Late Industrial Period (1870-1915), eventually becoming an unequaled rail center. Street railway systems were now established that connected the town to Taunton, Bridgewater, Brockton, New Bedford and Wareham (MHC 1981: 16). Industrial development continues with the establishment of a new industrial node near the railroad line in the 1880s on the west side of the Village. Middleborough Center saw further development as the main commercial and business district (MHC 1981: 16). The town’s prosperity mirrored an overall increase of the total population during this time. Middleborough’s industrial growth appears to have peaked in 1906 at which time the town had a direct rail link to markets in Boston and Plymouth, a reinvigorated woolen mill, a number of shoe mills that employed many residents and a burgeoning brick manufactory started in the 1880s, and being one of the largest lumber producing towns in the state (MHC 1981: 17).
The Early Modern Period (1915-1940) saw the trolley route abandonment by the 1920s as with highway improvements and the use and ownership of the automobile became more prevalent and widespread (MHC 1981: 18). Following the closure of the woolen mill, the shoe industry soon became one of the town’s largest employers, along with Maxim Motor Company which produced fire engines (MHC 1981: 18). Overall population figures show a drop in the 1915 to 1920 period and a slight growth in 1925, a drop in 1930 and slow growth for the rest of the period (MHC 1981: 18). Outlying farm settlements in South Middleborough continued to lose population as more people moved to the north.
[button] Back to Prehistoric Context[/button] [button color=”green”] Forward to Previous Testing[/button]