Town Brook (Massachusetts)

Town Brook

Town Brook, near Plymouth Harbor

Location

Country United States

State Massachusetts

Region Plymouth

Physical characteristics

Source

• location Billington Sea

Pilgrims who made their homes adjacent to the brook on Leyden Street in Plymouth. Town Brook's headwaters are the Billington Sea, a 269-acre (109 ha) freshwater pond. The brook passes through numerous small ponds, including Deep Water Pond and Jenny Pond. It also passes by the Plimoth Grist Mill and the Brewster Gardens before emptying into Plymouth Harbor

. A nature trail runs along the entire length of the brook.

History

The Pilgrims first made landfall at the tip of Cape Cod, but were reluctant to settle there due to the lack of fresh water. They sailed across to the mainland, and observed what one person described as “a very sweet brook,” fed by cool springs of “as good water as can be drunk.” ^[1] At the brook's mouth was a salt marsh, where the colonists could anchor their boats. The Pilgrims built their houses near the fresh water supply.

The brook led to upstream spawning grounds for river herring. It also attracted eels and fresh water fowl. Squanto, an Indian interpreter, taught the colonists to use the fish to fertilize their corn crop. The first corn mill was built along the brook.^[1]

John Jenney arrived in the Plymouth Colony from Leyden in 1623, and built a grist mill on Town Brook in 1636.^[2] The original mill burned down in 1847. The banks of the brook were used for industrial purposes (at times powered by the brook's waters) well into the 20th century.

Herring Run

Each Spring, the brook sees thousands of

U.S. Army Reserves, and more.^[5]

Significant restoration has been conducted on Town Brook in the last 20 years for fisheries/alewife restoration. Billington Street Dam was removed in 2002, Off-Billington Street Dam removed in 2013, Plymco Dam removed in 2014–15, and finally the Holmes Dam was removed in 2018–19.[6]

Crossings

Eleven roads pass over Town Brook, including two major highways.

Little Pond Road
Route 3 (Pilgrims Highway)
Billington Street
Driveway to 96R Billington Street
Off Billington Street
Newfield Street
Willard Place
Spring Court
Pleasant Street
Route 3A (Main Street Extension)
Water Street

Tributaries

Two small streams flow into Town Brook in downtown Plymouth, but they are not named.

Nearby Attractions

Many attractions are near Town Brook, especially since Plymouth is of such historical importance. This is a list of the attractions within one quarter of a mile from Town Brook.

Morton Park
Jenney Grist Mill
Brewster Gardens
Plymouth Rock
Massasoit Statue
State Pier (Mayflower II)
Plymouth Yacht Club
Burton Park

References

^ ^a ^b Tucker, Abigail. "The Waterway That Brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth", Smithsonian Magazine, November 22, 2010
^ "The Plimoth Grist Mill", Plimouth Plantation
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2017-03-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Records of the colony of New Plymouth in New England : Printed by order of the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts".
^ "New England/Mid-Atlantic | NOAA Fisheries". March 2022.
^ "Town Brook Restoration Complete with Removal of Holmes Dam | NOAA Fisheries". 6 January 2021.

External links

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Rivers of Massachusetts by drainage system

Atlantic Ocean

Buzzards Bay	Acushnet River Agawam River Back River Copicut River Crooked River Mattapoisett River Nasketucket River Paskamanset River Pocasset River Sippican River Slocums River Wankinco River Westport River Weweantic River
Nantucket Sound	Bass River Bumps River Childs River Coonamesset River Mashpee River Mitchell River Oyster Pond River Popponesset Creek Quashnet River Santuit River
Others	Tiasquam River

Gulf of Maine

Cape Cod Bay	Bluefish River Eel River Herring River Jones River Little Pamet River Pamet River Town Brook
Massachusetts Bay	Aberjona River Alewife Brook Canton River Charles River Chelsea Creek Cochato River Fore River Fresh River Indian Head River Malden River Millers River Monatiquot River Muddy River Mystic River Neponset River North River Saugus River Stony Brook (Boston) Stony Brook (Waltham) Stop River Weir River Weymouth Back River
Merrimack River Watershed	Artichoke River Assabet River Back River Beaver Brook Cochichewick River Concord River Little River Merrimack River Nashua River Nissitissit River North Nashua River Phillips Brook Powwow River Quinapoxet River Salmon Brook Shawsheen River Souhegan River South Branch Souhegan River South Nashua River Spicket River Squannacook River Stillwater River Sudbury River Trout Brook Vine Brook Whitman River
Others	Annisquam River Blackwater River Eagle Hill River Egypt River Ipswich River Jericho Creek Roger Island River Rowley River Skug River

Long Island Sound

Connecticut River Watershed	Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Connecticut River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Farmington River Fall River Five Mile River Green River Hubbard River Manhan River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mirey Brook North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Otter River Quaboag River Scantic River Seven Mile River Tarbell Brook Ware River Westfield River
Housatonic River Watershed	Housatonic River Konkapot River Schenob Brook Umpachene River
Thames River Watershed	French River Quinebaug River

Narragansett Bay

Mount Hope Bay (Taunton River Watershed)	Assonet River Canoe River Cedar Swamp River Cocasset River Cotley River Forge River Hockomock River Matfield River Mill River Nemasket River Poor Meadow Brook Quequechan River Rumford River Salisbury Plain River Satucket River Segreganset River Shumatuscacant River Snake River Taunton River Three Mile River Town River Wading River Winnetuxet River
Providence River Watershed	Abbott Run Blackstone River Bungay River Chockalog River Mill River Mumford River Peters River Quinsigamond River Sevenmile River Tannery River Ten Mile River West River Wilde River
Others	Barrington River Cole River Coles Brook Kickamuit River Lees River Palmer River Runnins River

Upper New York Bay

Hudson River Watershed	Hoosic River Kinderhook Creek

41°57′24″N 70°39′44″W / 41.95667°N 70.66222°W / 41.95667; -70.66222

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