| The Town of Middleborough is a
70-square mile historic industrial town on the Nemasket River and was a
major native settlement area used for seasonal fishing, hunting, and
berry gathering. The town is one of only a handful of southeastern
Massachusetts communities that retained a sizeable Indian population
throughout the Colonial period. The first European settler was Sir
Christopher Gardner, a fugitive from English justice who settled among
the Nemasket Indians in 1633. When he was captured and returned to
England, it was several years before a small group of white settlers led
by Elizabeth Poole established themselves within the town. Agriculture,
fishing, hunting and some lumbering were the main occupations of early
settlers and as Indian settlements dwindled, the town's industries grew.
There was a good deal of bog iron found in Middleborough which
stimulated the iron and mill industries. A large self-contained
industrial complex was developed by Judge Peter Oliver, including a
blast furnace, forge, slitting mill, blacksmith, finishing and hammer
shops, grist mill and fuel storage, all of which, along with a country
estate, was confiscated when Oliver fled the Revolution as a loyalist.
Although the iron industry dominated the Federal period, Middleborough
also made shovels, textiles, straw bonnets and woolens. Immigrant
populations of Swedes, Italians, Canadians and Armenians followed the
industrial jobs available. After the Civil War, the town became a rail
center, attracting industrial development, lumbering, box mills, brick
making and the well-known Maxim Motor Company which has been producing
fire trucks since 1914. Town officials have recently approved six
parcels as sites for industrial parks and the town plans to embark on an
aggressive campaign to bring businesses in to offset the major suburban
residential development the town has experienced in recent years.
Visitors to Middleborough now can enjoy the partially restored Oliver
Mills Park on the site of Judge Oliver's industrial complex and follow
the spring herring run which brings thousands of alewives upstream to
spawn. Residents are particularly proud of the historic museums in town
which feature recreations of 19th century homes, historic fire engines,
Nemasket Indian artifacts, toy trains and memorabilia of the famous
midgets General Tom Thumb and his wife, a native of the town. (Seal
supplied by community. Narrative based on information provided by the
Massachusetts Historical Commission) |
