boards for his own particular use, the owner of the mill shall sell him boards for his own use, so many as he shall need, for the country pay, at three shillings and six pence an hundred inch sawn; but in case the men of the town do not supply the mill with timber to keep it at work, the owners of the mill shall have liberty to make use of any timber upon the common to saw for their benefit. The said saw mill to be built within three months from this date; otherwise this order to be void."

JAMES TORREY, Town Clerk.

TOPOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF ROCHESTER, Mass. 1815. 1

ROCHESTER, a maritime town of the county of Plymouth, is situated in latitude 41° 42' N. longitude 70° 40' W. from Greenwich. It is bounded south on Buzzard's Bay eight miles,* west on Fair Haven and Freetown twelve miles, north on Middleboro' eight miles, and east on Wareham four or five miles, distant from Plymouth twenty miles, S. W. from New Bedford twelve, É. and from Boston fifty two miles, S. S. E. It is an origi nal corporation of the Old Colony, June 4, 1686, and contains the Seipican and Mattapoiset of the aborigines. Irregular in outline, it may be an area of near eight miles square, or an excess of it.

Topography. The original growth was walnut, oak, birch, white and pitch pine. In this respect, and of course as to its soil, it comes under two natural divisions: the west, the wider section, moist, swampy, and some. what rocky, affording the hard wood growth; the east, a lighter and sandy soil, exhibits the resinous trees. Such, too, are its civil divisions: the latter, where the early settlements were made, being the first precinct, is the Seipican, from a stream within it, and which in early times gave name to the township; the former, Mattapoiset, more modern as to settlement, now rivals the parent village in some points of view, hereafter to be noticed.

• The first grant gave it eight miles on the shore.

In passing through this town on the main road from Plymouth to New Bedford, the traveller sees nothing that indicates a maritime situation, the usual route being from two to six and more miles from the shore. There are, however, deviating branches from this road which occasionally present a prospect of the sea; such is that which leads to Seipican, or Rochester harbour, and another in continuation through the second precinct to Fair Haven. These deviating roads are said to be, in some parts of their course, rough. There is a cross post road from New Bedford to Sandwich through the town, in another direction.

The greater and more valuable portion of the remaining woodlands are, it is said, in the western section of the town, though it may be subjoined that pine groves. are yet a feature of its north-east section.

Agriculture was doubtless the principal concern of the first planters of this place, and yet continues to be that of many of their descendants. The best arable lands are said to be a tract in the vicinage of Monchauset, in the central part of the town, contiguous to the meetinghouse.* Rye is cultivated more than any other grain, and with success, the soil being evidently best adapted to it; yet there may be many places in a whole township which are not so. Remarks of this nature should be received in a qualified sense, with reference to what may happen to be the peculiarities of situation and of aspect.

Harbours. Seipican, or Rochester harbour, setting up from the south more than two miles, in the centre of its shore line, is formed by Great Neck on the east, and Charles' Neck on the west, expanding to more than a mile in width. There may be three wharves here, which afford nine feet of water in common tides, but at the extremity of the necks there is sufficient for vessels of burthen.† Those of 200 and more tons are built at

Equally applicable, perhaps, and it may be in a superiour degree, in some respects, to some farms at Mattapoiset.

In June, 1814, the British gun-brig Nimrod came to off one of these points, Charles' Neck, and a number of barges from her, proceeded against Wareham, seated further up the bay. She was of a large class, carrying, we believe, 20 guns. The bay at large affords a depth of water of several fathom.

the ship yards of this harbour. A ship of 230 tons loaded and departed from the lower wharf with timber. This is the ancient suburb, where there is a number of houses, also a meeting house, appendant to the first church. There is also, we are told, a wharf landing at Great Neck. The situation of this harbour is the best in the place as to shelter. The south-east, south, and southwest are the sea winds here. Their force is broken by the chain of the Elizabeth islands, and the projecting points. Wood's hole may be four leagues distant in a south direction. Nashaun island the same.

Mattapoiset-harbour is a more exposed and far less capacious haven on the south west extreme of the shore. Being further down the bay, a greater depth of water is attained. It is at the outlet of a small stream of the same name, which traverses the whole western line of the town, it may be nine miles, in a south direction, to mingle with tide waters at this place; alewives in their season seek it, for the sake of its fountain, Senepetuit pond.

At this harbour there is an increasing village of perhaps forty houses, three or four wharves, a rope walk, and ship yards, where, in 1811, it is said, upwards of 8000 tons of shipping were constructed. Five vessels were ship rigged, and of the burden of 300 and more tons. The same business is now, with the return of the blessings, and arts and employments of peace, revived. Four or five ships are now building here for Nantucket. The proximity of this village to Fair Haven and New Bedford identifies it, as it were, with the maritime enterprizes of those places. There may be perhaps twelve or more feet of water at this harbour. The shores in this vicinity are rocky, and the tides in the bay rise about six feet.

A coasting trade to Nantucket, Newport, New York, and places south of it, exists from this town. It is annexed to New Bedford in the revenue collection district, with Wareham. The whaling business was partially pursued from it before 1775, but not then to distant regions; and it has also, before the late war, had its freighting ships.

Islands. There are two large enough to have names, Bird and Rum Island, both very small, the former alone of size sufficient to admit of cultivation. It is situated at the mouth of Seipican-harbour, and the other within it. Some small islands lie near the Mattapoiset shore and inlet.

Ponds. Senepetuit, on the north west corner of the town, is four miles in circumference. A brook, running from it, N. W. near a mile, connects it with the, east Quittaquas pond; a very large pond, partly in this town, but chiefly in Middleborough. Iron ore, it is said, exists in this vicinity. Here is situated another village and a meeting house, common to a precinct formed from several border towns.

The pond we have just now noticed is reputed to receive alewives from an inlet and outlet respectively from Buzzard's Bay side, and also from the very circuitous tributaries to Taunton river. Let the reader trace this on the map, and be amused by the research.

Merry's Pond,* so called, without any outlet, a round pond, a mile in diameter, of shallow waters, in an open space, near to the main road, has an entire margin of remarkably white sand, which, contrasted with the adjacent verdure, the rural hamlets, and a smooth hill, beyond it in the distance, will detain the traveller a few moments. It is, we think, one of those resting places, which, though it may be often seen, pleases still, and is recollected to the journey's end with the same emotions. Snow's pond and Little Long pond, are in the N. W. section of the town, and all contain fish.

Brooks. Seipican brook, arising from small sources, called there "black water," on the confines of Middleborough, is formed by two or more branches, which, running southerly, seem to unite in the eastern section of the town, when, turning easterly, it meets tide waters in the vicinity of great neck, not far from Wareham west boundary. From this little stream, of few miles length, the plantation, or proprietary in early annals, took

• A Mr. Merry, it is said, formerly lived in the vicinity of this pond.

its name. Mattapoiset brook, perhaps of greater volume of water, meandering along low swampy grounds, parallel to Fair Haven line, has already been noticed. There may

be some other small brooks and ponds, but not of magnitude sufficient to be described.

Hills. Great hill, or Great Neck hill, apparently a smooth pasture hill, is situated not far from the shore, on the great neck. It must, we think, present an unin. terrupted view of the back shore of Sandwich and Falmouth, together with the pleasant bay of Manomet, five or six miles over, formed by the approach of this neck to within three miles of that of Wenaumet neck, in Sandwich. It is a sequestered bay, always near to, yet separate from, that of Massachusetts or Cape Cod bay, by the short distance of nine miles. We have noticed this hill as a conspicuous and distinct object, when at Wood's hole. Quittiquash hills are in the north part of the town, near the pond and brook of the same name.

Mills and Manufactures. Besides a number of grist mills, there are fourteen saw mills in this town, with two forges, one of which has a trip hammer, and one furnace.

It must be understood that many of these mills are intermittent. Several are suspended in the summer to prevent the flowing of meadows, while others may not, at that period of the year, have a supply of water.

The business of making marine salt, as at Cape Cod, is pursued here in more than one place, we believe, with success; to the amount of 20,000 bushels in a year, or

more.

As this township was at first granted to herd cattle, so a compensation for their subsistence, during our long winters and late vernal seasons, is found in the grass of its salt meadows, skirting the shores and inlets in lesser and in greater portions, in all their extent, coming in aid of an occasional failure of upland hay in arid summers. 3,000 or more sheep are subsisted in Rochester. portion of the good soil and farms exists also in the northerly part of the township, near Freetown and Middleborough. There are farms in the place estimated at near $9,000.

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