The Hockomock Swamp is a vast wetland encompassing much of the northern part of southeastern
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. This land is considered the largest freshwater swamp in the state. It acts as a natural
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
mechanism for the region.
History
During the seventeenth century, the Hockomock Swamp was used as a fortress by the
Wampanoag
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
, the predominating tribe of natives in the area, against invasion by early English settlers. It played a role in
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
as a strategic base of operations for
Metacomet
Metacomet (1638 – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Euro-American settlers deemed the swamp to be worthless, barren land, and attempted to drain it and convert it into profitable farmland. Reverend and historian William L. Chaffin of Easton was an early advocate of drainage schemes.
However, the natives of the region placed a higher value on the swamp. For centuries, natives had relied on hunting game there, and the swamp had gained a revered status among them. They named it Hockomock, the
Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
term meaning "place where spirits dwell." In addition to life-sustaining activities, much of the swamp served a dual purpose as a sacred burial ground. The Hockomock is occasionally referred to as the Hobomock. The Wampanoag worshiped and feared Hobomock (aka Hobbamock), the chief deity of death and disease. Hobomock, composed of human souls of the dead, was known to congregate in areas like the Hockomock. Thus, the terms Hockomock and Hobomock became interchangeable among non-natives when referring to the swamp or the spirit.
There are many stories and legends that have become associated with the swamp. Even in modern times, it has, for some, remained a place of mystery and fear. The paranormal enthusiast community considers the Hockomock Swamp part of the "
Bridgewater Triangle
The Bridgewater Triangle is an area of about within southeastern Massachusetts in the United States, claimed to be a site of alleged paranormal phenomena, ranging from UFOs to poltergeists, orbs, balls of fire and other spectral phenomena, vari ...
."
Archaeology
Excavation of the Hockomock and its immediate surrounding areas on the
Taunton River
The Taunton River (historically also called the "Taunton Great River"), is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater. From the ...
have produced very important archaeological findings dating back to the Early Archaic Period of North America. The Early Archaic was approximately 9,000 to 8,000 B.P. (
Before Present
Before Present (BP) years, or "years before present", is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Becaus ...
).
From 1946 to 1951 the
Warren K. Moorehead
Warren King Moorehead was known in his time as the 'Dean of American archaeology'; born in Siena, Italy to missionary parents on March 10, 1866, he died on January 5, 1939 at the age of 72, and is buried in his hometown of Xenia, Ohio.
Moorehead ...
Chapter of the
Massachusetts Archaeological Society worked under Director Dr. Maurice Robbins to unearth the Titicut site. The Titicut Site, located along the Taunton River in Bridgewater produced thousands of artifacts dating from the Early Archaic to the Contact Period (8600 to 400 B.P.) including hearths and pits, post molds, red paint ceremonial deposits and a rectangular lodge floor. In addition to these examples of life at that time was the discovery of the Taunton River Bifurcate (
Arrowhead
An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...
). Thirteen of these points, used in hunting large game animals, were discovered. The Nunkatusset River Site, which runs from
Lake Nippenicket
Lake Nippenicket, known locally as The Nip, is a freshwater pond in the town of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and immediately adjacent to Raynham, Massachusetts. The lake borders a tiny portion of Route 104, and is near the junction of I-495 and ...
through the Hockomock Swamp, also produced Bifurcated points.
Environment
The swamp's environment is part of the
Northeastern coastal forests
The Northeastern coastal forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the northeast and middle Atlantic region of the United States. The ecoregion covers an area of 34,630 sq miles (89,691 km2) encompassing the Piedmont a ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
. It spans six municipalities in Massachusetts: Bridgewater, Easton, Norton, Raynham, Taunton, and West Bridgewater. At least 13 rare and endangered species of plant and animal reside in the Hockomock, including the Long's bulrush, ringed boghaunter dragonfly, gypsywort,
Blanding's turtle
Blanding's turtle (''Emydoidea blandingii'') is a semi-aquatic turtle of the family Emydidae. This species is native to central and eastern parts of Canada and the United States. It is considered to be an endangered species throughout much of i ...
, round-fruited false-loosestrife, two-flowered
bladderwort
''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, Br ...
,
blue-spotted salamander
The blue-spotted salamander (''Ambystoma laterale'') is a mole salamander native to the Great Lakes states and northeastern United States, and parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Their range is known to extend to James Bay to the north, an ...
,
spotted turtle
The spotted turtle (''Clemmys guttata''), the only species of the genus ''Clemmys'', is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its ...
, Mystic Valley
amphipod
Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...
eastern box turtle
The eastern box turtle (''Terrapene carolina carolina'') is a subspecies within a group of hinge-shelled turtles normally called box turtles. ''T. c. carolina'' is native to the eastern part of the United States.
The eastern box turtle ...
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Massachusetts)
The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, sometimes referred to as MassWildlife, is an agency of the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, within the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The Massachusetts Division ...
owns approximately 5,000 acres within all six communities and the Hockomock Swamp Wildlife Management Area provides access to the public via recreational areas. Activities such as hunting, fishing, boating, canoeing, swimming and observation of and study of flora and fauna are allowed and encouraged. Major habitats include oak-conifer forest, cultivated grassland, cultivated field, emergent freshwater wetland, palustrine woodland swamp, shrub-scrub wetland, lake/pond, river/stream, and stopover areas for migratory birds.
Most of the swamp remains untouched by development, in large part due to many years of pushing for environmental protection legislation. In 1971, approximately one year after the
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
was established,
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
member John Ames presented findings from several intellectual leaders in the field. A modern-day proponent of conservation, Mr. Ames ensured that the Hockomock was protected by law. "Hockomock: Wonder Wetland" was the pamphlet received by each and every legislator at the time. Included were works by Kathleen Anderson, then Director of the Manomet Bird Observatory and Ted Williams, then Managing Editor of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Game's "Massachusetts Wildlife" magazine. The Hockomock Swamp system was designated an
Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) is a conservation ecology program in the Western United States, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The ACEC program was conceived in the 1976 Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (F ...
in 1990.
See also
*
Taunton River Watershed
An USGS map of the Taunton River Watershed
The Taunton River watershed or ''Taunton River basin'' is made up of of rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands in southeastern Massachusetts, US. It is the second largest watershed in the state. A ...
*
Dighton Rock
The Dighton Rock is a 40-ton boulder, originally located in the riverbed of the Taunton River at Berkley, Massachusetts (formerly part of the town of Dighton). The rock is noted for its petroglyphs ("primarily lines, geometric shapes, and schema ...