Oliver Mill Park is a municipal park on Nemasket Street in Middleborough, Massachusetts. It contains the remains of a major 18th century industrial complex developed by Peter Oliver, which included several mills, a blast furnace, and forge. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2000 as the Muttock Historic and Archeological District. Located along the banks of the

Nemasket River The Nemasket or Namasket River is a small river in southeastern Massachusetts. It flows north U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 from Assawompset Pond in Lake ...

, the area was originally used by Native Americans, who had established fishing

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s at the site to harvest the high quantities of alewife and blueback herring that migrate up the river every spring. In 1734, the first mill was built at the site, and in 1744 it was purchased and its enlargement begun by Peter Oliver. At its height, the complex Oliver built was one of the largest villages in the area, manufacturing cannonballs and cannons of various sizes, as well as more prosaic household goods. In the 19th century it was used in the manufacture of shovels, but it closed in 1843 and was abandoned. A fish ladder was installed at the park in 1982, aiding in the migration of

river herring ''Alosa'' is a genus of fish, the river herrings, in the family Clupeidae. Along with other genera in the subfamily Alosinae, they are generally known as shads. tp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/ac482e/ac482e27.pdf Subfamily AlosinaeFAO Fisherie ...

up the Nemasket.Herring in the River
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References

Historic districts in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Middleborough, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Parks in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts {{PlymouthCountyMA-NRHP-stub

See also

References