Town Brook is a stream in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known ...

that provided drinking water to the Pilgrims who made their homes adjacent to the brook on

Leyden Street Leyden Street (Originally named First Street, afterward in the Records called Great and Broad Street; named Leyden Street in 1823, also known as Leiden Street or The Street), is a street in Plymouth, Massachusetts that was created in 1620 by the P ...

in Plymouth. Town Brook's headwaters are the

Billington Sea Billington Sea (also Billington's Sea) is a warm water pond located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Morton Park lies on the pond's northern shore. The pond is fed by groundwater and cranberry bog outlets. The average depth is seven feet and the maxim ...

, a 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 Brewster Gardens (or the Elder Brewster Gardens) is a park located in the center of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The park runs along both sides of Town Brook (Massachusetts), Town Brook from the nature trail at the headwaters of the brook, past Jenney ...

before emptying into

Plymouth Harbor Plymouth Harbor is a harbor located in Plymouth, a town in the South Shore region of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is part of the larger Plymouth Bay. Historically, Plymouth Harbor was the site of anchorage of the ''Mayflower'' where the ...

. 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.” Tucker, Abigail. "The Waterway That Brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth", ''Smithsonian Magazine'', November 22, 2010
/ref> 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 Tisquantum (; 1585 (±10 years?) – late November 1622 O.S.), more commonly known as Squanto Sam (), was a member of the Patuxet tribe best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and ...

, an Indian interpreter, taught the colonists to use the fish to fertilize their corn crop. The first corn mill was built along the brook. John Jenney arrived in the Plymouth Colony from Leyden in 1623, and built a grist mill on Town Brook in 1636. 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

alewives The alewife (''Alosa pseudoharengus'') is an anadromous species of herring found in North America. It is one of the "typical" North American shads, attributed to the subgenus ''Pomolobus'' of the genus ''Alosa''. As an adult it is a marine spe ...

, an

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

type of

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean ...

, swimming up its path to eventually

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: A ...

in the Billington Sea. Historically, the number of alewives spotted were reportedly enough so that one could "walk across their backs" to the other side of the water. In the time since the Pilgrims' arrival, the number of alewives have dwindled drastically due to the increasing human population and industrialization of the area (including numerous

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

). The first regulation, enacted October 28, 1623, observed the environmental impact, and regulated the taking of the fish therein. In recent times, significant efforts have been pursued in the hopes of increasing those numbers for ecological improvement of the brook. Although an estimate of 7,000 herring were counted in 2003, counts before and after that time until 2008 remain relatively sketchy at best. Starting in 2008, counts began receiving considerable recognition and recording by Plymouth's Department of Marine and Environmental Affairs and the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...

. In 2016, the count was 199,368 alewives. Additionally, projects around the region to remove old dams have helped the alewife numbers increase, and have received support from the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale ...

, the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, the U.S. Army Reserves, and more. 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.

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 The Plimoth Grist Mill (formerly the Jenney Grist Mill) is a working grist mill located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is a reconstruction of the original Jenney Grist Mill, and it stands on the site of the original mill. History John Jenney, ...

Plymouth Rock Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620. The Pilgrims did not refer to Plymouth Rock in any of their writings; the first known writt ...

Massasoit Massasoit Sachem () or Ousamequin (c. 15811661)"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),''MayflowerFamilies.com'', web pag was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. ''Massasoit'' means ''Great Sachem''. Mas ...

Statue *State Pier (''

Mayflower II ''Mayflower II'' is a reproduction of the 17th-century ship '' Mayflower'', celebrated for transporting the Pilgrims to the New World in 1620. "Press Kit - Mayflower X" (with history of the ''Mayflower''), Plimoth Plantation Museum, ...

'') *Plymouth Yacht Club *Burton Park

References

External links

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
{{authority control Plymouth, Massachusetts Rivers of Plymouth County, Massachusetts Rivers of Massachusetts