The Chiltonville neighborhood of Plymouth, with its rolling pastures and horse farms, looks more like Kentucky than the South Shore. It’s only a short distance from the beaches of Plymouth but seems half a world away. This rural section of town includes Bramhall’s Country Store and Plimoth Patuxet, but today we’re focusing on the horse farms on Sandwich Road, Old Sandwich Road, and Jordan Road.
The name “Forges” is still in the village today; Forges Field is the town’s large sports complex. Others with the moniker include Forge Drive and Forge Pond. “Forges” refers to the Forges Estate, the estate of Eben Dyer Jordan Jr. Jordan’s name is not only familiar in Plymouth, with a road named for him, as well as the hospital, but also for the Jordan Marsh department store fame, as his father, Eben Dyer Jordan, opened the store along with Benjamin Marsh.
As tourism started attracting out-of-towners to the area, homes in the Chiltonville section of Plymouth hosted vacationers looking for the sporting life. During the early years of the 1890s, both Jordans were lovers of the outdoors, and after spending time in this region for many years, his son wanted to call it home. After his father died, his son bought the Forges.
Jordan and His Estate
Jordan created a game preserve at his estate and had the Eel River stocked with trout. He built a hunting lodge in view of Forges Pond. His stables were teeming with the finest animals. The farm, called Forges Farm, raised Guernsey cows and featured a riding ring for its 121 horses. As Bumps Road and Mast Road bisected his estate, he petitioned for a new road to be built. With town approval, Jordan created the road that bears his name, Jordan Road, connecting Sandwich Road to Long Pond Road. He steadily expanded his estate and property with new roads, a casino, barns, and bridges.
Not only improving his own acreage, Jordan generously donated money to build Plymouth’s hospital, named after him, Jordan Hospital (now known as Beth Israel Deaconess Plymouth). His grand mansion constructed in the Elizabethan style was known as Chilton Hall. Pictures exist of this stately home. With 23 rooms, 13 baths, and a turreted tower, it was a sight to see. At its height, the Forges property was a massive 2300 acres.
The Forges was put up for sale by Jordan in 1907 and sold three years later. Eventually, Sherman Leland Whipple of Brookline purchased it. The Forges thrived once again under Whipple. Under Whipple’s ownership, livestock still played an important role. Whipple died in 1930. The mansion’s fate lay with the wrecking ball. It was said that Charles Lindbergh was even interested in purchasing the Forges.
Farms
Although the massive acreage that once comprised the Forges is reduced to a slice of what it once was and Chilton Hall is no more, tangible pieces of its past still exist. Even though the land has been divided and the buildings are mostly gone, the animals remain, especially horses. Whip’s Farm and Little Forge Farm are located on Old Sandwich Road and owned by Whipple’s descendants. Serendipity Stables is nearby on Jordan Road. Another member of the family owns it. The “Whip” in Whip’s Farm is for Sherman Whipple Withington, the older brother of Nathan Whipple Withington who owns it today.
Parcels of the former Forges are now part of Route 3. Crosswinds Golf Club sits on the land that was once part of the estate, as does the town municipal sports complex, the aptly named Forges Field. It doesn’t take long to see more tangible history though, as family-owned Forges Cranberry Bogs are located off of Old Sandwich Road. The Withingtons also endowed a parcel of public land to remain forever wild, managed by the Wildlands Trust and maintained by Whip’s Farm.
A Chiltonville Detour
The next time you’re driving through Plymouth between downtown and the Pinehills and notice a slice of country life, you’ve come to the Forges.
