For our guide to History Lover’s Middleborough, Massachusetts, we will venture back in time to King Philip’s War, check out a former mill site, a historic homestead, and end up at a modern tulip farm.
Old Fort Marker
The area known as Middleborough dates back as early as 1654. By 1661, this region was called Nemasket. Eight years later, it became Middleborough. At the intersection of Barrows Street and North Main Street is a roadside marker commemorating that the old fort, erected in 1670, was located fifty rods east of this sign. During King Philip’s War of 1675-1676, the Wampanoag attacked the town, burning much of it to the ground on July 8th and 9th, 1675, after a settler from inside the fort shot and killed a member of their tribe.
The settlers took shelter inside the fort, near the river, behind the current school. After the attack, the settlers left the village and retreated to Plymouth. Afterward, the Wampanoag burned what remained of the settlement.
Soule Homestead
The next stop on our guide to History Lover’s Middleborough is Soule Homestead. The Soule Homestead is an educational center that leases its land to farmers for space to grow their crops. The parcel of land on which the Homestead sits was deeded to George Soule. Soule was a Pilgrim who arrived on the Mayflower. The home that sits on the property today was built under the ownership of Augustus Soule in the 1800s. Through the years, the farm eventually changed hands, and in the 1980s, it was sold to the town of Middleborough. In 1992, the current education center opened, which hosts programs bringing awareness to farming practices and sustainable living. It’s a popular place for field trips and hosts public events throughout the year.
Oliver Mill Park
Our next locale on our guide to History Lover’s Middleborough takes us to Oliver Mill Park at the corner of Nemasket Street and Route 44. This was a circa 1700s industrial complex. It included a blast furnace, mill buildings, and a forge, and was operated by Peter Oliver. Items manufactured here included cannonballs and shovels. The original mill building dated from 1734, with Oliver’s operation coming a decade later, when he expanded it greatly. This village was one of the biggest in the region. It ceased operations in 1843.
Today’s park includes ruins of the mill village and has green space that houses many town events, including the very popular Herring Run Festival in April. The Nemasket River, which runs alongside the park, is a great spot to view the anadromous herring, returning from the sea to their place of birth each spring, where they will spawn and die.
While You’re There: Riverside Farms
Our last stop is Riverside Farms. As pick-your-own flower farms become more and more popular and touristy, Riverside Farms is a welcome respite. Located in a neighborhood, this relatively small farm is a wonderful hidden gem to pick bunches of tulips in the spring and sunflowers in the summer.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our guide to History Lover’s Middleborough, which features traces of the past, from its role in King Philip’s War and its industrial heritage to a homestead from a bygone era and a beautiful flower farm.
For more History Lover’s Guides, check out Hingham and Plymouth. For the whole book, check out A History Lover’s Guide to the South Shore, also written by me.
