Established in 1643, as a part of the Plymouth Colony,
Rehoboth is one of Massachusetts oldest and most historic towns.
Here is a compilation of some of the town's most recognized historical sites.

Select a Historical Site from the list.

Choose a site... Leonard Iron Mine Perry Turning Mill Indian Oven Perryville Dam Bliss-Carpenter Saw-Shingle Mill 1720-1870 Anawan Rock Bad Luck Pond Hornbine School Bullock Baker Sawmill Baker Gristmill Original Oak Swamp Meeting House Horton Signal Liberty Tree Rehoboth Town Pound Orleans Manufacturing Company The Palmer's River Meeting House Sabin's Mill Redway Plain Old Yellow Meeting House Rehoboth Village and Dam New Palmer River Iron Works Birthplace of Public Education Anawan House

Leonard Iron Mine   

Location: Where Mine Brook crosses Tremont Street

History: The Leonard Iron Mine property was purchased in 1696 by the Leonard Family of Norton, famous colonial iron refiners. Bog iron was dug from the swamp in the form of iron-rich peat. It was transported to the Leonard iron works in Chartley Village (west Norton) for processing into raw iron.

When the town rebuilt Tremont Street with a bridge across Mine Brook in 1720, the Leonards received extra land and the right to mine ore under the new road before its construction, as long as their operation did not damage the road or bridge.

Perry Turning Mill    

Location: On Ash Street about one hundred yards west of Fairfield Street, at Bliss Brook.

History: In the 1700's, Ezra Perry settled in the Ash Street neighborhood and along with Aaron Cole, who lived at the corner of Homestead Avenue and Fairview Avenue, built a sawmill on the brook at Ash Street.

In the early 1800's, Ezra bought out his partner, Aaron Cole. At this time, the mill produced wood bobbins for the cotton factories at Slater Mill in Pawtucket.

In 1820, a spring flood backed up water at the dam, damaging a neighbor's property upstream on Fairfield Street. Litigation resulted. Shortly afterwards, the Perry family abandoned this site, and Ezra's descendants moved to the Perryville Dam to continue operations.

Indian Oven    

Location: A couple of hundred feet in from the south side of Homestead Avenue about ¼ mile west of Perryville Road. The oven is on private property.

History: The oven is a natural cylindrical hole in the southern face of a large rock out-cropping. The Jerimiah Pearce family, who once owned a farm bordering this site, passed on the tradition that Indians used this natural oven to parch their corn.

Perryville Dam   

Location: At the intersection of Danforth Street and Perryville Road.

History: This site was originally known as Butterworth Falls when the area was settled in the late 1600's. John Butterworth constructed a sawmill at the north side of Danforth Street prior to 1690. Butterworth owned a large farm that included what is now the nearby Rehoboth Country Club. The Carpenter family owned and operated this mill through the Revolution and up to the 1850's, when it was purchased by the Perry family. That family operated a large turning mill on the south side of Danforth Street that produced tool handles as well as bobbins for the cotton manufacturing industry in the Blackstone Valley. This business lasted until the 1890's. A sawmill and gristmill operated on the site until the mid-1930's

Bliss-Carpenter Saw-Shingle Mill 1720-1870    

Location: Williams Street at East Branch of Palmer River

History: In 1720, Jonathan Bliss moved here from South Rehoboth and established a sawmill on the East Branch of the Palmer River with a homestead nearby. The homestead was one of the first in the area, and Bliss called it "my farm in the woods". The mill ruins can still be seen a short distance north of here, and his house stood where the Latham house is presently situated. In the 19th century, Francis H. Carpenter converted the mill into a shingle mill, which he operated until after the Civil War. Williams Street was originally a private lane to the mill.

Anawan Rock    

Location: Winthrop Street (Route 44) about 1 1/2 miles east of Anawan Street (Route 118).

History: Captain Benjamin Church captured Chief Anawan, a Wampanoag sachem and advisor to King Philip, at Anawan Rock in August 1676. This action ended the King Philip's War in southeastern Massachusetts. Anawan, along with his remaining warriors, fled to this location at the edge of Squanakonk Swamp to hide from the English troops that were searching the woods of southeastern Massachusetts for any remaining Indian resistance.

Church, a famous Indian fighter, received word from an Indian informant that Anawan was hiding in the north end of Squanakonk Swamp. After a difficult march to the site (Route 44 did not exist at the time), Church and his company surprised Anawan, who surrendered without a fight.

Anawan was taken to Plymouth. Despite the protest of Captain Church, who had given Anawan a promise of safe conduct at his surrender, the authorities there beheaded him.

Bad Luck Pond    

Location: Reservoir Avenue near Gorham Street

History: Bad Luck Brook was first dammed about 1730 by George Beverly, who established a sawmill just north of the present dam site.

In 1837-38 a larger dam was built at the present site by the owners of two cotton mills - the Village Mill and the Orleans Mill - located further down the Palmer River. Its purpose was to create a storage reservoir from which water could be let out as needed to power the mills. By 1859, maintenance had been neglected, and in June, after a prolonged rainfall, the dam gave way. Bad Luck Pond lived up to its name as the flood carried away 11 bridges, a smaller dam, and a portion of the Village Mill. Repairs to the bridges cost the town $424.36, but no lives were lost.

The present dam was built in the early 20th century by the Bristol County (RI) Water Authority to supply drinking water to portions of Rhode Island.

Hornbine School    

Location: On Hornbine Road at intersection with Baker Street.

History: The Hornbine School was built in 1845-46 as one of Rehoboth's 15 one room schools. It offered an education through grade 9. It was enlarged in the 1920's but ceased to be used in 1937 when the number of school districts in town was reduced to three. The building and land were auctioned off and, after serving a variety of uses, finally fell vacant. The Hornbine School Association bought and restored the school as part of Rehoboth's 325th Anniversary celebration in 1968. Because the original desks had been broken up for their metal during World War II, replacements were gathered from a variety locales. The teacher's desk, however, is from a Rehoboth school. The Hornbine School is visited by Rehoboth's third graders and by students from nearby towns as part of their local history education. It is also open to the public at scheduled times.

The following information was submitted by Mr. David Downs

Evelyn (Rose) Bois
Student at Hornbine School 1926 - 1934

Three generations of the Rose family attended The Hornbine School. My Grandfather, Anthony Rose, attended The Hornbine School in the 1870’s. His wife, Florinda, and he had eight children who attended Hornbine School around the turn of the century. One of their children, Manuel, married Martha Daily, who had attended The Long Hill School. They had seven children who attended Hornbine School between 1926 and 1937 before the school was closed.

Three generations of Roses, including me - Evelyn Rose Bois, walked to school from Purchase Street. My father and his father before him, walked two miles each way. We did not have a school bus in the Hornbine area of town during the twenties and thirties so my siblings and I walked one mile to school.

We were expected to attend school no matter what! We never had what is now called “snow days”. Our teacher, Mrs. Hopkins, drove 10 miles and was always there to teach when we arrived. We walked to school in the snow or rain and dried our shoes or boots (and often socks) near the wood burning stove if it was necessary.

If we came to school late, particularly in good weather, we had to stay after 3:30 PM to make up for the lost time. Then, our folks would punish us when we arrived home. We were needed at home to perform many chores like picking strawberries.

We were expected to go to school dressed as best we could every day. The boys always had to wear a shirt and bow tie. They dressed in knickers and eventually they wore long pants. The girls always wore a dress or skirt and blouse.

Mrs. Mary Magan was our school janitor. She would start the wood burning stove every morning about 6 AM to have the school warm when we arrived.

She also brought one pail of drinking water for the day. We had the water in a stone crock. (In my father’s day it was a pail.) We had a dipper for all of us to drink from. We didn’t have paper cups for each individual.

We arrived at 8:30 AM to get things ready for 9:00 O'clock. The boys had to bring in the wood and be sure to keep the stove going for the day. Often, in cold weather, the girls would start to prepare vegetables for the school hot lunch.

At 9:00 AM, Mrs. Hopkins, who taught all seven grades, would ring the school bell which she kept on her desk. We would line up out side with the first graders in front, followed by the second graders etc. with the eighth grade students in back. We would then march in and go to our seats.

Next, we would salute the flag. Then, we’d say a prayer and sing a patriotic song like God Bless America. After that, it was off to work.

Class size varied. We had eight grades in the one room with anywhere between 0 to 5 students in each grade. Our school was filled with Perrys, Almeidas, Bettencourts and Roses along with a few additional families.

We studied all the school subjects with Mrs. Hopkins. We didn’t switch classes like the children do today.

The teacher would prepare and begin the lessons for the younger students. The older children helped the teacher with the younger students. Students who were fast learners could pick up the next class work much faster.

We learned Arithmetic, History, Geography Reading and Spelling among other subjects.

We had a spelling bee once a week. We would have two teams, one on each side of the room. We would see who could stay up the longest without misspelling a word. For a prize, we would get a small book. I received a book that I still have after all these years.

We even had cooking. The families would bring in farm vegetables and Mrs. Hopkins would show the girls how to cook them. We made cream carrot soup or potato or vegetable soups for a hot lunch in the winter. We all had our own dishes but drank from the same container.

During warmer weather, we would have bread and jelly sandwiches our mothers made. We brought our lunches to school in a paper bag or lunch pail.

We had to go out side to the bathroom. We were expected to use the privy before school or during our lunch hour. We were not allowed to go any time we wanted to during the school day.

We had no electric lights. We only had the window light to use during the school day. Our only heat was the wood burning stove.

We didn’t have a lot of books in those days so we had to share them. There were only 3 or 4 books for each grade. Mrs. Hopkins would give each of us a chance to take books home to study.

During recess, the boys might play ball, tag or marbles on one side of the school yard. The girls might play Ring around the rosie, hide and go seek, roll the hoop, jump the rock, jump rope or hopscotch on the other side. If it rained, we played bean bag in school.

If we did not behave, we were punished. Mrs. Hopkins made students sit under the teacher’s desk. Other times, students were made to sit in the waste basket. A ruler was also used as a quick way to punish an offender.

We used pens with ink wells. The boys, at times, put the girls’ hair in the ink wells. When this happened, the offender had to sit on the wood pile in the back of the room for a half hour.

Mr. Whitman, the superintendent, came to the school once a month. He would be the one to punish us if the teacher thought that was what we needed. He would speak to the student who misbehaved and then he would speak to the parents.

Mrs. Cole, the school nurse, came by to check the student’s health once a month. She and Dr. Swift, who also visited once a month, gave us all of our shots. They checked our eyes, throats, teeth and gave us the T. B. test once a year. If things weren’t right, Mrs. Cole would go to see our parents or take us home if it was necessary.

We didn’t have vacations every eight weeks as the children do today. We only had a few holidays off from school.

Each year, our parents would come to school and watch us put on a Christmas play. We would dress up in our “Sunday Best” for the day. We all had to remember a poem and our part in a play.

I remember that we all got a candy cane. We might receive a pencil with our name on it from the teacher. This would help us have a pencil at all times.

Many children, like my father, left school when they were fourteen. We were farmers and the family needed the children to work. Some students in our area continued on to local high schools.

My father and grandfather attended the Hornbine School when it was a smaller building. The desks were arranged facing the front as they are today. My siblings and I attended The Hornbine School after it was expanded. At that time, the desks had been reversed, facing the back of the building, so we wouldn’t be easily distracted by traffic passing by the front door!

I ‘ve always enjoyed visiting The Hornbine School. My husband, Joe, and I attend the open house, each second and fourth Sunday between June and September, as often as we can. We enjoy meeting friends, old classmates and relatives of people I know.

Evelyn on the far left with her siblings	Evelyn’s sister, Dot, with her mother after picking many baskets of strawberries.	Mrs. Cole, the nurse, (left) and Mrs. Hopkins, teacher, (right) outside the Hornbine School during one of Mrs. Cole’s monthly visits.
Evelyn, in her, “homemade”, eighth grade graduation dress. Eighth grade students from Hornbine attended the Bark Street School in Swansea at that time.	Joe and Evelyn Bois standing by Evelyn’s display at The Hornbine School this past summer.	Evelyn Rose Boise pointing to her aunt who attended Hornbine School in 1896.

HORNBINE SCHOOL ASSOCIATION The Hornbine School Association would like to thank Evelyn and Joe Boise for attending the Hornbine School each summer open house Sunday. We thank Evelyn for her interest, support and for sharing her experiences as a student at The Hornbine School.

Did you attend a Rehoboth school? We would like to have you share your experiences with The Hornbine School Association.

Call Beverly Pettine, The Hornbine School Association President, at 401-431-1770.

Bullock Baker Sawmill    

Location: Plain Street where the Rocky Run crosses Plain Street a little south of Brook Street. To reach the old mill site, walk about 400 feet down the lane in front of the Greenwood Cemetery. The old mill dam can be seen on the left.

History: This mill site was closely connected with the Baker Mill on Brook Street and with the original Oak Swamp Meeting House at Pleasant and Chestnut Streets. The early owners had an interest in all three sites.

A sawmill was erected here about 1767 by Joseph Bullock, who lived across the street. During the latter part of the 18th century, the mill was known as the "Daniel Bullock Sawmill".

Samuel Baker, Jr. (1787-1872), a successful farmer who also had a genius for mechanics, later operated this mill, a second sawmill, and a gristmill. The other two mills were further down on this same stream. The Baker house still stands at 63 Brook Street.

During the early decades of the 19th century, frequent religious revivals took place at the nearby Oak Swamp Church. During one such revival on January 1, 1830, a hole was cut through 14" of ice in the mill pond, and 16 people were baptized by total immersion. Amongst them was Ira S. Baker, son of Samuel. Ira said he made the decision on impulse, threw off his coat, and went into the freezing water. Plain Street originally ran down the lane by the Cemetery and crossed the Rocky Run on the dam. Present Plain Street now crosses a portion of the filled-in mill pond.

This mill was operating at least until 1850, along with a turning mill. Sometime shortly after the Civil War, the mill was abandoned by the Bakersand fell into ruins.

Baker Gristmill    

Location: Near 67 Brook Street, one half mile west of Moulton Street (Route 118). The site is on private property, but a glimpse of the mill site on the east side of the driveway may be had from the road.

History: This site along with the Bullock Baker Sawmill on Plain Street, was for many years associated with the Baker family. Samuel Baker, Jr. (1787-1872), after moving to this neighborhood, purchased the gristmill from the Hix (Hicks) family in 1822. The Hixes had purchased the mill in the 1740's from its original owner, Joseph Millerd (Miller).

During the 18th century Elder John Hix, pastor of the Oak Swamp Church, owned this mill while living nearby at the gambrel house still standing at 63 Brook Street. Elder Hix passed the mill on to his son Jacob in 1768, and Samuel Baker, Jr., eventually purchased it from Jacob's son Daniel in 1822.

Samuel was considered to be a skillful farmer and a mechanical genius. He successfully operated this gristmill, a sawmill a little further downstream (site obliterated in the 1960's), and the Bullock Baker sawmill on Plain Street.

It was said that when the gristmill was in operation the mill pond had a "1 bushel rock" and a "9 bushel rock". When the "9 bushel rock" was covered with water, there was enough water in the pond to grind nine bushels of corn; likewise for the "1 bushel rock".

The gristmill operated as late as 1870, a couple of years before Samuel's death. The dam and millpond were restored about 25 years ago.

Original Oak Swamp Meeting House    

Location: At the corner of Pleasant and Chestnut Street.

History: The church was founded by the Rev. John Corner in 1732. After 1773, the church was associated with Elder John Hix and his son Elder Jacob Hix (Hicks). Both Hixes lived in the little gambrel house that still stands a short distance west at 63 Brook Street. Both Hixes, besides being Baptist preachers, were successful farmers and gristmill operators.

Tradition has it that while the original Oak Swamp Church was being constructed at Burial Place Hill on Providence and Peckham streets, the "Oak Swamp People" came in the night, moved the timbers away, and raised them on this spot. In 1834 the congregation moved to a new building at the corner of the nearby Greenwood Cemetery. The old church was torn down and its timbers made into a barn.

Dr. William Blanding (1773-1857) recalled that as a youth he occasionally attended this church. Writing many years later, he described the parson, John Hix, as a "pious old man...he was unlearned and so were his flock----."

Horton Signal    

Location: Intersection of Brook and Chestnut Streets.

History: This high hilltop was the site of a lookout and a signal beacon during the Revolutionary War. Today, the town is heavily wooded so it is difficult to imagine the view as seen in Colonial times. During the Revolution, most of the town was cleared into farm land. This allowed a sentinel to see Bristol, RI., and Narragansett Bay, where the British were threatening to attack the American rebels. The next beacon site that could be seen was Great Meadow Hill in North Rehoboth.

Most likely, wood fires were set at each site as a signal system that reached from Rhode Island northwards. The signals alerted local Militia men, known as Minutemen, to British attacks. At the foot of Horton signal on Brook Street stood a "Liberty Tree," a great pal tree where the Militia gathered in times of emergency before marching to the battle.

Liberty Tree    

Location: On Brook Street, about halfway between Wood and Chestnut Streets.

History: See "Horton Signal" description. During the American Revolution, local Militia men known as Minutemen gathered here before marching to battle. This site was unknown until the mid-1970’s, when a reference to 'twas discovered in a deed to the adjacent property. The original Liberty Tree is long gone. A stone monument marks the location at the south edge Brook Street

Rehoboth Town Pound    

Location: Brook Street between School and Wood Streets.

History: Circa 1750. Stray livestock were kept here until retrieved by their owners. This pound was maintained by Frederick Drown for many years. The Wheeler family ran a pot ash business nearby, and the neighborhood was known as "Old Pot Ash".

Orleans Manufacturing Company    

Location: Reed Street

History: In 1810, a group of Rehoboth citizens established the Palmer River Manufacturing Co. on the site of the old Joshua Smith grist and sawmill. This mill, which made cotton yarn to be hand-woven by nearby families ; was one of the earliest favorites in this area, predating the great Fall River mills.

Business was not very successful until, in 1826, the mill was enlarged and began manufacturing fine cotton cloth. It was renamed the Orleans Manufacturing Co. because New Orleans was the source for the cotton cloth. The mill burned in 1831 but was rebuilt the next year and produced cloth until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 cut off the supply of cotton. After the War, cotton thread and yarn were manufactured until the mill burned for the last time in 1884.

The dam was rebuilt in 1911 to supply water to Bristol County, R.I.

The Palmer's River Meeting House    

Location: On Lake Street, just south of Winter Street

History: Early in the eighteenth century, descendants of the first settlers of Rehoboth had spread out from the center of the town, now Rumford, Rhode Island, as far east as the Palmer River.

In 1711, finding it difficult to attend worship at the Newman Church so far away, these Palmer River people; petitioned the General Court in Boston to have the town divided into two separate precincts. In 1717, by the consent of the Court, they began to build a meeting house in their part of the town. The parent church (Newman) donated fifty pounds toward its construction.

The church was organized in 1721 and consisted of ten families with the Reverend David Turner as the pastor.

On March 8 1773, church members voted that the meeting house should be torn down and a new one built near Redway Plain, at the present site of the village cemetery.

Sabin's Mill    

Location: Pond Street.

History: The Sabin family purchased this property and built an earth damned mill here in the 1690's. The Sabins were well-established mill owners in early Rehoboth. The were among the earliest settlers in this area. Nearby Sabins Pond, also known as Devil's Pond, was named for this family.

This mill did not operate for very long, probably owing to a lack of water in the brook, which is known in early deeds as Rico's Run.

Redway Plain    

Location: Corner of Winthrop Street (Route 44) and Bay State Road.

History: This field was part of the Redway Farm in Colonial times. The Homestead of Captain James Redway is located across Route 44 on Danforth Street. The Captain was Commander of the Rehoboth Militia in the mid-1700's. He permitted the Town Militia the use of Redway Plain as a training ground. The Town's Powder House was located on or across the present Pond Street at the northwest corner of the Village Cemetery. Pond Street at the cemetery did not exist in Colonial times.

Old Yellow Meeting House    

Location: In the middle of the Village Cemetery on Bay State Road.

History: In March 1773, the town voted to pull down the old meeting house; on Lake Street. The new meeting house was built on a site that is presently in Rehoboth Village Cemetery, with an adjoining area set off as a burial ground.

The building had no bell or steeple and served as both church and meeting house. The right to occupy certain pews was sold at public auction. A gallery extended across the front, or south end, and along the two sides. The singers sat in front, and behind them, high up in either corner, were seats for the Negroes, men in one corner and women in the other.

This meeting house was pulled down in 1840, after the present Congregational Church was built in the village.