Corduroy Road on North River

Owned By: Town of Norwell

• Directions

At a very specific spot on the North River in Norwell, at low tide, a series of cedar logs protrude from the salt marsh. We think that this is the remains of a late 17th- to early or mid 18th-century corduroy road! This is a historical and archaeological artifact. Please do not disturb it in any way!

Features

Corduroy roads are known to have existed as far back as the Roman occupation of England (AD 43 – AD 410), and probably originated in ancient Egypt. The European colonists who settled Norwell in the mid-to-late 1600s would have been familiar with them. Similar structures have been unearthed in Fairfield, Connecticut, and in parts of the Chesapeake watershed.

Local historian Paul F. McCarthy has been researching this intriguing artifact. He describes a corduroy road as being distinctly different from a landing or a wharf, and adds that it likely was used in the salt haying industry, as a staging area for the transfer of newly mown salt marsh hay. Using two-man hay poles, workers would transfer large stacks of hay onto boats called gundalows, and transport them downstream to landings from which they could be carted away. Salt marsh hay was used widely for animal feed, roof thatch and insulation in both homes and gardens.

When built, this structure would have stood above the high tide line. Note how it is now only visible at low tide. The river environment has changed significantly over the past few centuries! Very likely, more remnants exist, buried under the topmost layer of the salt marsh.

A note on the gundalow. According to McCarthy, this was a blunt-ended scow, approx. 30 feet in length and 15 feet wide, powered by two crewmen at the bow with long sweep oars, one person with a long pole to help in the shallows and to fender off the marsh bank, and one person in the stern using a long oar as a sweep and tiller.

This land is within the region of the Massachusett (or Massachuseuk) Native American tribe. For thousands of years, the land that today is known as Norwell was inhabited by indigenous people who grew crops, foraged, hunted, and fished in the Assinippi and North River areas. Circa 1617, a major outbreak of disease decimated an estimated 90% of the native population in New England, including the Massachusett and Wampanoag tribes that inhabited the South Shore. There are still descendants of these original inhabitants living here today. They are known as the Mattakeesett Tribe of the Massachusett Indian Nation , the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag, and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

Trail Description

No trails or land access. Accessible only on the North River.

These structures are best viewed on the western bank of the river (Norwell). If you are headed upstream, they are located from approximately 0.7 miles beyond the Wanton Shipyard site to just beyond the mouth of Dwelley’s Creek. Paul McCarthy adds, “You’ll require at least a minus 1.4′ tide or better at Damon’s Point, and need to be up at the above stated coordinates within an hour of that low tide. Heading up river between those two points will reveal the corduroy structures topped with dirt and gravel and crowned with 2+’ of marshy sod on your right.”

Habitats and Wildlife

The corduroy road is located directly in the salt marsh, a short distance downstream of Couch Beach, on the North River.

The North River rises from marshes and springs in Weymouth, Rockland and Hanson. It is approximately 10 miles in length, with its source at the confluence of the Indian Head River (Hanover) and Herring Brook (Pembroke). From there it flows through the towns of Hanover, Pembroke, Marshfield, Norwell, and Scituate to the Atlantic Ocean between Third and Fourth Cliffs, draining approximately 59,000 acres along the way.