Russell Mill Pond Conservation Area

This property, as well as the Eel River Preserve, across the street, was initially preserved in 2003, when it was acquired by the Town of Plymouth with the help of Community Preservation funds. Massachusetts’ first bog restoration project was undertaken at Eel River Preserve, with the goal of re-establishing an Atlantic white cedar swamp. The cranberry bog’s ditches, dams and culverts were removed in 2010, allowing the Eel River to flow freely.

Meanwhile here at the Russell Mill Conservation Area, major progress toward river restoration was achieved when a dam on the Eel River was removed in 2010 and replaced with a pedestrian footbridge. There are still some remains of the 19th- and early-20th century sawmill. In addition, ditches and agricultural structures were removed from a small cranberry bog near the entrance, allowing the bog to naturalize. Cranberry farming began at this site toward the end of the 1800s. The dam is also known as the Glendale Dam.

Long before European settlers arrived in 1620, this land was part of Pokanoket, a Wampanoag village governed by Massasoit. To learn more about our local tribes, we encourage you to interact with their members. The Mashpee Wampanoag and the Herring Pond Wampanoag both share information on their websites. 

Colonists arrived in this area in the mid-to-late 1700s. Dams were placed along the river to power mills for lumber and textile production. According to signage on site, “based on known history and archaeological evidence,” at least one dam was established here before 1822, and operated until 1830. Although the signage does not make it clear, it might be safe to guess that this was a sawmill. After Nathaniel Russell took ownership of the dam, he leased the mill site to Samuel Bradford, who manufactured wood barrels and boxes.

The signage continues, “In 1869, Charles Stoddard purchased the site and with the Plymouth Batting Company built a shoddy mill here to recycle waste cotton or wool into cheap low-grade cloth. The Batting Company completely buried the earlier dam to enlarge the structure and build a stone spillway, portions of which remain today as a visible reminder of the site’s industrial history. In 2010, the Town, State, Federal and local project partners completed  partial removal of the dam, thereby restoring habitat, fish passage, and improving water quality.”