The Mattapoisett Museum has over the past few years evolved from a collection of materials to a fully functioning museum offering a wide variety of programs and services.

            This has been no small task. One can speculate easily that the original founding members would be amazed and very pleased to see the building and its uses come into the 21st century. It is a dynamic gem in Mattapoisett’s village.

            But what makes the Mattapoisett Museum even more engaging are the volunteers. One such volunteer is Luke Couto, who has stepped up to give village walking tours based on the early writings of Francis Rowland. Couto used Rowland’s “Memory Lane” walking tour booklet, edited and updated by former and or current board members Carol Clifford, Jennifer McIntire and Jill Sanford.

            Rowland was one of the founding members of the museum who was instrumental in forming the Historical Society, working with such notables as Charles Mendell and Lemuel Dexter. The former Baptist church building that eventually became a museum was a repository for letters, journals, farm equipment and tools, ship models, and antique dolls. Even a cot from The Wanderer, the last whaling ship built in Mattapoisett, is now on display in the museum’s “Weird and Wonderful” exhibit.

            Couto began the tour explaining much of the history of the church/museum building before venturing on to individual homes that line primarily parts of Church, Main, Water and Canon Streets. Couto spoke to love letters written by Captain William Taber, whose former residence is located at 6 Church Street. Part of his letter reads, “Many kisses to you and to our little … how I would like to see both of you and hug you both …”

            Rowland’s walking tours as shared by Couto were replete with anecdotal stories. Rowland seems to have had a wry sense of humor salted with historical points of reference. We learned that the house located at the corner of Main and Church Street was once known as the Anchorage by the Sea, a business that had to relocate after a massive hurricane swept it from its perch in what is now Shipyard Park.

            Couto also explained that Mattapoisett was once part of Rochester, as was Marion until dissatisfaction due to differing religious points of view and possibly the distance from outlying Mattapoisett and Marion to Rochester center split the congregations.

            Mattapoisett’s Town Hall was once the headquarters for the Fire and Police departments, Couto shared, and from Rowland’s tours, we learn that he was once held in the jail located in the Town Hall basement for stealing a watermelon. By the way, Couto said that the first fire engine is now in the museum’s carriage house on display.

            Couto talked about the railroad that once ran between New Bedford and Wareham and the back story of Reservation Golf Club. Apparently, Charles King, a wealthy businessman who summered in Mattapoisett, had a private rail spur next to his residence, which is today the YMCA camp. From there, his well-heeled friends could disembark. The private car used to transport the guest was named The Dude Special.

            Center School was discussed, having been built in 1898 and gifted to Mattapoisett by Henry Huttleston Rogers, whose grandfather Abisha Rogers lived at 10 Main Street. Couto told the story of Rogers walking around Mattapoisett village and commenting to his wife that he had a mind to build a central school for the residents. With her encouragement, he did just that. Rogers is also responsible for building Fairhaven High School (where Mattapoisett students could attend free of charge, thanks to Rogers), Millicent Library and the Unitarian Church, the latter two buildings also located in Fairhaven.

            During a brief stop in front of what is considered the oldest continuously running inn in the country, the Inn at Shipyard Park, Couto noted that the park was once the location where whaling ships were built and launched. Ten Water Street was once the location of Harlow LeBaron’s dry good store, and 12 Water Street housed Dr. Sparrow’s patent medicine operation.

            As the tour wound down, Couto ushered the group up Cannon Street, likely the quaintest street in the village. He pointed out that the street is lined with Cape Cod style cottages, with each petite structure having undergone renovations that added to the length of the buildings.

            At the corner of Water and Cannon Street, Couto directed everyone’s attention to a large plaque placed in honor of Titanic victim Francis Davis Millet, a local born in Mattapoisett who became a well-known artist before his untimely death.

            Walking tours are scheduled to take place every Friday through the summer. Visit mattapoisettmuseum.org for complete details. You can also purchase a booklet that details tours given by Francis Rowland.

Mattapoisett Museum

By Marilou Newell

On a hot and sunny July 13 afternoon, Lisa Wheeler of the Plumb Memorial Library, local professor and ecologist Dr. Mindy Labranche and Michelle Kirby of the Snow’s Pond Association brought over two dozen children to the Lawrence Way shore of Snow’s Pond to teach them about the importance of lakes, ponds and freshwater life.

            It did not take long for the 21 young explorers ages five to 12 to find tinier pond life than any of them would have expected as they dipped their nets in the mucky water’s edge.

            Zak, 11, a student at Rochester Memorial School, was one of the first to net a baby dragonfly, then later a slightly bigger “dragonfly nymph,” as Dr. Labranche called them, explaining they live in that state for about a year before becoming adults.

            Later, Zak was spotted climbing the concrete piling supporting the nearby dock, net in hand, to find more of the tiny creatures populating the pond. Asked what he liked most about exploring the pond this way, he said, “It’s just the excitement of doing it.”

            By the end of the outdoor visit, all the students had enjoyed the experience. They found tiny tadpoles and small pickerel and catfish, and they netted crane fly larvae and other small bugs. They even learned about the different types of lily pads. Some have a slimy coating on their undersides, Dr. Labranche said. That is so fish and frogs and other lizards will not eat those kinds of pads.

            Michelle Kirby, president of the Snow’s Pond Association, said as the workshop began that the program’s goal is to teach young people how to “protect and preserve our beautiful open spaces.”

            Snow’s Pond, she pointed out, has the highest water level of all ponds in Rochester. It is a 12,000-year-old “kettle pond” created by glacial activity that long ago.

            As the workshop ended, Dr. Labranche noted her goal was simply “to find bugs and get the younger generation familiar with life in the pond.” She happily noted that most of the creatures on her to-find list were found.

            Labranche hinted at the deeper meaning of the exercise when she noted that finding these pond creatures are part of a water-quality bioassessment. The organisms sensitive to water pollution will not be found where pollutants are high, she explained. Some other organisms tolerate pollution somewhat, and others will totally survive. It’s very telling about the current state of Snow’s Pond that the dragonfly nymph and crane fly larvae are among the moderately tolerant category.

            The library program’s goals are not unlike the mission of the Snow’s Pond Association (SPA) itself, Kirby later said. The association was formed in 2018 by abutters concerned about the excessive aquatic weed growth and diminishing water quality of the pond.

            “It is a group committed to the preservation and protection of Snow’s Pond and its surroundings,” she said. “We want to ensure that this natural resource will be around for generations to come.”

            Having noted in a previous Wanderer story that the association includes 14 of the 16 property owners on the pond, Kirby notes that the association has 13 voting members and over 100 people supporting the Friends of Snow’s Pond. She followed up in an email with a historical sketch of recent work at Snow’s Pond.

            “In 2019 the SPA hired a certified lake manager to identify and map the aquatic plants in the pond, perform a bathymetric survey to create a depth map and analyze water quality and nutrients in the pond, she said. This study gave the association a solid baseline of the health of Snow’s Pond,” Kirby wrote, adding that in 2020, the SPA became the first Massachusetts waterbody to join the University of Rhode Island (URI) Watershed Watch, a volunteer monitoring program that runs from May to October.

            SPA members monitor weekly and once a month bring water samples to URI’s laboratory for analysis. Data collected by volunteers are posted on URI’s Watershed Watch website, according to Kirby. “The data provides us with a better understanding of the pond’s ecosystem and will help us decide the correct route when implementing a management plan,” she said.

            The SPA is currently working on establishing non-profit (501c3) status, which is often a prerequisite to obtaining funding for lake management. Meanwhile, it continues its work to increase awareness and education of the importance of pond health and a better understanding of the impacts that human development has on watersheds around town, she said.

            The threat from aquatic invasive species and nutrient overload extends beyond Rochester waterbodies all over the country, Kirby said. “In order to preserve and protect our water bodies and water resources, we need to be proactive. SPA is currently the only pond association in Rochester and aims to serve as an example of best practices and pond stewardship.”

By Michael J. DeCicco

            Since early colonial agriculture times in this country, the Barn Swallow has been a welcome visitor to barnyards because it eats so many unwanted, crop-destroying insects such as beetles, flies, wasps, crawling ants, moths and spiders.

            At a speed of over 74 miles per hour, while skimming over ponds, lakes and rivers, the Barn Swallow is well known for collecting the insects in a compressed ball in its mouth and delivering them to its young in a nest attached to a beam under a barn roof, as illustrated in my drawing.

            Since colonial times, the agricultural population grew many times over in the next two centuries, as did the swallow numbers breeding and raising another generation several times each season until genetically reaching a total number of 190,000,000 as the largest swallow population on this continent.

            The Barn Swallow then needed more than barns for reproduction that has today grown to include bridge foundations, roofs of outdoor arenas, suburban park structures, railroad and auto bypasses and any other man-made construction.

            The Barn Swallow is the only American Swallow with buffy to cinnamon-colored underparts, underwing linings accentuated by pointed wings and deeply forked tail.

            Skimming over a water surface, it subsequently scoops down to get a drink of water or takes a bath while dunking in a bed of wet leaves along the shore. It is the most widely ranging swallow in the world, serenading both continents with a worldwide musical anthem of “chit, chit, or wit-wit” with a universal liquid overtone of notes in the tune.

            Evaluating the beneficial inspiration of having Barn Swallows feeding in your neighborhood backyard will tell you they do not come naturally to regular bird feeders but will be attracted to a generous spreading of oyster or eggshells.

            It will also help to attract them with a shelter open building keeping an open door or window for ease of coming and going. However, it is just as important to have a standing water source quite nearby for making nests out of mud with hundreds of beaks loads to complete construction.

            Having a fully operational swallow nest quite nearby could be a highly educational bird-watching experience for your children with the natural phenomena of reproduction several times in the next coming season. They may be grateful for my literary observation and illustration of Barn Swallows in motion that I have tried to create before their very eyes.

By George B. Emmons