Town Brook
41.954564°N 70.663797°W

6/21/2012 11:44:25 AM

Town Brook was the major source of fresh water for the pilgrims who landed at Plymouth in 1620. At the time, the brook was full of fish particularly herring in the springtime. Squanto taught the pilgrims to use two herring as fertilize with each corn seed that was planted. Once the corn sprouted, the pilgrims planted beans and squash next to the corn which eventually grew to provide shade that kept weeds limited.

Jack Crane

Town Brook

Town Brook is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) stream in Plymouth, Massachusetts that provided drinking water to the Pilgrims who made their homes adjacent to the brook on Leyden Street in Plymouth. Town Brook's headwaters are the Billington Sea, a 269-acre (109 ha) freshwater pond. The brook passes through numerous small ponds, including Deep Water Pond and Jenny Pond. It also passes by the Jenney Grist Mill and the Brewster Gardens before emptying into Plymouth Harbor. A nature trail runs along the entire length of the brook.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town Brook (Massachusetts)
• Philbrick, N., 2006, Mayflower: Penguin Books, New York, 463p.