Mother Brook and the Mills of East Dedham

By: Judith A. Neiswander

 As one of the first two inland towns to be settled in Massachusetts, Dedham has an ancient history. One of earliest accomplishments of the town’s first settlers was the creation of Mother Brook, a channel three-quarters of a mile in length that diverts water from the Charles River through an inland stream to empty into the Neponset, creating a waterway strong enough to turn the wheel of a grist mill. Excavated by hand between 1639-41, at a time when the town consisted of fewer than 30 families, it was a feat of engineering that would be remarkable even today. Mother Brook, arguably the nation’s first power canal, has been celebrated by historians who have focused on the town’s earliest years, up to the establishment of the Norfolk Cotton Mill in 1808, and have largely ignored the later period when the fully industrialized textile factories were no longer locally owned. In this book, Judy Neiswander tells the story of Mother Brook during the 19th and 20th centuries, when the stream was enlarged to power gigantic textile mills that drew thousands of Irish, German, & Italian immigrant workers to the area. Concentrated in a “mill village” in East Dedham and separated from the rest of the town by language and culture, these newcomers lived a highly precarious existence of relentless, exhausting labor under hazardous conditions for barely subsistence-level wages. Despite these obstacles, they created a lively, diverse, and supportive community with a strong identity that continues to this day. With persistence and remarkable endurance, they made a home for themselves and for others like them and ultimately transformed the rest of the town. Today, Dedham belongs to the heirs of Mill Village.

Product Details

•  160 Pages

• Paperback ISBN 978-1-941573-66-2

• Book Dimensions: 7 x 10 inches