The Indian Head River rises on the southern boundary of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Massachusetts and northern boundary line of

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

, Massachusetts at the intersection of tributaries from Drinkwater River in Hanover and Indian Head Brook in Hanson. The river then flows east along the

- Pembroke border. The river, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011 is a tributary of the North River, which flows into

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...

. The Indian Head River was an important fishing and water pathway for the Massachuset Indian village of Mattakeeset which was located around the Pembroke Ponds.

History

Several significant historic mills, factories, and dams were built along the Indian Head River. A dam at the crossing of the Indian Head River and State Street in Hanson marks the former site of

Ezra Phillips & Sons Tack Factory Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρα� ...

. In 1812, James Reed constructed a gristmill on the Hanson side of the river at its intersection with Rocky Run Brook, then built a dam across the Indian Head River for a tack and nail factory. Immediately east of this site, the tack works of R. C. Waterman was constructed on the Hanover side of the Indian Head River off of Water St. The river next runs through Luddam's Ford Park, named after a guide, James Luddam, who in 1632 carried Governor John Winthrop across the river to get to Weymouth. The former site of the Eugene H. Clapp Rubber Company, built in 1873, is located on the Hanover side of Luddam's Ford Park, south of Water Street and west of Elm Street. A strip of rubber along the river on the Pembroke side remains which people may bounce on. The Indian Head River then continues east past West Elm Street in Pembroke and intersects with Barker's Brook, where it forms the North River. There is a plaque that is embedded in the wall on a bridge on Elm Street that crosses the river. The plaque says: "The Bay Path at Luddam's Ford across the Indian Head River the boundary line between HANOVER 1632 Gov. Winthrop crossed here on the back of James Luddam, his Guide. Site of Saw Mill 1693 Bardin Iron Works 1704 Curtis Anchor Works 1791 PEMBROKE Anchor for the Warship Constitution made here in 1797 A Grist Mill 1832 Carding Mill 1839 Clapp Rubber Co. 1873"

Habitat

Mercury pollution Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum ( ) from the Greek words, ''hydor'' (water) and ''argyros'' (silver). A heavy, silvery d-block element, me ...

and other heavy metal pollution left behind from the National Fireworks Company site on Factory Pond and the Drinkwater River in Hanover, and the Eugene H. Clapp Rubber Company at Luddam's Ford Park still pollute the Indian Head River bed, making it unsafe to drink the water and eat the fish. The series of historic dams along the Indian Head River have prevented fish from easily swimming upstream. However, a

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...

was constructed at Luddam's Ford Park. For two weeks during the summer, the

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean ...

run up stream to spawn. If herring are caught they must be released and no motor boats are allowed. The river is stocked with

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

. It also has a small

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

(''Castor canadensis'') population.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Plymouth County, Massachusetts Hanover, Massachusetts Pembroke, Massachusetts Rivers of Massachusetts