Paranormal Middleborough Town Hall Mystery Employees have reported hearing footsteps coming down the ornate staircase at the end of the building. Sounds of footsteps in the Grand Ballroom have been reported. Some people claim to have seen an apparition, which is allegedly the ghost of Solomon K. Eaton (1806-1872).
In a March 2, 2008 article on Boston.com, selectman Marcia Brunelle said that she heard footsteps in the auditorium when she was working in a nearby office. When she went to see who was there, she found no one.
Construction Began 1871
Construction of the Middleborough Town Hall began in 1871, on donated land. Solomon K Eaton was the architect for the building. He died on October 9 1872 during the construction, never seeing the completion of the building in 1873. After the death of Eaton, Horatio Barrows, who was serving as head of the town-appointed building committee, oversaw the completion.
The new Town Hall served a variety of roles, housing local municipal offices as well as Middleborough High School (1873-86), Middleborough Public Library (1875-1904), Plymouth County Fourth District Court (1874-1914), Middleborough Savings Bank (1873-95), Middleborough National Bank (1889-1896) and Middleborough Co-operative Bank (1889-1914).
Since 1873 the second floor auditorium has served as a concert hall, gymnasium, movie theater, roller skating rink, dance hall, political forum, town meeting space, health clinic, graduation venue, ceremonial hall and church while the basement was the location of Middleborough’s jail until 1914.
Siege & Riot 1903
In the early hours of July 4, 1903, Town Hall came under siege. Wagons were burned, houses and barns were set ablaze, and bonfires were set throughout the downtown. According to Antiquarian magazine, published by the town’s historical association, the mob responsible for the riot was led by members of the Reformers, a political group. Police from Brockton and sheriff’s officers from Plymouth were called in to assist in quelling the disturbance. Exactly what triggered the incident is not clear, though some claim it was due to a friend of the rioters being arrested. According to the Antiquarian Magazine, the riot resulted in Sheriff Everett T. Lincoln being barricaded and shot in the face.
Native American Curse & "Rebecca"
Some claim the land it is located on is cursed as it was allegedly built on Wampanoag burial grounds. It has also been reported Town Hall is reported sits on the site an Native American village. There is no proof supporting either claim.
There is a story told about a young girl named Rebecca who fell off the balcony inside the auditorium and died. No documents could be found confirming this.
In a March 2, 2008 article on Boston.com, selectman Marcia Brunelle said that she heard footsteps in the auditorium when she was working in a nearby office. When she went to see who was there, she found no one.
Construction Began 1871
Construction of the Middleborough Town Hall began in 1871, on donated land. Solomon K Eaton was the architect for the building. He died on October 9 1872 during the construction, never seeing the completion of the building in 1873. After the death of Eaton, Horatio Barrows, who was serving as head of the town-appointed building committee, oversaw the completion.
The new Town Hall served a variety of roles, housing local municipal offices as well as Middleborough High School (1873-86), Middleborough Public Library (1875-1904), Plymouth County Fourth District Court (1874-1914), Middleborough Savings Bank (1873-95), Middleborough National Bank (1889-1896) and Middleborough Co-operative Bank (1889-1914).
Since 1873 the second floor auditorium has served as a concert hall, gymnasium, movie theater, roller skating rink, dance hall, political forum, town meeting space, health clinic, graduation venue, ceremonial hall and church while the basement was the location of Middleborough’s jail until 1914.
Siege & Riot 1903
In the early hours of July 4, 1903, Town Hall came under siege. Wagons were burned, houses and barns were set ablaze, and bonfires were set throughout the downtown. According to Antiquarian magazine, published by the town’s historical association, the mob responsible for the riot was led by members of the Reformers, a political group. Police from Brockton and sheriff’s officers from Plymouth were called in to assist in quelling the disturbance. Exactly what triggered the incident is not clear, though some claim it was due to a friend of the rioters being arrested. According to the Antiquarian Magazine, the riot resulted in Sheriff Everett T. Lincoln being barricaded and shot in the face.
Native American Curse & "Rebecca"
Some claim the land it is located on is cursed as it was allegedly built on Wampanoag burial grounds. It has also been reported Town Hall is reported sits on the site an Native American village. There is no proof supporting either claim.
There is a story told about a young girl named Rebecca who fell off the balcony inside the auditorium and died. No documents could be found confirming this.
Hand Rock Mystery
The granite rock which sits on top of Indian Hill off East Main Street. Incised into the surface of the rock is the imprint of a hand, its fingers splayed wide. In a recent more scientific study of the Hand Rock, Edward J. Lenik author of Picture Rocks: American Indian Rock Art in the Northeast Woodlands describes the rock in question:
"The handprint-and-wrist symbol has been pecked into the surface of the rock. The design is naturalistic and represents a right hand. It measures 26 centimeters (10 inches) in length from the tip of the middle finger to the bottom edge of the wrist. The fingers are extended and splayed and point to the north. The maximum width of the handprint is 21 centimeters (8 inches) when measured between the thumb and small finger. The depth of the pecked design ranges from 4 to 6 millimeters."
When Lenik visited the site in 1978 to document the Hand Rock, he found that "the boulder and handprint carving have been considerably defaced. The rock has been splattered with paint, and initials have been carved into its surface. The handprint-wrist symbol was reportedly enhanced in the mid-1930s by local boys who "deepened it a bit" to make it more visible but did not change its outline". This is one of the best known Native petroglyphs (stone carvings) in the area of Middleborough and Lakeville.
The imprinted hand has long held a certain local fascination, mainly from the folk tale which describes its creation. While Lenik writes that "the existence of the petroglyph boulder has been known since at least 1906", certainly the Natives knew about it when they chipped the hand pattern into it. Similarly, non-Native knowledge of the petroglyph also predates 1906, though with no certainty can we ascertain as to who first became aware of the rock or when.
The Barden family may have been among the earliest to be familiar with the rock, owning much land in the vicinity if not the rock itself. Nehemiah Bennett left a description of Middleborough dated 1793 in which he mentions "a rock on a high hill a little to the eastward of the old stone fishing weir, where there is the print of a person's hand in said rock". It is likely that by that time the land atop the hill had been cleared, exposing the rock with its handprint.
In 1853, the editor of the Namasket Gazette Samuel P. Brown visited the site and published a description of the rock in his newspaper, the account indicating that by the mid-19th century the Hand Rock was well known among local residents. Brown makes no mention of the obvious handprint upon its surface.
How did the handprint get into the rock?
A handwritten record in the possession in 1952 of Alice H. Cornish, a descendant of John Tomson, recounts the circumstances of the folk tale. At the outbreak of King Philip's War in the summer of 1675, most Middleborough residents had sought refuge in the relative safety of the garrison located in the vicinity of the rear of the former Memorial Junior High School on North Main Street. The growing hostility of the Wampanoags towards the garrison and their increasing boldness eventually became intolerable for the English sheltered inside.
The Indians would daily appear on the south side of the Nemasket River, opposite the fort, and taunt those in the garrison with insulting gestures. Lt. [John] Thompson ordered Isaac Howland, a distinguished marksman, to take the long gun and shoot one of the Indians. This he did while the savage was on the rock insulting them. The distance from the garrison to the rock was 155 rods, nearly half a mile. The Native was wounded and taken to the home of William Nelson where he later died and was buried in a nearby field.. The Natives sought revenge by burning the house and a local mill. In 1821, according to tradition, a Major Thomas Bennett was ploughing his land and accidentally unearthed the bones, pipe, stone jug, and knife of the Wampanoag killed by the Thomson gun.
Though neither this record, nor the numerous other historical accounts of the event make specific mention of the hand print in connection with the shooting, local folklore has always connected the two, the handprint being the consequence of the shooting.
Tomson Long Gun
The gun weighs twelve (12) pounds, seven (7) feet four and a half inches long and has a barrel length of six and one half feet. The gun remained in the Thompson Family for many generations and is now on display at the Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton. .
The granite rock which sits on top of Indian Hill off East Main Street. Incised into the surface of the rock is the imprint of a hand, its fingers splayed wide. In a recent more scientific study of the Hand Rock, Edward J. Lenik author of Picture Rocks: American Indian Rock Art in the Northeast Woodlands describes the rock in question:
"The handprint-and-wrist symbol has been pecked into the surface of the rock. The design is naturalistic and represents a right hand. It measures 26 centimeters (10 inches) in length from the tip of the middle finger to the bottom edge of the wrist. The fingers are extended and splayed and point to the north. The maximum width of the handprint is 21 centimeters (8 inches) when measured between the thumb and small finger. The depth of the pecked design ranges from 4 to 6 millimeters."
When Lenik visited the site in 1978 to document the Hand Rock, he found that "the boulder and handprint carving have been considerably defaced. The rock has been splattered with paint, and initials have been carved into its surface. The handprint-wrist symbol was reportedly enhanced in the mid-1930s by local boys who "deepened it a bit" to make it more visible but did not change its outline". This is one of the best known Native petroglyphs (stone carvings) in the area of Middleborough and Lakeville.
The imprinted hand has long held a certain local fascination, mainly from the folk tale which describes its creation. While Lenik writes that "the existence of the petroglyph boulder has been known since at least 1906", certainly the Natives knew about it when they chipped the hand pattern into it. Similarly, non-Native knowledge of the petroglyph also predates 1906, though with no certainty can we ascertain as to who first became aware of the rock or when.
The Barden family may have been among the earliest to be familiar with the rock, owning much land in the vicinity if not the rock itself. Nehemiah Bennett left a description of Middleborough dated 1793 in which he mentions "a rock on a high hill a little to the eastward of the old stone fishing weir, where there is the print of a person's hand in said rock". It is likely that by that time the land atop the hill had been cleared, exposing the rock with its handprint.
In 1853, the editor of the Namasket Gazette Samuel P. Brown visited the site and published a description of the rock in his newspaper, the account indicating that by the mid-19th century the Hand Rock was well known among local residents. Brown makes no mention of the obvious handprint upon its surface.
How did the handprint get into the rock?
A handwritten record in the possession in 1952 of Alice H. Cornish, a descendant of John Tomson, recounts the circumstances of the folk tale. At the outbreak of King Philip's War in the summer of 1675, most Middleborough residents had sought refuge in the relative safety of the garrison located in the vicinity of the rear of the former Memorial Junior High School on North Main Street. The growing hostility of the Wampanoags towards the garrison and their increasing boldness eventually became intolerable for the English sheltered inside.
The Indians would daily appear on the south side of the Nemasket River, opposite the fort, and taunt those in the garrison with insulting gestures. Lt. [John] Thompson ordered Isaac Howland, a distinguished marksman, to take the long gun and shoot one of the Indians. This he did while the savage was on the rock insulting them. The distance from the garrison to the rock was 155 rods, nearly half a mile. The Native was wounded and taken to the home of William Nelson where he later died and was buried in a nearby field.. The Natives sought revenge by burning the house and a local mill. In 1821, according to tradition, a Major Thomas Bennett was ploughing his land and accidentally unearthed the bones, pipe, stone jug, and knife of the Wampanoag killed by the Thomson gun.
Though neither this record, nor the numerous other historical accounts of the event make specific mention of the hand print in connection with the shooting, local folklore has always connected the two, the handprint being the consequence of the shooting.
Tomson Long Gun
The gun weighs twelve (12) pounds, seven (7) feet four and a half inches long and has a barrel length of six and one half feet. The gun remained in the Thompson Family for many generations and is now on display at the Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton. .
Paranormal Muttock School (Nemasket School) Mystery
On the January 27 1886 edition of the Boston Globe was the following tale
In January of 1886, the Muttock School temporarily closed its doors due to panic over a ghost. The ghost--believed to be that of a young boy who died from traumatic injuries after a "severe flogging"-- had a reputation for helping children who were in danger of being punished by the teacher, even assisting the children in solving math problem by writing out the arithmetic in phantom writing mysteriously appearing on the chalkboard. But when Miss Nancy Butler--a young woman who lived a short distance from the school--claimed that the ghost chased her home from work one night, joining her as she passed by the small school house, the children's fear grew into an all out panic.
In investigating this story there is no record about the "schoolhouse ghost", additionally no record of a school closing around 1886. The Green School closed for two weeks in 1885 due to a scarlet fever outbreak. As for the victim, Nancy Butler who claimed to have been chased by the ghosts after she walked past the schoolhouse on her way home from work at the "straw shop", Town records do have a Nancy Butler living on Cambridge Street and most likely worked at the "Bay State Straw Works" on Courtland Street. Her route home wouldn't have had her walking by the Muttock School. In 1902 a story appeared in the Brockton Times claiming a ghost, dressed in a white robe, was "haunting" the Muttock neighborhood. Stories have circulated the last few days that there was a ghost in that neighborhood, but little credence was given to them.
On a Saturday evening resident Ralph Caswell was chased a considerable distance. On Oct 12 1902 a crowd out searching saw this figure, robed in white, with a flowing veil on its head. It was in the orchard at the Crossen place. When it saw the group coming it threw apples at them and they gave chase. It led them the quickest they ever traveled, up and down hill and over a high fence into the woods. It escaped. It is generally believed that it was a man dressed up to have some fun.
On the January 27 1886 edition of the Boston Globe was the following tale
In January of 1886, the Muttock School temporarily closed its doors due to panic over a ghost. The ghost--believed to be that of a young boy who died from traumatic injuries after a "severe flogging"-- had a reputation for helping children who were in danger of being punished by the teacher, even assisting the children in solving math problem by writing out the arithmetic in phantom writing mysteriously appearing on the chalkboard. But when Miss Nancy Butler--a young woman who lived a short distance from the school--claimed that the ghost chased her home from work one night, joining her as she passed by the small school house, the children's fear grew into an all out panic.
In investigating this story there is no record about the "schoolhouse ghost", additionally no record of a school closing around 1886. The Green School closed for two weeks in 1885 due to a scarlet fever outbreak. As for the victim, Nancy Butler who claimed to have been chased by the ghosts after she walked past the schoolhouse on her way home from work at the "straw shop", Town records do have a Nancy Butler living on Cambridge Street and most likely worked at the "Bay State Straw Works" on Courtland Street. Her route home wouldn't have had her walking by the Muttock School. In 1902 a story appeared in the Brockton Times claiming a ghost, dressed in a white robe, was "haunting" the Muttock neighborhood. Stories have circulated the last few days that there was a ghost in that neighborhood, but little credence was given to them.
On a Saturday evening resident Ralph Caswell was chased a considerable distance. On Oct 12 1902 a crowd out searching saw this figure, robed in white, with a flowing veil on its head. It was in the orchard at the Crossen place. When it saw the group coming it threw apples at them and they gave chase. It led them the quickest they ever traveled, up and down hill and over a high fence into the woods. It escaped. It is generally believed that it was a man dressed up to have some fun.
Paranormal Peter Oliver Estate 1769 Mystery
There are many reports of paranormal activity. These reports come from visitors and volunteers who maintain the house and grounds. There are stories about seeing apparitions or shadowy figures, hearing voices when all alone in the house or finding objects in the house mysteriously being moved, fallen to the floor or flying across a room. One volunteer conducting a tour said she came face-to-face with a full-body apparition in one of the second floor bedroom closets. She says it was a girl who stared at her for a few seconds before disappearing into the wall.
The Peter Oliver House, often referred to as the "Small Oliver House" was constructed in 1769 by Judge Peter Oliver for his son, Dr. Peter Oliver Jr. (1741-1822) and his wife Sally Hutchinson as a wedding gift in Feb 1770. Sally was the oldest daughter of Thomas Hutchinson, then Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and shortly to be Governor. Following their 1770 marriage, the Olivers had three children, all of whom were born in the house: Margaret Hutchinson Oliver (1771-x), Thomas Hutchinson Oliver (1772-x), and Peter Oliver III (1774-x).
House Description
The house was yellow and had clapboard siding on the front and sides, and unpainted cedar siding on the back. Its 26 windows and eight fireplaces provided natural light and heat, and the shutters were painted a dark green color to match both the front and side doors.
The house was built with balloon framing, so there was a lot of space in the walls, especially behind chimneys, which people would use as small rooms. If there was an Indian attack.
Through the front door of the Oliver House is the main staircase. To the left is the men’s parlor – also known as the Benjamin Franklin room, and behind it on the back-left corner is the dining room. Between the Franklin room and the dining room is the library closet and another closet. To the right of the stairs is the women’s parlor, and behind it on the back-right corner is the old kitchen. Between the parlor and the old kitchen, there’s a fireplace with a hideaway behind it and stairs leading down to the cellar.
On the second floor above the Franklin room is Peter’s bedroom, which leads into a closet connecting his room with the Henry or “Harry” Champion-Jones room on the back-left corner. Along the back hallway are two bedrooms for governesses or helpers, and then on the back-right corner is the children’s room. Wrapping back around to the front-right, above the women’s parlor, is Sally’s bedroom.
Before the children’s room, there is a set of servant stairs that lead down into the old kitchen and up into the attic.
Oliver Hall
The Hall was built with a steep roof and deep jutting eaves, with walls of white plaster and portico of oak. Its frame is said to have been shipped from England, and the interior decorations, carvings, wainscoting, and hangings made expressly for it in London.
The large hall opened to the east on the river and was wainscoted with English oak. The upper part of it is said to have been decorated with hangings of birds and flowers. The ceilings were high.
Wampanoag Tribe Connection
The backyard well beyond where the Nemasket River runs through the property, there was a Native American tribe that made a home in those very woods. The Wampanoag tribe lived comfortably with fertile land and a river full of herring to fish in. When settlers came, they introduced the natives to diseases they were not used to, and most of them eventually ended up being wiped out by smallpox.
The property became a burial ground for the tribe. Supposedly, 1500 or so natives are buried in the woods behind the Oliver House and the burial mounds are still apparent throughout the property.
Judge Peter Oliver 1713-1791
Peter Oliver was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1744, and a justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1747. He was named a justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature in 1756. Oliver supported the idea that colonists should be taxed and more effort should be put into preventing smuggling to pay for the French and Indian War.
Oliver was one of three judges during the trials held after the Boston Massacre. Thomas Hutchinson was pleased with the work that Peter Oliver did, and made him chief justice of the Superior Court in 1772. Oliver complained often about how low his salary was as chief justice. The British proposed a plan to raise the justice's salary, paid for by the crown. All of the justices declined this offer except for Oliver. Later in 1774 Judge Oliver was impeached of the public outrage against him for doing so for accepting a salary from the King.
Rising pressure for independence from Britain increased public discord towards the Oliver and Hutchinson families, and other Loyalists.
In the summer of 1773 Benjamin Franklin was a guest in the house for three days. Franklin was the guest of honor at an evening reception attended by many prominent Middleborough residents. The motive behind this hospitality was an attempt by the Loyalist establishment to win the influential Franklin over to its cause to prevent the Revolution.
Franklin was not swayed, and he later infuriated the Olivers by leaking personal letters from Hutchinson, and Oliver's uncle Andrew Oliver, to Thomas Whately, former secretary to British Lord Grenville. These letters were stashed in Sally's bedroom closet. How Franklin obtained these hidden letters remains a mystery.
Franklin kept the letters as long as he could. He traveled to Holland for business during which he made the Sons of Liberty aware that he had them. Franklin told them that if he handed the letters over, they had to give him their word that they’d stay quiet about them. The Sons of Liberty took possession of the letters and did the exact opposite of what Franklin requested. The letters were read aloud from the steps of Faneuil Hall.
Once the news broke, the public became enraged. They wanted the Olivers moved out of Middleborough immediately. The Sons of Liberty looted and then burned Oliver Hall to the ground.
The Olivers were given an ultimatum by the Sons of Liberty. They could choose to turn away from the crown or leave with what was on their backs and never return. So, the Olivers scooped up their children and fled for their lives up to Boston, then to Canada, and eventually to London, where they stayed for the rest of their lives. They never came back to the United States, even to visit.
The Oliver House was left behind. He and his son Peter Oliver Jr. were the fourth and fifth generations of the family to have lived in this country. He never returned, nor did any of his descendants, nor any of the Hutchinsons who sailed with them
The Sons of Liberty took over, inventoried and sold all the Olivers’ belongings, bought tons of Oliver-made ammunition from Oliver Mill, and then used that ammunition on the Red Coats. It was from Oliver Mill that this very ammunition fired the shot heard ‘round the world: the shot that started the American Revolution.
Oliver House Changes Hands
The Oliver House was auctioned and was subsequently purchased by many throughout the following years.
Martin Brimmer of Roxbury, Nathaniel Russell (1793-94), Hushai Thomas, Jr. (1794-97), and General Abiel Washburn (1797-98).
The house was acquired by Judge Thomas Weston of Carver (1770-1834), his daughter, Bethania (Weston) Sproat , was born in the house, willed the house after her parents died, got married to Earl Sprout in the house, lost three of their children in the house, and at around 90-years-old, died in the house in 1893.
The Sproat's marriage was struck with tragedy: Her husband, Earle Sproat, suffered tuberculosis, and two children died in infancy. A third child, Abby Sproat, died at age one (1) due to burns from hot water. The couple's surviving children were Mary Sproat, Thomas C. Sproat, Dr. Henry H. Sproat.
When Earle Sproat died, the property passed to the son Henry H. Sproat, and upon Henry’s early death, to his daughter, Eleanor Bethania Sproat. The house was sold by Eleanor’s mother and guardian Katherine Ann Sproat in October, 1893, to Henry Champion Jones of Boston (1856-1942).
After the death of Henry Jones, his family offered to donate the property to the Middleborough Historical Association which declined the offer. In a twist of events the property was sold in 1945 to Peter Oliver, a relation of the original owner who restored the house as closely as possible to its original appearance. It has remained in the Oliver family since that time. In 2015 the property was purchased for $338,000 by the Town of Middleborough. The town has place a historical restriction on the property, created the Oliver Estate Advisory Committee and has created an annual budget of $100,000 for care and upkeep.
There are many reports of paranormal activity. These reports come from visitors and volunteers who maintain the house and grounds. There are stories about seeing apparitions or shadowy figures, hearing voices when all alone in the house or finding objects in the house mysteriously being moved, fallen to the floor or flying across a room. One volunteer conducting a tour said she came face-to-face with a full-body apparition in one of the second floor bedroom closets. She says it was a girl who stared at her for a few seconds before disappearing into the wall.
The Peter Oliver House, often referred to as the "Small Oliver House" was constructed in 1769 by Judge Peter Oliver for his son, Dr. Peter Oliver Jr. (1741-1822) and his wife Sally Hutchinson as a wedding gift in Feb 1770. Sally was the oldest daughter of Thomas Hutchinson, then Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and shortly to be Governor. Following their 1770 marriage, the Olivers had three children, all of whom were born in the house: Margaret Hutchinson Oliver (1771-x), Thomas Hutchinson Oliver (1772-x), and Peter Oliver III (1774-x).
House Description
The house was yellow and had clapboard siding on the front and sides, and unpainted cedar siding on the back. Its 26 windows and eight fireplaces provided natural light and heat, and the shutters were painted a dark green color to match both the front and side doors.
The house was built with balloon framing, so there was a lot of space in the walls, especially behind chimneys, which people would use as small rooms. If there was an Indian attack.
Through the front door of the Oliver House is the main staircase. To the left is the men’s parlor – also known as the Benjamin Franklin room, and behind it on the back-left corner is the dining room. Between the Franklin room and the dining room is the library closet and another closet. To the right of the stairs is the women’s parlor, and behind it on the back-right corner is the old kitchen. Between the parlor and the old kitchen, there’s a fireplace with a hideaway behind it and stairs leading down to the cellar.
On the second floor above the Franklin room is Peter’s bedroom, which leads into a closet connecting his room with the Henry or “Harry” Champion-Jones room on the back-left corner. Along the back hallway are two bedrooms for governesses or helpers, and then on the back-right corner is the children’s room. Wrapping back around to the front-right, above the women’s parlor, is Sally’s bedroom.
Before the children’s room, there is a set of servant stairs that lead down into the old kitchen and up into the attic.
Oliver Hall
The Hall was built with a steep roof and deep jutting eaves, with walls of white plaster and portico of oak. Its frame is said to have been shipped from England, and the interior decorations, carvings, wainscoting, and hangings made expressly for it in London.
The large hall opened to the east on the river and was wainscoted with English oak. The upper part of it is said to have been decorated with hangings of birds and flowers. The ceilings were high.
Wampanoag Tribe Connection
The backyard well beyond where the Nemasket River runs through the property, there was a Native American tribe that made a home in those very woods. The Wampanoag tribe lived comfortably with fertile land and a river full of herring to fish in. When settlers came, they introduced the natives to diseases they were not used to, and most of them eventually ended up being wiped out by smallpox.
The property became a burial ground for the tribe. Supposedly, 1500 or so natives are buried in the woods behind the Oliver House and the burial mounds are still apparent throughout the property.
Judge Peter Oliver 1713-1791
Peter Oliver was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1744, and a justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1747. He was named a justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature in 1756. Oliver supported the idea that colonists should be taxed and more effort should be put into preventing smuggling to pay for the French and Indian War.
Oliver was one of three judges during the trials held after the Boston Massacre. Thomas Hutchinson was pleased with the work that Peter Oliver did, and made him chief justice of the Superior Court in 1772. Oliver complained often about how low his salary was as chief justice. The British proposed a plan to raise the justice's salary, paid for by the crown. All of the justices declined this offer except for Oliver. Later in 1774 Judge Oliver was impeached of the public outrage against him for doing so for accepting a salary from the King.
Rising pressure for independence from Britain increased public discord towards the Oliver and Hutchinson families, and other Loyalists.
In the summer of 1773 Benjamin Franklin was a guest in the house for three days. Franklin was the guest of honor at an evening reception attended by many prominent Middleborough residents. The motive behind this hospitality was an attempt by the Loyalist establishment to win the influential Franklin over to its cause to prevent the Revolution.
Franklin was not swayed, and he later infuriated the Olivers by leaking personal letters from Hutchinson, and Oliver's uncle Andrew Oliver, to Thomas Whately, former secretary to British Lord Grenville. These letters were stashed in Sally's bedroom closet. How Franklin obtained these hidden letters remains a mystery.
Franklin kept the letters as long as he could. He traveled to Holland for business during which he made the Sons of Liberty aware that he had them. Franklin told them that if he handed the letters over, they had to give him their word that they’d stay quiet about them. The Sons of Liberty took possession of the letters and did the exact opposite of what Franklin requested. The letters were read aloud from the steps of Faneuil Hall.
Once the news broke, the public became enraged. They wanted the Olivers moved out of Middleborough immediately. The Sons of Liberty looted and then burned Oliver Hall to the ground.
The Olivers were given an ultimatum by the Sons of Liberty. They could choose to turn away from the crown or leave with what was on their backs and never return. So, the Olivers scooped up their children and fled for their lives up to Boston, then to Canada, and eventually to London, where they stayed for the rest of their lives. They never came back to the United States, even to visit.
The Oliver House was left behind. He and his son Peter Oliver Jr. were the fourth and fifth generations of the family to have lived in this country. He never returned, nor did any of his descendants, nor any of the Hutchinsons who sailed with them
The Sons of Liberty took over, inventoried and sold all the Olivers’ belongings, bought tons of Oliver-made ammunition from Oliver Mill, and then used that ammunition on the Red Coats. It was from Oliver Mill that this very ammunition fired the shot heard ‘round the world: the shot that started the American Revolution.
Oliver House Changes Hands
The Oliver House was auctioned and was subsequently purchased by many throughout the following years.
Martin Brimmer of Roxbury, Nathaniel Russell (1793-94), Hushai Thomas, Jr. (1794-97), and General Abiel Washburn (1797-98).
The house was acquired by Judge Thomas Weston of Carver (1770-1834), his daughter, Bethania (Weston) Sproat , was born in the house, willed the house after her parents died, got married to Earl Sprout in the house, lost three of their children in the house, and at around 90-years-old, died in the house in 1893.
The Sproat's marriage was struck with tragedy: Her husband, Earle Sproat, suffered tuberculosis, and two children died in infancy. A third child, Abby Sproat, died at age one (1) due to burns from hot water. The couple's surviving children were Mary Sproat, Thomas C. Sproat, Dr. Henry H. Sproat.
When Earle Sproat died, the property passed to the son Henry H. Sproat, and upon Henry’s early death, to his daughter, Eleanor Bethania Sproat. The house was sold by Eleanor’s mother and guardian Katherine Ann Sproat in October, 1893, to Henry Champion Jones of Boston (1856-1942).
After the death of Henry Jones, his family offered to donate the property to the Middleborough Historical Association which declined the offer. In a twist of events the property was sold in 1945 to Peter Oliver, a relation of the original owner who restored the house as closely as possible to its original appearance. It has remained in the Oliver family since that time. In 2015 the property was purchased for $338,000 by the Town of Middleborough. The town has place a historical restriction on the property, created the Oliver Estate Advisory Committee and has created an annual budget of $100,000 for care and upkeep.
Camp Titicut Mystery According to legend, Camp Titicut is believed to be haunted by King Phillip, whose body reportedly was drawn and quartered here. The sound of leaves rustling, is his body parts trying to get back together.
This is factually wrong, since King Philip was captured and murdered in Mount Hope Rhode Island (now Bristol RI), 60 miles away. A different variation is that it wasn't King Philip, but rather Philip’s brother (Wamsutta) and his wife that haunt Camp Titicut, having been murdered there. However, Wamsutta became suddenly ill after being summoned to the Plymouth Courts some 20 miles away over a land dispute.
According to legend, Camp Titicut was a boy's camp from 1930's to 1950's, during which time a boy drowned in a pond. His ghost is said to be seen and heard in the nearby woods. This is factually wrong, Camp Titicut opened in the 1950’s as a place for local youth to learn about nature, animals, swimming, boating and other outdoor activities. The camp no longer exists, it’s now known as the 33-acre Titicut Conservation Area. The only remnants of Camp Titicut that remain are the flag pole, a stone pedestal that once held a sun dial and a partial structure that was once the camp grounds cafeteria.
"The place of great river"
The Wampanoag meaning of Titicut is "the place of great river" and is situated on the northwest section of Middleborough. The area was an old Wampanoag reservation that was officially deeded to the Wampanoags on June 9 1664, by Josias Wampatuck, the son of Chickataubut. This deed covered a three-mile long parcel of land along the Taunton River called Cotunicut. The reservation was used as a campsite and burial ground. By 1770 most Wampanoags from the Titicut reservation had died.
Archaeological Research
From 1946 to 1951 the Titicut site was excavated by a chapter of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society. More than 6000 artifacts were uncovered including graves. In 1947 the first grave was located and by the end of 1947 twenty-six (26) were located and documented. Fifteen (15) of these skeletons were sufficiently preserved to be removed for further study. This study was undertaken on our behalf by the Department of Physical Anthropology at Peabody Museum. Interestingly (5) burials showed the results of raiding parties. Quartz arrows were embedded in the skeletons found and were inflicted on the young and defenseless. These raids probably occurred when the men of the village were off hunting or fishing. Only young children, old men and middle aged women were tending the camp at the time of conflict.
During the early 1990’s all skeletal remains were returned to the Mashpee Wampanoags for reburial in their cemeteries. Today new rules apply regarding discovery of skeletal remains found while excavating in Massachusetts or by natural erosion.
This is factually wrong, since King Philip was captured and murdered in Mount Hope Rhode Island (now Bristol RI), 60 miles away. A different variation is that it wasn't King Philip, but rather Philip’s brother (Wamsutta) and his wife that haunt Camp Titicut, having been murdered there. However, Wamsutta became suddenly ill after being summoned to the Plymouth Courts some 20 miles away over a land dispute.
According to legend, Camp Titicut was a boy's camp from 1930's to 1950's, during which time a boy drowned in a pond. His ghost is said to be seen and heard in the nearby woods. This is factually wrong, Camp Titicut opened in the 1950’s as a place for local youth to learn about nature, animals, swimming, boating and other outdoor activities. The camp no longer exists, it’s now known as the 33-acre Titicut Conservation Area. The only remnants of Camp Titicut that remain are the flag pole, a stone pedestal that once held a sun dial and a partial structure that was once the camp grounds cafeteria.
"The place of great river"
The Wampanoag meaning of Titicut is "the place of great river" and is situated on the northwest section of Middleborough. The area was an old Wampanoag reservation that was officially deeded to the Wampanoags on June 9 1664, by Josias Wampatuck, the son of Chickataubut. This deed covered a three-mile long parcel of land along the Taunton River called Cotunicut. The reservation was used as a campsite and burial ground. By 1770 most Wampanoags from the Titicut reservation had died.
Archaeological Research
From 1946 to 1951 the Titicut site was excavated by a chapter of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society. More than 6000 artifacts were uncovered including graves. In 1947 the first grave was located and by the end of 1947 twenty-six (26) were located and documented. Fifteen (15) of these skeletons were sufficiently preserved to be removed for further study. This study was undertaken on our behalf by the Department of Physical Anthropology at Peabody Museum. Interestingly (5) burials showed the results of raiding parties. Quartz arrows were embedded in the skeletons found and were inflicted on the young and defenseless. These raids probably occurred when the men of the village were off hunting or fishing. Only young children, old men and middle aged women were tending the camp at the time of conflict.
During the early 1990’s all skeletal remains were returned to the Mashpee Wampanoags for reburial in their cemeteries. Today new rules apply regarding discovery of skeletal remains found while excavating in Massachusetts or by natural erosion.