Long-time Attleboro resident Don Doucette has had a lifelong interest in exploring and understanding the land and water in the area around Sowams. Click here for a half-hour interview with Don in which he talks about the post-glacial outwash landscape of the area, the former beaver eco system, and the alluvial soil and its use in American Aborigine gardening, Later in the interview, he talks about the Rehoboth North Purchase by Captain Thomas Willett and the Angle Tree Stone division marker between the Bay Colony and the Plymouth Plantation.
Don spoke with Somams Heritage Coordinator Dave Weed on November 5, 2018 to share what he knows about the natural and native history of the area in a half-hour interview.
Don walks along the Ten Mile River the entire 27-mile length of which he walked with a friend in 1995 to show how accessible it would have been to the aboriginal people who lived along its banks for thousands of years.
Don also spoke about the formation of the soil by the glaciers that left enormous areas or rich soil behind throughout Sowams that was highly prized by both the Pokanoket aboriginal people as well as the colonists who moved into the area in the 17th century.
The above map shows the various rivers that move water from the northern areas around Attleboro south to Narraganset Bay. These rivers also provided excellent transportation for the native people as well as the colonizers. Click here for more information about water quality in Narragansett Bay.
Four-town farm at the intersection of Rehoboth, Swansea, Seekonk and Barrington produces excellent crops on the same soil that has been used for thousands of years.