15 Best Things to Do in Rehoboth (MA)

Rehoboth is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts, founded in 1643 as part of the Plymouth Colony.

The defining events of the final days of King Philip's War took place at Rehoboth in the 1670s, and at Anwan Rock you can see the site where a Wampanoag war chief was captured, ending the conflict.

Spread over a fairly large area, Rehoboth is a rural community, with no shortage of centuries-old mill ponds, farmland, conservation areas, quiet villages, and private golf courses.

The Rehoboth Archaeological Society maintains an interesting city museum as well as the city's public library, while the local historical commission has named sites around town from sawmills to dams and 17th-century textile mills.

1. Carpenter Museum

In celebration of America's bicentennial, the Rehoboth Archaeological Society (founded 1884) has created a new space to house its impressive collections.

The Carpenter Museum is a Colonial-style house with a gable roof and a wood-beamed barn in the style of the mid-18th century.

The museum is named after Elsie and E. Winsor Carpenter, who donated the land and seed money, came from a family that had been in the city for centuries.

The collection includes 400-year-old appliances, maps, furniture, clothing items, and much of the Carpenter family heirloom.

When we wrote this article, there was an enlightening presentation about the Rehoboth Milkmaids, the women's softball team formed in the 1930s.

2. Anawan Rock

In this rock formation at Puddingstone, you can see one of the few surviving sites from King Philip's War (1675-1676).

Here on August 28, 1676, Annawan, a Wampanoag war chief, was captured by colonial forces under Captain Benjamin Church.

This event ended the controversy two weeks after Sachem Metacomet (King Philip) was captured and executed in Bristol, Rhode Island.

King Philip's War was a devastating conflict in the region, claiming more lives locally than the civil war that followed nearly two centuries later.

The site can easily be missed along Winthrop Street, but there is a small parking lot and a kiosk at the head of a short trail that leads to the rock.

3. Rehoboth Village & Dam

The rural village center at the intersection of Locust Street and Bay State Road developed as a site of small industry since the early 18th century, is protected as a historic district, and looks much as it did in the late 19th century.

Besides the Carpenter Museum and Goff Memorial Hall (more on that later), there are a few things to check out around this attractive area.

The Rehoboth Historical Commission developed markers identifying businesses that operated here at the beginning of the American Revolution.

The village pond was the site of a grist mill for approximately 180 years from 1690, and other local businesses in the mid-19th century included a tannery, slaughterhouse, sawmill and fulling mill.

The most striking landmark is the First Collegiate Church, built in 1838 in the Greek Revival style.

4. Rehoboth State Forest

At the 138-acre Rehoboth State Forest, you can explore a habitat that once covered much of eastern Massachusetts.

Here an outcropping takes you into a swamp of Atlantic white pine, with a boardwalk helping you cross the wetlands.

The rest of the Rehoboth State Forest is mostly pine forest, interspersed with some large snowfields and a mile-long loop.

Most of the forests can be traversed in less than an hour, making it a worthwhile route if you need a dose of nature.

5. Ephraim Hunt Ministerial Land

You can spend more time around the center of Old Rehoboth Village, in this peaceful landscape surrounded by pine forests, forested wetlands and streams, on highly productive waters.

At just 60 acres, the Ephraim Hunt Ministry Land is managed by the Rehoboth Land Trust, which purchased the property from First Congregational Church, to help it raise money for repairs.

Not only is this protected area beautiful, it is also ecologically important, as it is home to the wood turtle, a species of special concern in Massachusetts, and it also contains the Esker River, the last glacier. age

6. Anawan Farm

This small, family-run farm near Rehoboth State Forest has a stand selling a wide range of produce in the summer and fall.

Depending on the season, you can order fresh onions, peppers, corn, cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, summer squash, and squash.

Anawan Farm also sells fresh cut flowers that are grown without herbicides, fungicides or pesticides, and in late summer you can pick your own sunflowers.

The farm holds special seasonal events with hayrides during the fall and holiday seasons.

7. Shad Factory Fish Ladder

Also on city-owned conservation land is the old Shad Factory Pond, southwest of Rehoboth.

From the Water Street parking area, you can follow an unmarked trail along the Palmer River to the edge of the pond surrounded by a dam built in 1911.

There are benches along the water's edge, as well as the remains of the 19th-century Orleans Mill.

Now part of the Bristol County Water Authority's supply system, the pond has had a 300-foot fish ladder since 2007, allowing herring and American shad to move upstream to spawn.

8. Goff Memorial Hall

The Rehoboth Archaeological Society also operates a public mixing library, housed in the society's former headquarters and museum.

This is Gough Memorial Hall, named after Darius Gough (1809-1891), the prominent textile manufacturer who financed the original building.

The current Tudor-style hall dates from 1915, and was rebuilt in brick in 1886 after the original wooden structure burned down in 1911.

The Rehoboth Archaeological Society's collections were moved from Goff Memorial Hall to the Carpenter Museum after its construction in the 1970s.

This impressive building is home to the Village Arts Concert Series, with regular performances by classical soloists and small ensembles.

9. Hornbine School

At the quiet intersection of Hornbein Road and Baker Road, you'll find an elegant, well-preserved one-room schoolhouse open seasonally as a history museum.

On the grounds adjacent to the old stone walls, the Hornbine School was built in 1862 and has siding and a gable roof at the front and a brick chimney at the rear.

It is the best preserved one-room schoolhouse in the city, and served as a place of learning until 1937 and as a museum since the 1960s.

You can visit on the second and fourth Sundays, from June to September, for a glimpse into school life in days gone by. The Hornbine School contains original 19th-century desks and blackboards, as well as old photographs, teaching aids, books and toys.

10. Redway Plain

This open space in the village cemetery has been owned by the town since 1992, and has an interesting history.

The Redway Plain has been used as farmland for centuries, dating back to Native American times, where timothy grass, alfalfa, corn, and other vegetables grew.

The land was later used as a training field for the Rehoboth militia, and was then adjacent to the village cemetery and the adjacent Faxonfield Farm.

Today, Redway Plain remains the town's gathering place, and from mid-July to late August, there is a season of outdoor concerts on Sunday evenings on the bandstand.

11. Perryville Dam

A few miles north of the center of Old Rehoboth Village is a pond dating back to the late 1600s. Perryville Dam, along with Butterworth Falls, was originally built around 1680 for a sawmill.

For the next 250 years, it was a hive of activity. One of the factories located here was a lathe mill, which until the late 19th century produced tool handles as well as pulleys for the textile industry.

Sawmill and grist mill operations continued into the 1930s, and Perryville Pond is now a remote place with echoes of its past.

12. Hazelton Golf Club

Exclusive country clubs cover large portions of the Rehoboth countryside. If you are a casual golfer looking for a course with a daily fee, Hazelton Golf Club is the place to go.

It was also a country club, recently restored to its original design by noted Massachusetts golf architect Geoffrey Cornish (1914-2012).

Other updates include a new irrigation system, new storage, new trash cans and a complete overhaul of all 18 greens.

The course, on a tributary of the Palmer River, takes place over nine holes, including the long par-4 18th, a dogleg right.

13. The Ice Cream Barn

This adorable ice cream stand started in 2012 as a collaboration between two creative ice cream makers and a sixth generation dairy farmer.

One of the many things to love about Ice Cream Barn is its dedication to sustainability, and in 2020, the company changed all of its packaging to compostable products.

Plus, many of the 20-plus flavors are made with local produce, and there's a map on the stand that shows strawberries, maple syrup, apples, cranberries, oats, mint, and even salt, such as where the ingredients come from. .

Some of the signature flavors are Apple Crisp, Kahlua Brownie, S'Mores, Green Tea, and Cranberry Jubilee, while the homemade waffle cones are a thing of beauty.

14. Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary

There is a shelter minutes away in Norton that provides homes and care for abandoned, neglected and abused animals.

Located on a quiet, wooded campus, Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary opened in 1997 and is home to about 200 residents.

In the spacious, healthy pastures, with winding footpaths, you'll see goats, alpacas, peacocks, cats, horses, chickens, donkeys, pigs, and more, all living their best lives.

Many of the animals are free to roam as they please, and there is a small playground for children and a shaded picnic area.

15. Seekonk Speedway

Also within easy reach is Rehoboth, the oldest family-owned racetrack in the United States in continuous operation.

First opened in 1946, Seekonk Speedway seats nearly 10,000 people and remains a thriving venue for high-speed action.

This mile-long asphalt oval hosts the NASCAR Advanced Auto Parts Weekly racing series, every Saturday throughout the season.

You can catch Pro Stock (Division 1), Late Models (Division 2), Sportsman (Division 3), and Sports Trucks (Division 4), while Friday nights are low-budget races, for drivers with daily hopes of graduating to the top Shows .

Check the schedule for one-off events like Open Wheel Racing, Demolition Derby, and Monster Truck.