Charles F. Washburn Pt. 2: Manter's Cranberry Bog

Charles F. Washburn, born Plymouth 7 October 1857 to Seth and Mary (Bumpus) Washburn, is my great-great-grandfather. He married Hattie Maria Benson in 1878 and they had eight children, including my great-grandmother Carrie Washburn. 

I like to find where my ancestors lived and worked. When Charles' wife Hattie died in 1914, her obituary stated that Charles was a superintendent at Manter's Cranberry Bog in Plymouth. I couldn't find anything only about this specific bog.

I asked on the “Plymouth Remembering When” Facebook group if anyone knew the location of Manter’s Cranberry Bog. A knowledgeable man named Skip said it was “located at Warren's Wells... Today it would be in the center of Camelot Park... Warren's Wells was a huge spring and it sat in the middle of the Bog. It was among the first land grants given out by the Pilgrims in 1627. It is also the head waters for Warren Wells Brook, which is a tributary of the Eel River.” 

I did more research and found it was near what is now 130 Camelot Drive, so I drove by and took photos. It is hard to envision this industrial park as a pastoral place, although there is a river that would be pretty in different surroundings. 

Charles moved around a lot but always rented in Plymouth. It must have been challening to find an affordable rental to accommodate such a large family. They lived in the Chiltonville area of town, which is the most rural part of Plymouth, and also downtown. At about the time he is noted as working at Manter’s Cranberry Bog (1914), he was likely living on Jordan Road in Chiltonville (address in 1910 census.) This is about 4 miles from the bog via modern roadways; perhaps there was a shorter route if on foot or horseback.

I wrote a biographical sketch about Charles here.