Russells Mills Village is a short walk from Slocum River
Just 3 minutes from this Slocum river home… Take your bike, or walk down to the Village from this beautiful home on the Slocum River, stop by the Davoll’s General Store for the paper and then over to Alderbrook Farm for some fresh eggs.
The first settlement in what is now Russells Mills Village occurred prior to King Phillip’s War (1675-76). The first settlers were members of the Russell family who established the early industries suitable to the economy of the late 1600s and early 1700s: water-driven mills and shipbuilding. The branches of the Slocum River, especially the Paskamansett, were the energy source for these early commercial ventures. As many as eleven water-powered mills were in operation at one time around the Village, ranging in function from grinding grain to fulling cloth, working iron, and sawing timbers and shingles. Residents of Russells Mills pioneered the early development of Bedford Village (now New Bedford, then a part of Old Dartmouth) as a major whaling port. The Village lived from the sea and agriculture into the early 20th Century.
Apart from its historical importance in the settlement and development of the area, Russells Mills Village is significant because it has changed very little in the last hundred years. Most of the Village’s present buildings were constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries.
(information provided by Dartmouth Historical & Arts Society)