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Sin and Flesh Brook

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Coordinates: 41°37′9″N 71°12′12″W / 41.61917°N 71.20333°W / 41.61917; -71.20333
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Sin and Flesh Brook
Sin & Flesh Brook, Sin and Flesh Brook, Sinning Flesh Brook, Sinning Flesh River, Sin and Flesh River, Sin & Flesh River
Sin and Flesh Brook is located in Rhode Island
Sin and Flesh Brook
Sin and Flesh Brook is located in the United States
Sin and Flesh Brook
Map
EtymologySlaying and mutilation of Zoeth Howland
Location
CountryUnited States
U.S. stateRhode Island
CountyNewport County
TownTiverton
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • coordinates41°38′44″N 71°10′51″W / 41.64556°N 71.18083°W / 41.64556; -71.18083
Mouth 
 • location
Nannaquaket Pond [wikidata]
 • coordinates
41°37′9″N 71°12′12″W / 41.61917°N 71.20333°W / 41.61917; -71.20333
Basin features
LandmarksFort Barton Site
Tributaries 
 • leftone unnamed tributary
 • rightthree unnamed tributaries
BridgesRhode Island Route 24, Industrial Way, Fish Road, Highland Road
Map of Sin and Flesh Brook in Tiverton, Rhode Island, USA

Sin and Flesh Brook is a stream in Rhode Island, United States. It and all tributaries are entirely within the town of Tiverton.

Geography

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The stream starts north of Rhode Island Route 24, flowing southwest before emptying into Nannaquaket Pond [wikidata].[1][2] From source to mouth, the stream is only about 3.2 miles (5.1 km) long.[3] The bridge near the mouth is called the Snell Bridge.[4] It can be seen from trails in the Sin and Flesh Brook Natural Area [wikidata] behind the Fort Barton Site.[5][2] Most of the underlying rock is granite, but there is some whitish, fine-grained micaceous schist near the northern reaches, as well as some hornblendic schist.[6]

History

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Sin and Flesh Brook got its unusual name from an event on 28 March 1676.[7][1][2][8] Quaker colonist Zoeth Howland [wikidata] (occasionally written as "Zoar Howland"[9] or "Low Howland"[10]) was traveling from Dartmouth, Massachusetts to Newport, Rhode Island during King Philip's War when he was killed by a group of six indigenous men.[7][1][11][2][8] This was only three months after hundreds of Narragansett villagers were killed in the Great Swamp Fight across Narragansett Bay in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.[7][2] Howland's mutilated body was later found in the unnamed stream, and local colonists started to call it Sinning Flesh River, which over time drifted to the current name.[7][1][2][8]

Only one of the assailants was named, appearing in court records as Manasses Molasses.[7][2][9][10] Molasses was tried before a court-martial without a jury in August 1676,[10] and the evidence against him was described as inconclusive and hearsay.[9] Molasses denied involvement with the killing, but admitted to buying Howland's coat for some ground nuts.[10][9] Molasses stated that the killer was someone named Quasquomack.[10] A resident of Portsmouth, Rhode Island named John Cook [wikidata] also testified at the court-martial that in the area of Puncatest in July he asked a group of indigenous people, named Woodcock, Matowat, and Job, if they knew who killed Howland.[12][10] Cook stated he was told "there were six in the company and that Molasses was the Indian that fetched him out of the water".[12] John Brigs testified that Molasses had also shot at someone named Joseph Russell.[13][10] William Manchester testified that he asked the husband of Wetamoe, Peter Nonoet, who killed Howland, and was merely told that Molasses fetched him from the water.[10] An unnamed sister of Awetamoes testified that a member of the group that attacked Howland by the name of Ohom told her that Molasses was also part of the group and took Howland from the water.[10] A man named Wechunckfum/Abram testified that Molasses had confessed to killing an Englishman in the area.[10] The wife of Sukats testified to a similar confession.[10] The court-martial was persuaded by the testimony against Manasses Molasses and he was exiled and sold into slavery.[7][2][9][10]

In the 1700s, a gristmill and a sawmill were built on the river by Aaron and Moses Barker.[4] Sylvanus Nickerson opened a thread mill here circa 1844 until his death in 1857.[4] It was then operated by Samuel Thurston and Oliver Chase before being taken over by Daniel T. Church.[4] In 2018, preservation work was ordered for the historic bridge over the river at Old Main Road.[14] In November 2022, the state of Rhode Island replaced the existing bridge that carried Fish Road over the river with a new one made from prefabricated bridge units at the cost of $926,000.[15] The bridge was carrying around 9,000 vehicles each day.[16]

Ecology

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The stream flows through areas of floodplain forest.[17] Oaks, hollies, maples, and ferns populate the forest.[18] Several species of ants are found on its banks.[17] The brook has high levels of Enterococcus bacteria.[3] Possibly this is related to treated wastewater from Tiverton Junior-Senior High School flowing into the river.[19] In the 20th century, it was stocked with brook trout.[20][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d D'Agostino, Thomas (14 July 2023). "Sin and Flesh Brook a horrific reminder of King Philip's War". The Yankee Xpress and Blackstone Valley Xpress. Webster, Massachusetts. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cook, Elon. "Sin and Flesh Brook". Rhode Tour. Rhode Island, USA. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Rivers and Streams (24K)". RIGIS: Rhode Island Geographic Information System. Rhode Island, USA. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d Jensen Devin, Nancy; Simpson, Richard V. (July 1997). Tiverton and Little Compton. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738535517. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Tiverton, Rhode Island: Walk Look Explore" (PDF). Tiverton, Rhode Island: Tiverton Open Space Commission. 2018. pp. 6–7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 March 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  6. ^ Shaler, Nathaniel Southgate; Woodworth, J.B.; Foerste, A.F. (1899). "V, The Eastern Shore of the Bay". Geology of the Narransett Basin. Vol. 33. Washington, D.C.: Government Printig Office. p. 271, 273. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "The Spirit of Sin and Flesh Brook". Tiverton Historical Society. Tiverton, Rhode Island. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  8. ^ a b c D'Agostino, Thomas; Nicholson, Arlene (2024). "1 The Ghosts of King Philip's War". Ghosts of King Philip's War. Haunted America. ISBN 9781540263407. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d e Weddle, Meredith Baldwin (2001). Walking in the way of peace : Quaker pacifism in the seventeenth century. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195131383. OCLC 191935254. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Easton, John (1858). Hough, Franklin B. (ed.). Narrative of the Causes which led to Philip's Indian War, of 1675 and 1676. Albany, NY: J. Munsell. pp. 182–184. OCLC 3568531. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  11. ^ Tiverton Historic Preservation Advisory Board (2021). "Historic Sites Map Tiverton, RHode Island" (PDF). Tiverton, RI. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 April 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  12. ^ a b Emery, William Morrell (1919). "1 Howland Ancestry". The Howland heirs; being the story of a family and a fortune and the inheritance of a trust established for Mrs. Hetty H. R. Green. p. 5. OCLC 2774050. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  13. ^ "The Old Dartmouth Historical Sketches". The Old Dartmouth Historical Sketches (74). OCLC 1604760. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  14. ^ Callaghan, Linsey (17 December 2018). "Approval of FFY 2018-2027 STIP – Administrative Adjustment - Amendment #10" (PDF). STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS Department of Administration DIVISION OF STATEWIDE PLANNING. Providence, RI. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  15. ^ Rhode Island Department of Transportation (26 October 2022). "Travel Advisory: RIDOT Closing Fish Road in Tiverton for Bridge Replacement". RI.gov. Rhode Island, USA: State of Rhode Island. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  16. ^ Rhode Island Department of Transportation (12 January 2022). "Travel Advisory: Weight Restriction set for Fish Road in Tiverton". RI.gov. Rhode Island, USA: State of Rhode Island. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  17. ^ a b Ellison, Aaron M.; Farnsworth, Elizabeth J. (1 March 2014). "Targeted Sampling Increases Knowledge and Improves Estimates of Ant Species Richness in Rhode Island". Northeastern Naturalist. 21 (1). doi:10.1656/045.021.0118. ISSN 1092-6194. OCLC 5558726214. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  18. ^ Kostrzewa, John (3 June 2022). "Walking RI: The haunting legacy of Tiverton's Fort Barton Woods". The Providence Journal. Providence, RI. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Legal Notices". Newport Daily News. Newport, Rhode Island, US. 29 January 1980. p. 15. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  20. ^ Annual Report of the Commisioners of Inland Fisheries. Pawtucket, RI: Pawtucket Linotyping Co. 1920. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  21. ^ Humphreys, Tom (9 March 1956). "Surf, Stream, Field". Newport Daily News. Newport, Rhode Island, US. p. 12. Retrieved 27 April 2025.

Further reading

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  • Pacheco, Andrew (3 December 2014). "Sin and Flesh Gut". Pixels.com. Retrieved 26 April 2025. - Picture of the mouth of the river
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