Historical Place Names – The Carterville Journal

Published April 30, 2023 by Charles Carter

Oyster River Plantation

In 1623, English colonists established their fist settlement on Dover Neck and by 1633, settlers began spreading out to the nearby tidal shores of the Shankhassick, the Indian name for “Oyster River.” By 1640 these settlers were in “recognized possession” of the lands and clearing had begun .

When the name “Oyster River Plantation” first became utilized… I do not not for certain… in fact it is a little confusing to me since the settlement of Oyster River keeps being intertwined with “Dover.” However, what we do know is that when the first Towne Rate List was published on October 19, 1648, it included a listing of names of those who resided at Oyster River Plantation at that time. (History of the town of Durham, New Hampshire (Oyster River Plantation), Volume One, Birth and growth of the town, p.9).

What is interesting… and possibly quite relevant… is the fact that the name Matthew GYLES is included in this list. According to a 1648 land deed: On June 24, 1648, Richard CATER (I) assigns his dwelling in Oyster River to his “trusted and welbeloved friende,” Matthew GILES.

The map below shows where this Matthew GILES or GYLES resided which may have once belonged to our progenitor, Richard CATER I.

Historical Place Names

1648 Land Deed Matthew GILES Oyster River Plantation Richard CATER I (Bet 1598-1679)

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Published April 10, 2023 by Charles Carter

Back River

The early settlers named the tidal portion of the river located at the west side of Dover Neck, Back River, above which, to the north, they called “Bellamy’s Bank river or freshet.” (The name “freshet” was given to the fresh portion of a stream to distinguish it from the tidal part towards the mouth, which is salt.)

On September 20, 1647, Joseph Miller conveyed to John Goddard 20 acres on the west side of “Back River.”

Historically, the name “Back River” was never retained and at some point…changed by “some very ignorant persons” to “Bellamy River,” not knowing that name belonged only to the fresh water portion of the river, which ends at the Sawyer lower mill.
Source: Remembering Old Dover NH Facebook Group

Historical Place Names

Back River Bellamy River Dover Neck

Piscataqua River

The Piscataqua River, named by the area’s original Abenaki inhabitants, is a 12-mile-long river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the river is approximately 1,495 square miles, including the subwatersheds of the Great Works River and the five rivers flowing into Great Bay: the Bellamy, Oyster, Lamprey, Squamscott, and Winnicut.

The river runs southeastward, with New Hampshire to the south and west and Maine to the north and east, and empties into the Gulf of Maine east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The last 6 miles (10 km) before the sea are known as Portsmouth Harbor. The historical cities and towns of Portsmouth, New Castle, Newington, Kittery and Eliot are located around the harbor.
Source: Piscataqua River

Historical Place Names

Piscataqua River

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Published April 5, 2023 by Charles Carter

Dover Point

Wecohamet, was the Indian name of Dover Point mentioned in Hilton’s patent of March 12, 1629-30. It is also called Winnichahannat May 22, 1656 when Captain Thomas Wiggin surrendered his claims to Hilton Point lands.

Historical Place Names

Dover Point Hilton Point

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