Dedham an inland town ten miles from Boston in the County of Suffolk well watered with many pleasant streams, and abounding with Garden fruit; the Inhabitants are Husband-men, somewhat more than one hundred Families, having store of Cattle and Corn.
The Town of Waymouth lyes open to the Sea, on the East Rocks and Swamps, to the South-ward good store of Deer, arable land and meadows.
On the North-side of Boston flows Charles-River, which is about six fathom deep, many small Islands lye to the Bayward, and hills on either side the River, a very good harbour, here may forty Ships ride, the passage from Boston to Charles-Town is by a Ferry worth forty or fifty pounds a [p. 164.] year, and is a quarter of a mile over. The River Mistick runs through the right side of the Town, and by its near approach to Charles-River in one place makes a very narrow neck, where stands most part of the Town, the market-place not far from the waterside is surrounded with houses, forth of which issue two streets orderly built and beautified with Orchards and Gardens, their meeting-house stands on the North-side of the market, having a little hill behind it; there belongs to this Town one thousand and two hundred Acres of arable, four hundred head of Cattle, and as many Sheep, these also provide themselves Farms in the Country.
Up higher in Charles-River west-ward is a broad Bay two miles over, into which runs Stony-River and Muddy-River.
Towards the South-west in the middle of the Bay is a great Oyster-bank, towards the North-west is a Creek; upon the shore is situated the village of Medford, it is a mile and half from Charles-town.
At the bottom of the Bay the River begins to be narrower, half a quarter of a mile broad; by the North-side of the River is New-town, three miles from Charles-town, a league and half by water, it was first [p. 165.] intended for a City, the neatest and best compacted Town, having many fair structures and handsom contrived streets; the Inhabitants rich, they have many hundred Acres of land paled with one common fence a mile and half long, and store of Cattle; it is now called Cambridge where is a Colledg for Students of late; it stretcheth from Charles-River to the Southern part of Merrimach-River.
Half a mile thence on the same side of the River is Water-town built upon one of the branches of Charles-River, very fruitful and of large extent, watered with many pleasant springs and small Rivulets, the Inhabitants live scatteringly. Within half a mile is a great pond divided between the two Towns, a mile and half from the Town is a fall of fresh waters which conveigh themselves into the Ocean through Charles-River, a little below the fall of waters they have a wair to catch fish, wherein they take store of Basse, Shades, Alwives, Frost-fish, and Smelts, in two tides they have gotten one hundred thousand of these fishes. They have store of Cattle and Sheep, and near upon two thousand Acres of arable land, Ships of small burden may come up to these Towns.
[p. 166.] We will now return to Charles-town again, where the River Mistick runs on the North-side of the Town (that is the right side as beforesaid) where on the Northwest-side of the River is the Town of Mistick, three miles from Charles-town, a league and half by water, a scattered village; at the head of this River are great and spacious ponds, full of Alewives in the spring-time, the notedst place for this sort of fish. On the West of this River is Merchant Craddock’s plantation, where he impaled a park.