Howdy neighbor! Among the many interesting things I found out at the Waterford World’s Fair last Saturday was a thorny little research question which I think folks here will get a kick out of. Readers, has anyone ever told you why Mutiny Brook out in South Waterford is so named? Well, that’s the question Mr. Tom Noonan gave me a few days ago, and here is what I found out.
To start with, I asked him what he’d heard, and Tom told me that while he hadn’t found anything written in local histories, based on rumors the best he could figure was that the name was somehow connected with local militias fighting in the French and Indian War. Now I wasn’t sure that story was true, but since I did personally recall hearing something like that said over supper in Waterford some years ago, and realizing there might be a story here, I took the case. You know folks, asking around I soon found the notion that Mutiny Brook was named after an Indian incident is pretty popular; perhaps this is because the brook lies right along the old “Scoggin Trail” used by local Native Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries. It seems to be an abiding piece of local folklore, easily handed down orally, but as it happens, I’ve not been able to find any written account of it before the mid-20th century, which doesn’t augur well for its historicity. As someone who has spent a lot of time studying our first settlers and local Native American history, I feel comfortable saying that nothing of that sort could have taken place here without it being pretty well known to the early historians of our region. That Henry P. Warren’s History of Waterford says nothing about it, that star folklorist the Rev. G.T. Ridlon and even professional teller of tall-tales Judge William A. Emery should ignore it in their writings doesn’t pass muster.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.