South Carver, Massachusetts

Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 to 1691 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on the Mayflower at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of the southeastern portion of Massachusetts. Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore, including the American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock.: 2 Plymouth Colony was founded by a group of Protestant Separatists initially known as the Brownist Emigration, who came to be known as the Pilgrims. It was the second successful colony to be founded by the English in America after Jamestown in Virginia, and it was the first permanent English settlement in the New England region. The colony established a treaty with Wampanoag Chief Massasoit which helped to ensure its success; in this, they were aided by Squanto, a member of the Patuxet tribe. Plymouth played a central role in King Philip's War (1675–1678), one of several Indian Wars, but the colony was ultimately merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony and other territories in 1691 to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Despite the colony's relatively short existence, Plymouth holds a special role in American history. Most of the citizens of Plymouth were fleeing religious persecution and searching for a place to worship as they saw fit, rather than being entrepreneurs like many of the settlers of Jamestown, Virginia. The social and legal systems of the colony became closely tied to their religious beliefs, as well as to English custom.: 2 

Sampsons Pond (also called Sampson's Pond and Sampson Pond) is a 310-acre (1.3 km2) warm water infertile pond in Carver, Massachusetts, in the South Carver section of town, southwest of Dunham Pond. The pond has an average depth of nine feet and a maximum depth of 14 feet (4.3 m). The water is clear with a transparency of 12 feet (3.7 m). Access to the pond is a paved launching ramp off Lake View St. suitable for trailer boats. Although there is no launching fee, the Town of Carver requires a sticker for one to park on town land next to the ramp. Sampsons Pond was once a marsh. During the early 19th century Carver was a big producer of bog iron. Sampsons Pond was dug out for its iron ore. This accounts for the rusty color seen in the water, as well as the pieces of ore that can be found in the area.

Bates Pond is a 20-acre (81,000 m2) pond in Carver, Massachusetts. The pond is located south of Edaville Railroad. Huckleberry Corner lies along the southern shore of the pond. The water quality is impaired due to non-native plants in the pond.

Edaville Railroad (also branded Edaville USA and Edaville Family Theme Park) is a heritage railroad and amusement park in South Carver, Massachusetts, opened in 1947, and temporally closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The park was only open for the Christmastime season in 2021, and will reopen under new management for the 2022 Christmastime season (see history section). It is one of the oldest heritage railroad operations in the United States. It is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge line that operates excursion trains for tourists, built by the late Ellis D. Atwood (initials E.D.A., for which Edaville is named) on his sprawling cranberry plantation in Southeastern Massachusetts.: 45 

King Richard's Faire is a Renaissance Faire held in Carver, Massachusetts, which recreates a 16th-century marketplace, including handmade crafts, foods, musicians, singers, dancers, minstrels, mimes, jugglers, whip artists, magicians, comedians, puppeteers, acrobats, animal acts, mud beggars, stilt walkers, knights jousting on horseback, a royal court, and the fictional King Richard. King Richard's Faire is the largest and longest-running Renaissance Faire in New England.

Dunham Pond is a 45-acre (180,000 m2) pond in Carver, Massachusetts, United States. The pond is located northeast of Sampsons Pond and southwest of Federal Pond.

Carver is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,645 at the 2020 census. It is named for John Carver, the first governor of the Plymouth Colony. The town features two popular tourist attractions: Edaville USA theme park and King Richard's Faire, the largest and longest-running renaissance fair in New England.

South Meadow Brook Reservoir, also known as South Meadow Brook Pond, is a 25-acre (100,000 m2) pond in Carver, Massachusetts. South Meadow Brook flows through the pond. The pond is located north of Edaville Railroad.

West Wareham is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Wareham in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,064 at the 2010 census.

Tremont Mill Pond is a 50-acre (200,000 m2) pond in Wareham, Massachusetts, in the West Wareham section of town. The Weweantic River flows through the pond. Route 28 runs north of the pond. Tremont village is located southwest of the pond. The water quality is impaired due to non-native fish in the pond.

Federal Pond is a 129-acre (0.52 km2) pond in Carver and Plymouth, Massachusetts. A small portion of the northeastern shore of the pond is in the Myles Standish State Forest. The pond is located southwest of Rocky Pond and Curlew Pond, and northeast of Dunham Pond. Two unnamed islands lie in the middle of the pond. The water quality is impaired due to non-native aquatic plants and non-native fish species. The only road leading to the pond, Old Federal Road in Carver, is a private road. As such, the pond is officially off limits to the public, although a high tension line right of way crosses the northern tip of the pond and is frequented by sport fishermen.

The Southeastern Massachusetts Resource Recovery Facility (commonly known as SEMASS) is a waste-to-energy and recycling facility located in Rochester, Massachusetts. It is currently owned by Covanta Energy. The United States Environmental Protection Agency mandated closure of unlined landfills in the early 1980s-- after which many Cape Cod communities signed agreements to send their municipal waste to SEMASS. Two facilities to transfer trash from trucks to railroad hopper cars, the Upper Cape Regional Transfer Station and the Yarmouth-Barnstable Regional Transfer Station were constructed to consolidate trash receipts and minimize the number of garbage trucks making round trips between their respective towns and SEMASS. The goal was to conserve fuel, lower transportation costs, reduce vehicle exhaust pollution, and mitigate traffic congestion on and near the two bridges spanning the Cape Cod Canal. Massachusetts Coastal Railroad, is the rail service provider for the facility.The towns served by the station had 30-year disposal contracts with SEMASS that expired between 2015 and 2016. By 2013 the per-ton rates paid by the towns were all well below market rates.Six towns, Brewster, Chatham, Eastham, Sandwich, Truro, and Yarmouth, renewed with SEMASS, but a competitor, ABC Disposal Service of New Bedford, signed up seven other towns, Barnstable, Dennis, Harwich, Mashpee, Orleans, Provincetown, and Wellfleet, with a promise to build a new recycling and disposal plant. As of 2016 the plant has not been built, the waste is being sent to landfills and ABC has filed for bankruptcy. As of November 2019 ABC has approached Mashpee looking for a substantial increase in their tipping fees claiming the failure to reach an agreement may force the company out of business. ABC has still not completed the promised waste to brickette facility that they sold many town on.