Historic ironworks dam

Evidence of the long-gone Pembroke Iron Company, established in 1832, is seen in the half-hidden stonework ruins of its dam along U.S. Route 1. In 1856, at its height, the company produced nearly 5,000 tons of iron spikes, rivets, and nails – many of them used in the town’s shipbuilding industry.

The Pennamaquan River now flows naturally around it to a newer dam and fish ladder carrying nearly 10,000 migrating alewives a day from the head of the tide nearby to breeding grounds in lakes upstream.

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