The history of the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, By a committee of the Dorchester antiquarian and historical society ...

HISTORY OF DORCHESTER. 577
where Lyman Kinsley, a descendant of the original
proprietor, now carries on extensively the same business; and James Bomant set up a cotton mill in 1800.
Upon this branch, Paul Revere, of Revolutionary
notoriety, established the first Copper Works in
America, in 1801, for the making of brass guns, bells,
&c. Paul Revere & Son were succeeded by the
Revere Copper Company, who were incorporated in
1828, and who now carry on the business extensively. Upon this branch is the Canton Stone Factory, originally built for the purpose of carrying on
the woolen business, but which is now used for the
manufacture of cotton goods.
The eastern and western branches, united, flow
northerly, dividing the towns of Dedham and Canton,
and about five miles below the junction receive the
surplus waters of Punkapoag* Pond through a brook
of the same name. About one and a half miles
below this point, the river becomes the bounds of
the towns of Dedham and Milton, and continues so
for about two miles, where it receives the waters of
the Mother Brooks, which is a stream formed by diverting one third of the waters of Charles River from
its natural course, in the town of Dedham, about
half a mile north of the Court House, and which
turns the wheels of several large manufactories in
Dedham. The Mother Brooks loses its identity in
the Neponset, at the foot of Brush Hill, in Milton.
The Neponset here turning a more easterly course,
divides the towns of Dorchester and Milton for about
five miles, during which course it receives the waters
The name Punkapoag signifies a stream issuing out of red earth.