The border between Adamsville and Westport was changed in 1747 from the west bank of the Westport River (which is just to the East of Brayton's Garage) to this location in the middle of the mill pond. The new border cut though established lots creating private properties that were half in RI and half in MA. Though more than two centuries old, the "new" border continues to cause difficulties for dual-state homeowners today.
More importantly, Little Compton lost its claim on the "Acoaxet" triangle, one of Massachusetts' loveliest seaside communities.
]]>The Plymouth Court established Adamsville as part of "Sakonnet" in the seventeenth century. The settlement adopted the name "Little Compton" in 1683 (check). Although Adamsville village had no official name at that time, many people referred to it as "Taber's Mills." What is now Westport, Massachusetts was also called "Dartmouth" during this period.
The original border between Little Compton and Dartmouth was the west bank of what is known today as the Westport River. That approximate location is marked by this pin. At that time, all of Little Compton, including Adamsville, was part of first Plymouth Colony and then later Massachusetts Bay Colony.
In 1747, by decree of King George II, and to the delight of Rhode Islanders, Little Compton, Tiverton and three other Massachusetts border towns officially became part of Rhode Island. The king had the RI/MA border redrawn as a series of straight lines connecting several points exactly three miles in from the eastern bank of the Sakonnet River. This new, straight border ignored the natural contours of the Westport River and split Adamsville in two. The grist mill that was the catalyst for the formation of the village was now in a different state.
Today, the Adamsville/Westport border, established in 1747 by those straight lines, can be found in the middle of the dam (road) between Gray's Grist Mill and the pond. It is marked by a granite post.
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