Job’s Landing

Owned By: Private

• Directions

Few existing records describe this early shipyard and packet landing which served east Pembroke and upper Duxbury for many years. Water access only. No access from the land.

Features

Job’s Landing in Pembroke is named for Job Randall Jr. who settled here in the early 1700s. His father, also Job, was probably the first shipwright to work at the Chittenden Yard in Norwell/South Scituate. The shipyard at this site probably only existed until 1800. The Randalls built ships here, along with George Turner and Aaron Sherman. Few records remain, however we know of the 1793 schooner Betsey (33 tons), the 1794 schooner Ruthy (39 tons), and the 1796 schooner Betsey (37 tons). In addition, the 1797 schooners Eliza (108 tons) and Polly (23 tons), and the 1799 schooner Evelina (109 tons) were also constructed here.

Job’s Landing was also at times known as Ephraim Landing, Anson Hatch Landing, and Ware Landing. In the 1970s, the remains of the old wharf were still visible.

Job’s Landing was also a packet landing — one of many on the North River. In the book “Pembroke: Ancient Trails to the 21st Century,” Joseph Chetwynd describes packet landing construction as follows. “The landings were most likely built of crib-logs, back-filled with rocks and topped with gravel, with dead-man posts set up as bollards for tying up the vessels. These landings ran parallel to the shoreline and projected into the stream as little as was necessary so as not to impede the flow of traffic in the stream. They may also have incorporated vertical sheathing on the facing to act as fenders for the boats as they lay against the bulkhead.”

Packet ship lines were established prior to 1670, and thrived until railroads came to the South Shore in the mid-to-late 1800s. Over time, White’s Ferry, Little’s Bridge, Union Bridge, Hobart’s Landing, Foster’s Landing, Job’s Landing, Brick-Kiln Yard, and the North River Bridge in Hanover became regular stops. Farmers would meet the packet ship and barter their home-grown vegetables and dairy products for goods from China and Mediterranean, such as coffee, sugar and spices. In addition to home-grown goods, packet pilots also bought wood, fish, pot iron, and charcoal from locals, and sold them lumber and ship supplies. A typical packet run, up and down the river, could take three or four days.

This land is within the region of the Massachusett (or Massachuseuk) Native American tribe. Prior to European contact, the Mattakeeset band of the Massachusett lived for thousands of years in the North River watershed. Their village included most of today’s Pembroke and Hanson. The word “Mattakeeset” means “place of many fish.”

Trail Description

No trails. Water access only.