ABOUT THE SOIL
The Sandy Soil
Some soil is sandy especially near the animal shelter. There is also a sandy meadow which is a rare spot because it’s like a beach in the woods. There is also a lot of sand on the banks of Mill Brook.
Forest Soil
The forest soil is good for growing trees because it has nutrients that nourish the trees as they grow. When the trees die they make nutrients for the soil. The Milliken family started cutting down trees back in the 1800s and had a sawmill there until 1934. (See diagram below.)
Clay
Milliken Mills has a very good source of clay to smelt it into bricks. Michael Milliken made the bricks to build a house and it was made in 1834. He dug up so much gray clay from the sides of the brook. He got a lot of the brown clay from the ocher pit on the property & mixed them together to make red bricks. To find the ocher pit go in the old woods road until you see the stream and it’s about 300 yards on the right hand shore up on top of the bank. If you'd like to hear more about the story of how the brick house was built, visit the history of the Milliken Mills property portion of our website.
Wetlands
Little River forms the Little River Marsh. The marsh borders Ross Road on the North, East Grand Avenue on the South, Portland Avenue on the West and Pine Point Road on the East. The marsh outlet passes through the old Snow’s cannery and exits into the ocean.