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At its 2016 Annual Meeting, the Town of Kingston voted to establish the Jones River Restoration Fund to supply matching money for grants to remove the Elm Street dam and restore the Jones River ecosystem habitats. The $125,000 fund was used to secure about $1.4 million in state and federal funds because the Jones River is acknowledged to have been an important economic resource for the Commonwealth. Timber was sawn for ships and homes, iron was shaped into anchors, tools, cannonballs for the Revolutionary War, tacks and nails, and clothing mills wove wool for suits and uniforms – all products of the moving power of the Jones River.

After 400 years of service and manipulation, it is time to restore the river to its free-flowing self as it was when the Pilgrims first traversed up “three nautical miles” and named the river for their Captain Christopher Jones. We are now focused on recovering the fish populations and reestablishing this great nursery of the Gulf of Maine – one of the richest fisheries in the world.