The Tremont Nail Factory on Elm Street reminds us that Wareham once supported profitable iron and nail industries. Did you know that early settlers discovered bog ore in the swamps and river beds from which they created nails, tools and iron ware in their own smithies? Eventually that same ore led to the rise of the many iron and nail companies in town during the nineteenth-century.

The original factory was established by Isaac and Jared Pratt in 1819 on the site of the old cotton mill that was shelled and partially burned by the militia from the HMS Nimrod during the War of 1812. For this reason, the Wareham Summer of Celebration 2014 Committee chose Tremont Nail for the cover of its keepsake 2014 calendar. In June 2014, 200 years after the attack, Wareham will celebrate its heroic role in this skirmish with a reenactment and encampment on the Town Green.

The bell in the cupola of Tremont Nail carries the date 1851 and rang on the hour day and night providing standard time used by the locals. Known originally as the Parker Mills Nail Company, the mill later became Tremont Nail Company. For almost 200 years, it employed citizens of Wareham eventually shipping product all over the world. In 2006, Acorn Manufacturing and Company acquired Tremont Nail and moved its operations to Mansfield.