Deacon Samuel Edson, baptized Sept. 5, 1613, in Fillongley, Warwickshire, England, was an original proprietor of Bridgewater. With 56 shareholders, including Miles Standish and "Goodman Alden," he bought the land on Mar. 23, 1649, from Chief Massasoit, the "White Man's Friend To The Pilgrim Fathers." Edson built the first grist mill in Bridgewater on this site, where mill-stones testify to his courage and foresight. A deacon in the Puritan Church, he was a prominent leader in the affairs of the community until his death July 19, 1692.