MATTAPOISETT — This autumn, the Mattapoisett Museum, 5 Church Street, will have a variety of interesting programming both on-site and around town, including the Hidden Histories & Invisible Industries Walking Tours Series in October and November to explore special and historic sites in town that have intriguing stories to tell.

According to a Mattapoisett Museum press release, “the goal of this walking tour series is to acquaint participants with past industries that have vanished from Mattapoisett’s landscape and contemporary ones that they might not know about.”

Each tour will be “guided by the stewards of the property,” and the walks will visit a granite quarry, an active oyster farm, a cranberry bog and the sites of former salt works. This series of tours is funded through a grant from the Mass Cultural Council. These tours are free and open to the public. The museum asks that participants dress appropriately for these tours.

On Saturday Oct. 7 from 12 to 4 p.m., a museum volunteer will give informal demonstrations of yarn spinning using the museum’s 18th century walking wheel. The museum has been working to restore the wheel to working order and visitors are invited to watch how wool is turned into yarn and maybe try a turn on the wheel themselves.

Then, on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. the museum will host a tour of a quarry that supplied the pink granite that makes up part of Mattapoisett’s curbs and sidewalks. The tour will meet at the entrance to the quarry trail on Mattapoisett Neck Road, about 100 yards south of Route 6, to begin. Street parking will be available. the tour will be given by Mattapoisett Land Trust President, Mike Huguenin.

On Saturday, Oct. 21 from 10 to 11:00 a.m., join Mattapoisett Museum Curator Connor Gaudet to learn about the saltworks that lined Mattapoisett beaches. An early industry in Mattapoisett, the “Salt Works” produced vast quantities of salt from sea water. Gaudet will describe the process it took to create salt from seawater as the group explores the sites of former saltworks starting at the Munro Preserve at the corner of Water Street and Main. 

Bob Field will share all he knows about oyster farming on a tour of his Copper Beech Oyster Farm from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28. Interested participants should meet at 100 Mattapoisett Neck Road. Field will give the history of how he founded his oyster farm and explain the processes involved. Please wear water-resistant shoes/boots and be prepared to walk about a quarter mile.

Finally, on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., restoration ecologist Sara Quintal from The Buzzards Bay Coalition will tour participants through “The Bogs” on Acushnet Road. The Bogs are a gateway to more than four miles of trails through the woods, along a freshwater swamp, and around 50 acres of cranberry bogs. The Bogs were created in the 1930s and operated until the fall of 2011. Although these bogs are now retired from commercial production, native cranberries continue to grow wild here. Join the Buzzards Bay Coalition to take a walk and enjoy the outdoors. Meet at The Bogs parking lot at 141 Acushnet Road. Because of active construction, this tour will be limited to 20 people and will be filled on a first come first served basis.