Brooks Woodland Preserve
The property is divided into three contiguous parcels, the Roaring Brook Tract, Swift River Tract, and Connor's Pond Tract. Trailheads are located off Massachusetts Route 32, East Street, Oliver Street and Quaker Drive in Petersham. A network of trails runs between the tracts and abutting conservation land. Moccasin Brook and the East Branch of the Swift River pass through the center of the preserve.
History and conservation
The Preserve is named for Aaron Brooks, Jr's son, James Wilson Brooks, lawyer, diplomat, and co-founder of the United Shoe Machinery Company. Acquired in 1975, the property was formerly farmland, now overgrown with forest following the migration of agricultural interests to the midwest in the late 19th century. Cellar holes and old stone walls indicative of this former use dot the property.
The Brooks Woodland Preserve is part of an area of over 3,000 acres (12 km) of protected open space including The Trustees of the Reservation's North Common Meadow and Swift River Reservation, Harvard University's Harvard Forest, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Rutland Brook Sanctuary.
References
- ^ "Brooks Woodland Preserve". The Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
External links
42°29′40″N 72°10′31″W / 42.49444°N 72.17528°W