Moore State Park is a public recreation area located in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Paxton, Massachusetts Paxton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,004 at the 2020 census. History Paxton was first settled by Europeans in 1749 and was officially incorporated in 1765. It was previously occupied by the Ni ...

, USA, portions of which were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as the Moore State Park Historic District in 2004. Features of the

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

include historical building foundations, a restored

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

, Eames Pond, waterfalls and mill chutes as well as abundant

azaleas Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

, and mountain laurel. The park is managed by the

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission is ...

History

A portion of the land within Moore State Park was once the site of at least five 18th- and 19th-century

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s that were powered by Turkey Hill Brook, which cascades 90 feet over a 400-foot run. The first mills on the site were a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

and

built as early as 1747. Visible remnants of the mill village include a

triphammer A trip hammer, also known as a tilt hammer or helve hammer, is a massive powered hammer. Traditional uses of trip hammers include pounding, decorticating and polishing of grain in agriculture. In mining, trip hammers were used for crushing meta ...

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

, schoolhouse and tavern. In the early 20th century, the property became a private estate, large portions of which were subsequently included in the state park. In 2003, park staff working with the American Chestnut Foundation created a large plantation of experimentally bred

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

trees as part of efforts to return blight-resistant American chestnut trees to the United States.

Activities and amenities

Park recreational opportunities include canoeing, fishing, hunting, hiking, cross-country skiing and picnicking. Interpretive programs and concerts are held in season.

References

External links

Moore State Park
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Moore State Park Trail Map
Department of Conservation and Recreation {{authority control State parks of Massachusetts Parks in Worcester County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts Historic districts in Worcester County, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

History

Activities and amenities

See also

References

External links