Mount Grace State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features 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 ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

. The

state forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory. Background The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example: * In Australia, a ...

centers around

Mount Grace Mount Grace, , is a prominent monadnock located in north central Massachusetts in the town of Warwick, approximately two miles south of the New Hampshire border. The mountain is rugged and largely wooded, but a firetower on the summit provides e ...

, which at is the third highest point in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

east of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

after

Mount Wachusett Mount Wachusett is a mountain in Massachusetts. It straddles towns of Princeton and Westminster, in Worcester County. It is the highest point in Massachusetts east of the Connecticut River. The mountain is named after a Native American term me ...

and

Mount Watatic Mount Watatic is a monadnock located just south of the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border, in the United States, at the southern end of the Wapack Range. It lies in Ashburnham, Massachusetts and Ashby, Massachusetts. The Wapack Trail and t ...

. It is bordered by portions of Warwick State Forest to the east and west and 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

Mount Grace is said to be named after the baby daughter of Mary Rowlandson, a woman captured by

Wompanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 1 ...

warriors during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

, who according to legend buried her deceased infant at the foot of the mountain during the march to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. By the turn of the 20th century, the mountain had been largely deforested, and conservationists, including former Warwick resident Dr. Paul W. Goldsbury, promoted the idea of having the state purchase it to create a state forest. Picnic and skiing facilities were built beginning in 1930,Charles Morse, ''Warwick, Massachusetts: Biography of a Town'' (Cambridge: Dresser, Chapman, and Grimes, 1963), p. 179 after legislation for the purchase passed in 1920. Crews with the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

contributed summer and winter recreational features that included a snowshoeing trail. The summit's fire lookout tower was built in 1939. It is accessible to the public and offers impressive views of the surrounding areas. It is the third tower to have been constructed on Mount Grace. The remains of a ski lift can be found near the trail head and parking lot for the

New England National Scenic Trail The New England National Scenic Trail (NET) is a National Scenic Trail in southern New England, which includes most of the three single trails Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, Mattabesett Trail and Metacomet Trail. After the Metacomet-Monadnock-Mattabe ...

(and intersection with the ''Round the Mountain'' trail) close to MA-78. Jeremy Davis, ''Mount Grace, 20 Club Ski Area, Warwick, MA c1952-1970's'', NELSAP, http://www.nelsap.org/ma/grace.html

Activities and amenities

Ski Lift remains in Mount Grace State Forest

Forest trails used for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing include a portion of the long-distance

Metacomet-Monadnock Trail The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail (M&M Trail) is a hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts and the central uplands of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Although less than from Boston and ...

(the

section of the

). The forest also offers picnicking and restricted hunting.

References

External links

Mount Grace State Forest
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Mount Grace State Forest Trail Map
Department of Conservation and Recreation

- New England Lost Ski Areas Project
Mount Grace History
- NewEnglandSkiHistory.com {{Protected Areas of Massachusetts Massachusetts state forests Parks in Franklin County, Massachusetts Warwick, Massachusetts Civilian Conservation Corps in Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1920 1920 establishments in Massachusetts