Ward Reservation on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Charles W. Ward Reservation is a open space reserve located in
The Ward Reservation's original acreage was donated by Mrs. Charles W. Ward in 1940 in memory of her husband. Additional lands were given by the Ward family and other donors in at least twelve gifts from 1944 to 1999. Other parcels were purchased between 1958 and 1978.
Parts of the reservation, including some parcels it surrounds, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Holt Farm.
A fire tower was built at the top of Holt Hill in 1924. The current tower was built in 1970. It is in active use, but is not open to the public.
Some time in between 2005-2013, the Johnston family sold their inherited land from Grey Road to earlier reservation land. Mary, Chuck, and Joe all sold their land to the reservation, and generously added to the governmental land for a very cheap price. The land was officially sold, and the Johnston root can still be seen in the houses and family ties in Andover.
File:Ward Reservation P1130890.jpg, Bog Trail
File:Ward Reservation P1130894.jpg, Pine Hole Pond
File:Ward Reservation P1130896.jpg, Fire tower on Holt Hill
File:Ward Reservation P1130898.jpg, Solstice stones on Holt Hill summit
Ward Reservation
The Trustees of Reservations
Trail mapPine Hole Bog nature trail brochureBay Circuit Trail Section 3 descriptionBay Circuit Trail Section 3 map
{{coord, 42, 38, 28, N, 71, 6, 21, W, type:landmark, display=title The Trustees of Reservations North Andover, Massachusetts Protected areas of Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Circuit Trail Open space reserves of Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1940 1940 establishments in Massachusetts
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
* Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Ando ...
and North Andover, Massachusetts, north of Boston. The reserve, managed by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit orga ...
, is notable for its open drumlin hilltops and vistas encompassing Boston and Salem
Salem may refer to: Places
Canada
Ontario
* Bruce County
** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie
** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce
* Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...
. The Ward Reservation offers of trails and former woods roads available for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and cross country skiing; it is also a link in the Bay Circuit Trail
The Bay Circuit Trail and Greenway or Bay Circuit is a Massachusetts rail trail and greenway connecting the outlying suburbs of Boston from Plum Island in Newburyport to Kingston Bay in Duxbury, a distance of .
Landmarks include Henry David T ...
system.
Geography and recreation
The Ward Reservation contains hayfields, hilltops, wetlands, creeks, swamps, and woodlands. Colonial era stone walls on the property, when combined, total more than long. Hills on the reservation include Shrub Hill, Boston Hill, and the Holt Hill drumlin, named for the 17th-century settlement of Nicholas Holt, which offers 280 degree views of Boston, Salem, and the Blue Hills. An arrangement of "solstice stones" on the summit mark annual solstice and equinox events. Pine Hole Bog, a rarequaking bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; ...
located on the property is accessed via a boardwalk; The Trustees of Reservations provides an interpretive brochure for the bog at trailhead kiosks.
A network of trails span the Ward Reservation, most notably the Bay Circuit trail which forms a 200-mile (320 km) arc around metropolitan Boston through suburbs west of the city. The trail passes over Holt Hill. A main reservation trailhead and parking area is located on Prospect Road in Andover. There is also access and parking at Brightview on Turnpike Street in North Andover via Boston Hill.
History
The Ward Reservation's original acreage was donated by Mrs. Charles W. Ward in 1940 in memory of her husband. Additional lands were given by the Ward family and other donors in at least twelve gifts from 1944 to 1999. Other parcels were purchased between 1958 and 1978.
Parts of the reservation, including some parcels it surrounds, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Holt Farm.
A fire tower was built at the top of Holt Hill in 1924. The current tower was built in 1970. It is in active use, but is not open to the public.
Some time in between 2005-2013, the Johnston family sold their inherited land from Grey Road to earlier reservation land. Mary, Chuck, and Joe all sold their land to the reservation, and generously added to the governmental land for a very cheap price. The land was officially sold, and the Johnston root can still be seen in the houses and family ties in Andover.
Image gallery
References
External links
Ward Reservation
The Trustees of Reservations
Trail map
{{coord, 42, 38, 28, N, 71, 6, 21, W, type:landmark, display=title The Trustees of Reservations North Andover, Massachusetts Protected areas of Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Circuit Trail Open space reserves of Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1940 1940 establishments in Massachusetts