The Quinebaug-Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor promotes the preservation of the cultural, historical, and natural resources of this region; the walks I chose for this gorgeous fall day were particularly emblematic of this goal.
A large group of us gathered at 10 this morning for Walk #82, “The Hills Are Alive,” sponsored by the Sturbridge Historic Commission. The two-hour ramble started from the parking lot of the Leadmine Mountain Trail Head, located on Leadmine Road, a half mile south of the intersection of Douty Road and Stallion Hill Road, and took us along three different trails, the Stafford Turnpike Loop, the Cabin Loop, and finally the Pond View Loop; along the way, we learned fascinating facts about the early history of Sturbridge and how this 85-acre parcel of land, the Heins Family Farm now owned by the Town, figured into this history.
This historical marker indicates that the Worcester-Stafford Turnpike ran through the property. In 1806, the Shumway family petitioned the Commonwealth for a charter to build the Turnpike; by 1810 it was in service. In the early nineteenth century, highways between towns were built to foster economic growth. In fact, Sturbridge was a small town in 1815, with only 46 buildings, but with the stagecoaches stopping at the Publick House, it began to prosper. Town records indicate that professions like Innkeeper, Saddler, Blacksmith became more popular as travel increased. The journey from Worcester to Hartford took 12 hours, from 6 am to 6 pm. The two horses pulling the coach would be changed every 10 miles (a stage) so that they would be fresh. Tolls were collected at two points between Worcester and Sturbridge and were waived for church-goers, the military, and those going to the mills. There were three classes of fares; third-class passengers were expected to help pull the coach uphill when an extra effort was needed. Though there were many toll roads in Massachusetts in the early nineteenth century, by mid-century, they were in decline, due to factors such as topography (hills) and the rise of the railroads. When the turnpike roads were abandoned, in Sturbridge in 1835, the cleared land reverted to forest.
I admired the sweep of meadows and the fall colors of this early successional forest:
The pond nestles in a glaciated landscape; this section of trail is ADA compliant:
Around 12:30, I stopped at the Sturbridge Dunkin Donuts for coffee, then about an hour later got back in my car and drove a few miles west on I-84 to Union, Connecticut, for Walk #87, “The Myers’ Legacy.” There must have been at least 75 people who joined the walk — a huge crowd — and listened to Mike Bartlett, forester with Hull Forest Products, talk about this property which the company purchased from George H. Myers’ heirs in 1997. In the 20s and 30s, Mr. Myers had bought about 8,000 acres of land in this area; in the early 50s, he transferred the bulk of his land, around 7,800 acres, to Yale University. These 450 acres he retained, on the upper reaches of the Bigelow Brook, where native brook trout thrive, were the crown jewels of his holdings.
As the forester talked, I scribbled frantically, but now I can’t read these cryptic notes. Perhaps it’s just as well. I’m not sure how familiar my readers are with most of this information, but I’ll probably bore you anyway, so instead of spewing details that may be inaccurate because I can’t remember what was said or read my notes, I’ll provide some brief summaries and then try to link to some reputable resources, so you can delve into these subjects on your own.
Ownership Transfer. Hull Forest Products purchased the land in 1997. The first order of business was access roads for tractor trailers; fortunately, a lot of that infrastructure was already in place. The initial inventory revealed that the trees were not necessarily healthy: an increment bore would show a growth rate of 18-25 rings per inch, whereas 4-8 rings would be typical of a healthier tree. The forest was overcrowded, and the decision was made to harvest using a machine to cut-to-length as well as a forwarder (a skidder was used in the second harvest). The most common species in the forest was hemlock, which, because it’s shallowly rooted, had been devastated by Hurricane Gloria (fortunately, these trees have not generally been affected by the woolly adelgid, as this insect pest is killed by frigid temperatures).
First Harvest. This operation took place 1997-1998 and yielded 8,200 tons of pulp (3,000 cords). About a half million board-feet of hemlock was harvested, as well as around 30,000 board-feet of white pine (these are soft woods and are not particularly valuable, except for pulp products).
Second Harvest. This operation took place between 2003-2006; they harvested another half-million board-feet of hemlock.
Issues. Weevils had gotten to white pine, which is one reason they were slated for harvest. There are a few invasives: Japanese barberry, bittersweet, Russian olive, and Norway maple, so they try to keep these under control.
Even Age Management. This forestry technique refers to harvesting all the trees for lumber, but of course leaving the source of seed. Although people don’t generally like clear-cuts, it’s not necessarily bad forest management practice. For example, some plant species prefer sunlight, and some animals prefer thick young growth, which is enabled by clear-cutting. In the Northeast, foresters rely on the forest to replant itself, unlike in certain areas of the South where trees are grown more like an agricultural crop.
Uneven Age Management. Hull Forestry practices this type of selective cutting, in which some bigger and older trees are often left to grow to their maximum size. This results in a forest with three ages of trees, generally pine in the overstory, hard woods which are half as old, and the younger generation of 10-year-old hemlock and white pine (trees in an age class are within 10-20 years of each other).
Homestead. Because it was in such poor repair, the Myers’ house was taken down in 1998. George, his wife, and three daughters are buried in the cemetery up on the hill (the plot is owned by Yale). Hull does manage this area: fields are mowed and the bluebird boxes they built are monitored.
George H. Myers. He was quite the character! I wasn’t able to find a complete biography on the web, so instead I’ll offer three pieces of trivia. One, his half-brother John was a founder of Bristol-Myers-Squibb. Two, George was interested in textiles and was an early contributor to the Textile Museum in Washington, DC. And three, at one point he swapped parcels of land with the Wells family (George Wells is well-known as the founder of American Optical and Old Sturbridge Village). When Myers bought his lands, he paid only a few dollars per acre; these lands are now worth about $2,000 an acre.
Hull Forest Products. Bill Hull, the company founder, earned a degree in forestry at UNH. Ben is one of three children; he works in manufacturing and sales of flooring, which contributes about 10% of the company revenue (their mill is in Pomfret). Hull Forest Lands owns 13,000 acres, mostly in Western Massachusetts; their holdings in northeastern Connecticut total between 3-4000 acres.
Current Status. The Nature Conservancy became interested in preservation in this area and recently purchased an easement, on which they are developing the Blue Trail for limited public access. TNC’s purchase pushed them over 50,000 acres of protected land in Connecticut. . .This particular property is leased for additional income to the New Britain Fish and Game Club. . .The nearest township, Union, founded in 1727, has not grown appreciably: in 1756, the population was only 500; today it’s around 735.
Natural History. The forested landscape today is quite a bit different from its early twentieth century incarnation, due to the mix of tree species. For example, most of the chestnut trees which were prevalent then have now died from blight.
Cultural History: On Kinney Brook, there was both a sawmill and a gristmill, which flourished around 1837-1840 but was moribund by 1870. The cellar hole to the left of the trail leading back to where we parked is all that remains of the Captain Larson home (he was one of the original settlers).
I didn’t take a lot of photos; I’ll end this post with three more.
The first colonizers after a harvest are deciduous understory trees. I’m guessing that these are birches, because one clue to species identification is leaf color, and these are definitely yellow:
One can see what a lovely view the Myers family had from their home! Across the road is a stand of large black cherry trees which were not felled during the harvests.
Myers Pond is surrounded by pines 140-150 years old (due to patterns of land use, the oldest trees in this tract are only 200 or so years old). Norway Spruce was probably planted for aesthetic reasons (it’s not native).
