The Reservations

of the

Appalachian Mountain
Club

The Reservations
of the
Appalachian Mountain
Club

By Harvey N. Shepard
Chairman of the Trustees of
Real Estate

Boston
Printed for the Club
1913

THE Legislature of Massachusetts in the year 1893
enlarged the charter of the Appalachian Mountain
Club to enable it to hold mountain and forest lands and
historic sites, and so preserve the beauty and attractive
ness of our mountains, and especially of their forests. For
the management of these lands a board of five Trustees
of Real Estate was created by the Club in 1894, four of
them chosen from the Club at large, one each year for
four years, and the fifth being a member of the Council,
designated by it for one year. The Club now owns sixteen
parcels, acquired chiefly by gift: three in Massachusetts,
eleven in New Hampshire, and two in Maine, varying
in area from one acre to three hundred acres each. They
are held in trust for the public; and therefore are exempt
from taxation in Massachusetts, and in part also in New
Hampshire.* Parsons Reservation.
In December, 1897, Albert Stevens Parsons, a former
president of the Club, and his co-heirs in the estate of
Joseph Stevens, gave to the Club forty acres upon Mt.
Grace in the town of Warwick, Massachusetts. The sum
mit of the mountain has an elevation of 1,628 feet, and is
reached easily from the reservation, which is upon an
eminence locally known as Bennett's Knob, 1,490 feet
above sea. The view includes Wachusett, Greylock, and
other mountains in Massachusetts; the Monadnocks, just
over the line in New Hampshire; the Green Mountains,
in Vermont; and the Adirondacks, in New York. The
reservation is largely wooded, with a mixed growth of
* E. G. Chamberlain has made topographic maps of most of them, and prints
can be obtained from him.
[3]

good quahty and middle age. It is reached from Warwick
village by two paths: one, obscure in places, over the
summit; and a more direct path across the east slope, and
leading in a generally northerly course. Warwick is reached
by the Fitchburg division of the Boston & Maine Rail
road to Orange; and thence eight miles by stage, meeting
one train a day; or, better, by arrangement with the local
hack man in Orange, who generally is at the station on
the arrival of trains, and who has an automobile.
Carlisle Pines Reservation.
This reservation, in the town of Carlisle, Massachusetts,
is notable for its one hundred great white pines, two and
one half to three and one half feet in diameter and one hun
dred to one hundred and twenty feet tall, as large and fine
as New England can produce, and probably the largest to
be found in southern New England, excepting individual
trees here and there elsewhere. The fund for the purchase
of this reservation, ten acres in extent, was raised by
public subscription in 1902, through the efforts of the
Massachusetts Forestry Association and the Boston
Transcript. Mr. Arthur Warren, of Chelmsford, contrib
uted handsomely; the Society for Promoting Agriculture
gave five hundred dollars; and the Appalachian Moun
tain Club, one hundred dollars. The hardwood trees have
been cut so as to give prominence to the big pines, and to
render possible the growth of others, and especially to
deprive the young gypsy moths of food. In 1912 the Club
enlarged this reservation by the purchase of ten ad
joining acres, which contain a good growth of pines,
though none of them approach the size of our large trees.
The Forestry Department of the Commonwealth con
siders this reservation of such importance that it has co
operated with us in its protection. The reservation is
reached most readily from Boston by the Lexington
[4]

esan

AMONG THE CARLISLE PINES
By permission of The Boston Globe

Branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad, or by street-car,
to Bedford, and thence by a drive or walk six miles through
Carlisle village to E. L. Dow's house upon Curve Street.
It also may be reached by the Boston & Maine Railroad
to Concord Junction, where change is made to the Lowell
branch of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail
road, stopping at Carlisle station, a flag-station about a
mile from Mr. Dow's house. One also may easily drive
from Concord, or Chelmsford. The reservation lies back
half a mile from Curve Street, over a rough wood-road.
With the consent of the Carlisle selectmen, a sign has
been placed at the entrance upon Curve Street; and there
are finger-boards at intervals along the wood-road.
Gilson Hill Reservation.
This reservation, in Billerica, Massachusetts, is the
gift of Warren H. Manning and John E. Rowell; and a
satisfactory maintenance agreement has been made with
the Billerica Improvement Society. It includes about
nine acres upon the summit, and about fifteen acres more
in the three connecting wood-roads. It is one of the best
view-points in Middlesex county, commanding Wachu-
sett, the Monadnocks, Joe English Hill, and a broad sweep
eastward to the sea. At the foot of the hill is a spring, near
which an early settler, Gilson, built his home. The reser
vation is accessible from both the Treble Cove road and
the Rangeway road.
Lead Mine Bridge Reservation.
This reservation, thirty-seven acres in extent, is the
gift of Miss Anne Whitney, of Boston, in 1897 and 1911.
It is beautifully situated in the town of Shelburne, New
Hampshire, upon both banks of the Androscoggin river,
at a point, about two miles from the village and three
miles from Gorham, where the Lead Mine Bridge crosses
[5]

the river. It commands a charming stretch of river
scenery; indeed, the view up-stream, with Mts. Madison
and Adams over it and Mt. Washington to the left, the
river forming a beautiful foreground, is starred by Bae
deker and was characterized by Starr King in his "White
Hills" as one which at once takes the eye captive, and
not only claims front rank among the richest landscapes
in New Hampshire, but impresses travellers who are fresh
from Europe "as one of the loveliest pictures which have
been shown to them on the earth." For several years,
following its acquisition by the Club, this reservation
continued to gain in beauty, nearly all the newly planted
pines living and growing rapidly. It was in danger twice
from fire, undoubtedly caused by sparks from locomotives
upon the Grand Trunk Railway, but conferences with the
officers of this corporation led to greater care, so that there
has been no further occasion for complaint. The lead-
mine, long ago abandoned, is two miles from the bridge,
upon the north side of the river, in a deep slate ravine,
where are found veins of copper, zinc, and silver-bearing
lead ore. Snyder Brook Reservation.
This reservation, thirty-six acres in extent, bought by
the Club in May, 1895, to save a strip of original White
Mountain forest from imminent logging operations, lies in
the town of Randolph, New Hampshire. Its outline is
irregular, as it follows the course of Snyder Brook, in its
winding plunges down the mountain, about three hundred
feet on either side of the brook for half a mile from the
Boston & Maine Railroad location at Appalachia station,
near the Ravine House. Through this bit of ancient
mixed forest, in every way typical of the wilderness which
once covered all the lower mountain slopes of that region,
runs the path to the Madison Spring Reservation; and on
[6]

THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB'S HUTS AT MADISON SPRING
From a photograph by Guy Shorey

the brook itself are some of the prettiest falls and cascades
anywhere to be seen. There are many other paths through
and from this reservation, and their use to gain the
mountain summits increases every year. It now is the
only portion of the ancient woods which once clothed in
beauty the slopes of these northern peaks. The lumberman
and the wood-pulp man have swept away all the remainder.
Madison Spring Reservation.
This reservation, one acre in extent, the gift of Brown's
Lumber Company of Whitefield, New Hampshire, October
1, 1888, is in the saddle between Mts. Madison and Adams,
amid ragged fragments of weather-beaten rocks, among
which nestle tiny and rare flowers, at an elevation of forty-
eight hundred and twenty feet above the sea, and upon
the paths from Randolph across the Presidential Range to
the summit of Mt. Washington. Besides a spring of good
water, from which the reservation gets its name, there
are upon it two stone huts: the older was built in 1888
and enlarged in 1906; the more recent was built in 1911.
The reservation commands a good view to the north,
and a most impressive outlook south, across the Great
Gulf to Mt. Washington, is obtained from "The Parapet,"
so caUed, not many yards distant. By the enlargement of
the old hut, a separate room has been provided for the
occupation of women, of the same depth as the old room,
and twelve feet in width. Both rooms are provided with
stoves. The new hut is used as a living-room and for
meals. The huts are connected by telephone with the
Ravine House in Randolph, and by a switch there with
all telephone lines. During the summer months the huts
are in charge of a keeper, and compensation is asked for
their use. During the other months of the year the men's
room of the old hut remains unlocked, so that it can be
used by trampers. Over a thousand people visit these
[7]

huts every summer, and most of them remain for one or
more nights. The reservation is reached most directly
from the Ravine House by the Madison path and its con
tinuation, the Valleyway, about four miles.
Joseph Story Fay Reservation.
This reservation, one hundred and fifty acres in ex
tent, the gift in 1897 of Miss Sarah B. Fay, in memory of
her father, whose name it bears, is in the towns of Wood
stock and Lincoln, New Hampshire, just outside the
village of North Woodstock, and lies along both sides of
the stage-road from North Woodstock to the Flume and
the Profile Houses. On the east side of the road, and be
tween it and the Pemigewasset river, he two strips, gen
erally long and narrow but broadening out here and
there into small grassy glades, revealing glimpses of the
rapid stream. Upon the grassy openings are a few gnarled
apple-trees, and upon the remainder of the strips are little
groves and belts of white pine, sugar maple, oak, birch,
and beach. The south river-section is small; but, by reason
of its reaching down to the edge of the village, its open
parklike spots, and the pretty sylvan island in the stream,
with two rustic bridges, it is of great value to the people
of North Woodstock and to their summer guests. The
main body of the reservation lies upon the west side of
the highway; and, while it does not reach so near the
thickly settled portion of the village as does the south
strip of the river-section, yet it is not far removed. The
tract rises from the road to a little hill with a remarkably
large and broad-topped sugar maple, under which a
rustic bench has been placed, affording a view south
across the village to the mountains beyond, and east up
the East Branch into what formerly was known as the
Pemigewasset Wilderness. From the north end of the
ridge, near the boundary line, where a platform with
[8]

IN THE JOSEPH STORY FAY RESERVATION
From a photograph by Sanborn

steps has been built and a rustic bench put upon it, can
be seen a real mountain picture, framed in the tall trunks
of old trees — a vista up into the Franconia Notch. Soon
after the acquisition of this reservation this ridge at
tracted the attention of Professor William H. Niles, of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then president of
the Club; and upon investigation he decided that this is a
glacial terminal moraine of much interest. There is no
indication of ledge, but a great abundance of boulders,
cobblestones, gravel, and sand. One of these boulders,
notable for its size and picturesque surroundings, has been
made accessible by a rustic log ladder among the firs on
its north side. The ridge is clothed with a fine mixed
forest, mostly secondary growth but with a liberal sprink
ling of veterans of size. There also is a fine grove of sugar
maples with particularly well developed tops. On the
side farthest from the road the land falls to a piece of low,
wet ground, where thrive dense masses of fern and bracken.
John C. Olmstead, landscape architect, a member of the
Club, has made a careful examination of the reservation,
and filed a report of the conditions as he found them, with
detailed suggestions to guide in its improvement. By way
of announcing that this reservation is a memorial to
Mr. Fay, a boulder has been brought near the entrance
and a bronze plate to his memory has been put upon it.
Farrar Reservation.
As a memorial to her husband, Mrs. Hattie A. Farrar,
of Boston, gave to the Club, in October, 1901, a four-acre
tract, on the south shoulder of South Pack Monadnock
Mountain in the town of Temple, New Hampshire. It
commands a broad view across southern New Hampshire
and into Massachusetts. A wagon-road, built and main
tained by the state of New Hampshire, leads up the moun
tain, past the Club's reservation, to the General James
[9]

Miller Park, a State reservation on the summit. It is
within easy drive of Dublin, Jaffrey, and Peterborough,
notable summer resorts.
Baldface Clay Reservation.
In the summer of 1902, Mrs. Carolin E. Clay, of Chat
ham, New Hampshire, widow of Ithiel E. Clay, conveyed
to the Club ten acres of land on the summit of South
Baldface Mountain in the town of Chatham, at an eleva
tion of 3,855 feet above sea. The mountain, as seen from
the Chatham base, is a noble mass, with a round, rocky
head and shoulder, remarkable for the whiteness of its
long upper ridges, which may be recognized many leagues
away on account of their unique appearance. The nearer
landscape, as seen from the summit, was injured by fire
in 1903, although the broader views, to Mt. Washington
and the Great Range on the west, to Kearsarge and
Chocorua on the south and southwest, and far out into
the state of Maine on the east, still remain as beautiful
as ever. It is one of the widest prospects to be had in the
White Mountains. The summit is reached by a good
trail, four miles in length, from Asa Chandler's farm in
North Chatham, which is nine miles by stage from the
Maine Central Railroad station in Fryeburg, Maine.
Kearsarge Clay Reservation.
The same deed conveys to the Club a ten-acre tract
on the summit of Kearsarge, with a refuge house. Every
one, whether he be a visitor to the region or not, knows of
Kearsarge Mountain, sometimes called Pequawket. It
has been famous in song and story for years. It has been,
and probably is to-day, visited by more people than most
of the peaks that are unprovided with wagon-road or
rail. The pyramidal summit, commanding a noble view
of the Saco valley, Chocorua, the bare ridge of Moaty
[10]

Mooselauke, the notched summit of Lafayette, the great
dome of Mt. Washington, Carter Notch, several lakes and
ponds, the filmy outline of Monadnock, and the southern
Kearsarge, lies in the town of Chatham, near the border of
Bartlett, and has an elevation of 3,270 feet.
Rhododendron Reservation.
In the autumn of 1902, Miss Mary L. Ware, of Boston,
a distinguished patron of botany, purchased a farm of
three hundred acres in the town of Fitzwilliam, New
Hampshire, in order to save from destruction through log
ging operations a large tract of Rhododendron maximum,
the largest known natural bed of this plant in this latitude,
where it is far from common. After consultation with
J. Rayner Edmands, an ex-president of the Club and a
member of the Board of Trustees from its organization
until his death, she conveyed this farm to the Club. In
the repairs of the typical old farmhouse, the ceiling-
beams, the fine woodwork, and the old fireplaces have
been brought again to light. It is occupied from time to
time for short periods by small parties, who find it de
lightful at all seasons of the year. Another interesting
feature of the property is the exceptionally fine spring,
the water of which has been analyzed by the State Assayer
of Maine and found remarkably pure and soft, contain
ing medicinal properties of importance. The reservation
lies at the base of Little Monadnock, or West Hill, as it
is called locally, and has an elevation of nearly 1,200 feet.
The rhododendrons are in flower in early June. They do
not bloom freely every year, and ordinarily only every
other year are they at their best. Probably nowhere else
at this high latitude can this plant be seen growing natu
rally in such masses, and the rhododendrons and their shel
tering conifers stand here in remarkably picturesque com
bination. Benton MacKaye, forester in the United States
[H]

service, has made a long and thorough examination of
this reservation, and has furnished a valuable working
plan report, which is followed carefully. The reservation
is reached from Fitzwilliam station on the Fitchburg di
vision of the Boston & Maine Railroad, over three miles
of pleasant country roads. From Fitzwilliam village it is
two miles and a half, and from Troy it is four miles.
Glen Ellis Falls and Crystal Cascade Reservations.
These reservations, in Pinkham's Grant, New Hamp
shire, each containing twenty-eight acres, are held under
lease from the Umbagog Paper Company. Both of these
are too well known to require any detailed description.
The steps and platforms giving access to the falls have
been made safe and convenient, as also has the bridge
across the river, just below the cascade. At the entrance
to the latter reservation, a little to the south of the path
into Tuckerman's Ravine, the Club has permitted the
erection of a refreshment hut, which has proved to be of
great convenience to trampers.
Sky Pond Reservation.
This reservation, of one hundred acres, upon Beach
Hill, in the town of New Hampton, New Hampshire,
about two miles from the Winona station of the Boston &
Maine Railroad and three miles from Ashland, is the gift
of Mrs. Agnes Smith. Upon it is a house in good repair,
containing six or seven rooms, beautifully situated, as
well as a barn and out-buildings. Frederick E. Olmstead,
forester, has made an inspection of this reservation, and
filed a useful report for its development. Most of it con
sists of gently rolling land, forming a shallow basin in
the center and breaking off sharply to the northeast in
precipitous cliffs, which give very dehghtful and extended
views. One fifth is open land, pasture and field, and the
[12]

FALLS OF THE SACO RIVER IN THE WOODMAN RESERVATION

remainder woodland with some good growth. Along the
shore of Sky Pond is a fringe of large white pines, up to
twenty-six inches in diameter.
Cyrus Woodman Reservation.
This reservation, containing eighty-six acres in the
town of Buxton, Maine, upon the left bank of the Saco
river, was given to the Club in 1906 by Miss Mary Wood
man, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is densely wooded,
except for a few open fields, in one of which the block
house once stood, while at the edge of thick woods are the
graves of the early settlers. The trees of the reservation
are white pine in the main, mixed with white oaks, red
oaks, rock maples, and hemlocks. The most striking
feature of the reservation is the river-bank, near the
Salmon Falls bridge. It is at least sixty feet in height,
sheer rock, with forest growing to the river. The oppo
site shore also is rocky and almost as precipitous. The
river-bed suddenly contracts below the bridge, and the
waters rush through this narrow gorge, a long straight
away rapid, in a scene of much grandeur. It is a noble
gift of Miss Woodman, prompted by a praiseworthy desire
to save for the use of the community a place of high
scenic interest, and dear to her because of its association
with her ancestors. Edward S. Bryant, forester, a member
of the Club, has examined the reservation, and filed im
portant suggestions for its care and development. The
reservation is ten miles from Saco by highway, but the
drive is uninteresting. The best way is to go by train to
Bar Mills, and then walk one and one half miles to the
Salmon Falls bridge.
Pleasant Mountain Reservation.
This reservation, of twenty acres, upon the summit of
Pleasant Mountain in the town of Denmark, Maine, is
[13]

the gift (in 1908) of Winthrop Coffin. It commands a
superb view of the White Mountains, of many other
mountains, and of lakes and forests. The number of
visitors every year is estimated to be at least three thou
sand. The most direct way to reach the reservation is
by the Maine Central Railroad to the town of Brownfield,
and thence to the Mount Acqua Cottage in Denmark,
situated at the foot of an easy and picturesque path to
the summit.

14]