Boxford State Forest at Baldpate Pond

Boxford, Massachusetts 01921

Department of Conservation and Recreation

General Information
Size: 107 Acres
Access from either Baldpate Road, Nelson Street or Camp Denison also at Nelson Street. Location Baldpate Rd. 0.6 miles from Ipswich Rd. in Boxford or Nelson St., 0.5 mile from Rte. 97 in Georgetown.

Permitted: Walking, cross-county skiing, horseback riding. No swimming in pond.

Hours: Dawn to dust.

Read about the HISTORY of Boxford State Forest at Baldpate Pond.

Read about the NATURAL FEATURES of Boxford State Forest at Baldpate Pond.

Read a SUGGESTED WALK through and around Boxford State Forest at Baldpate Pond.

View the SUGGESTED WALK MAP 1 detailing the above suggested walk. ^{*.jpg format will open in separate window.}

View a second MAP 2 of Boxford State Forest at Baldpate Pond. ^{*.jpg format will open in separate window.}

History

Baldpate Pond has had many names over the centuries. In the mid 17th Century it was known as Rainer Pond, after Humphrey Rainer, the only ruling Elder of record in the early Rowley church and the owner of substantial holdings here when this area was part of Rowley.

In the 1700s, when The Perley Family lived nearby, the pond was called Perley's Pond. One family member, Jacob, lived in an unusual lean-to house with the oven chimney opening to the outside. It was said that meals left cooking Saturday night for Sunday dinner were occasionally stolen. Eliphalet Perley who lived during the early 19th century was known to mow his fields at night when there was sufficient moonlight.

William Perley, who built his home on the southern shore of the pond, was captain of the Boxford minutemen and served at Bunker Hill. In 1847, his farm was sold to the Town of Boxford for use as an almshouse. The Boxford town Farm operated as a self sufficient means of supporting needy townspeople until 1912. Thereafter it was used as a summer camp by the Lawrence Tuberculosis League. Fine paneling and furnishings from the old home (which had burned down are on permanent exhibit at the museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The woods here were cut for timber in the past. Commercial logging operations are still ongoing.

Natural Features

10,000 years ago Baldpate Pond State Park was covered by an enormous glacial ice sheet carrying gravel, boulders, and debris. As the glaciers began to recede, blocks of ice were left behind in the outwash plains. One of these blocks of ice melted to form the basin of what is now Baldpate Pond. The runoff from Baldpate Pond flows to the northeast through Penn Brook and eventually feeds into the Parker River.

Nearby Baldpate Hill is a drumlin, another glacial landform. A drumlin is a smooth, rounded hill that is rarely more than 250 feet above the surrounding land. Drumlins were formed when moving ice sheets pushed together masses of sticky glacial till and molded them into their characteristic oval shape.

The presence of old stone walls and abandoned fields attest to Baldpate State Park's agricultural past. Agricultural land use in New England peaked in the mid 1800s; thereafter the number of farms and cultivated acres declined steadily. Many young New England farmers left the region for the flat fertile lands of the Midwest.

The vegetation growing in the old fields of Baldpate Pond State Park and elsewhere offers clues to past agricultural practices. The bare ground that results from cultivation provides perfect conditions for many annual plants that are commonly considered weeds. The number and variety of these plants increase during the first few years after the field is abandoned. Common species include crabgrass, ragweed and pigweed, all of which prefer sunny conditions and possess a deep root system to withstand drought. Many of these are old world plants that have followed the spread of farming. The annuals are followed by sun-loving perennials including goldenrod, aster, milkweed, pokeweed and brambles. In wetter areas vines such as wild grape, morning glory, bindweed, poison ivy and bittersweet can form continuous cover over large areas and slow down reforestation.

The plants that grow in abandoned pasturelands are different from those that flourish where the land was once cultivated. A thick layer of turf inhibits the establishment of other plants, but red cedar and pone can become established where the turf is thin.

Small-seeded tree species, such as gray birch, and many perennial weeds will germinate in bare spots. Plants unpalatable to animals, such as juniper, cedar, pine and thistle can begin to grow in pasture while grazing is still taking place. Reforestation proceeds slowly on very dry pasture land. At these sites, little bluestem, also known as poverty grass, may form a continuous cover with only scattered red cedars.

Hayfields were typically mown twice a summer. This mowing eliminated conifer seedlings, but most deciduous species continue to re-sprout after being cut. When a field is abandoned a thick growth of shrubs may occur. However, if the grass species persist, an abandoned hayfield may look similar to abandoned pasture.

Boxford State Forest at Baldpate; hunting M-S, no hunting on Sunday No hunting in Camp Denison.

Thanks to Boxford Trails Association/Boxford Open Land Trust for the above suggested walk, maps and data. To learn more about BTA/BOLT please contact at 978.887.7031 or visit their website at www.btabolt.org

Baldpate general information, history, natural features and map2 taken from "The Bay Circuit Guide to Walks in and around Boxford" by the Boxford Bay Circuit Program Committee and supported by BTA/BOLT and the National Park Service River & Trail Conservation Assistance Program. To obtain your own copy of The Bay Circuit Guide to Walks in and around Boxford please call the BTA/BOLT office at 978.887.7031 or visit their website to learn more www.btabolt.org