Visiting Marshfield’s John Little Conservation Area

I led a walk last weekend at the John Little Conservation Area in North Marshfield. In preparation, I spent some time reviewing the history of that particular part of town. Things have changed, of course, since North Marshfield was developed in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, yet because certain aspects of this village remain unchanged – especially in comparison to other parts of our region – it’s easy to image what life was like when the European settlers first arrived.

The John Little Conservation Area, located at 905 Union Street, was established in 2009, thanks to Community Preservation funds to purchase an initial 25 acres. The following year, additional CPA funding permitted the acquisition of an additional 49.8 acres. In the past several years, Marshfield has created trails and boardwalks within the property, as well as a long, beautiful walkway that leads to a dock on the North River. The 75 acres include pasture, forest, and marsh, along with some gorgeous views of the river. Walking the trails, one encounters old stone walls and cart paths, which offer a glimpse of the property’s agricultural past.

The North River valley was populated well before European settlers arrived in the mid-1600s. Native American tribes considered the North River a major highway. The Wampanoag traveled regularly along a network of waterways from Narragansett Bay to Massachusetts Bay -- from the Nemasket and Taunton Rivers, to the ponds of Pembroke, to the North River and out to sea. Numerous archaeological sites along the hillsides of the river valley reveal evidence of their summer camps.

 

The first European settlers to put down roots in North Marshfield were from Scituate and South Scituate (now Norwell). According to the book Marshfield: A Town of Villages, by Cynthia Krusell and Betty Bates, families who worshipped at the Quaker meeting house across the river near Wanton Shipyard began arriving around 1649.  These included the Tildens, Rogers, and Oakmans.

Sometime before 1700, Elisha Bisbee began running a ferry at the site of today’s Union Street Bridge, followed by the Oakman and Tolman families. In 1801 the town erected a toll bridge at the site. In 1850, when sufficient tolls had been collected to pay for the construction costs, they celebrated by holding a jubilee, and making the bridge a “free” one going forward. Subsequent bridges were constructed in 1889, 1917, 1972 and 2010. From the ferry/bridge site, a cart path extended south for several miles. Portions of it still remain – particularly within the conservation lands that border the river. 

 It is said that if it weren’t for the salt hay along the rivers, the European settlers would not have survived here. There was very little unforested land, and what they managed to clear, they needed for growing crops for human consumption. Thus they fed their livestock salt marsh hay. (It was also used for roof thatch and wall insulation.) By the late1600s, land rights had been granted to all of the area’s salt marshes. Ditches were cut to serve as property boundaries. Thus, Two Mile, the village just south of North Marshfield, earned its name. From 1640 to 1788, a parcel two miles long and one mile wide (measured from midstream in the river to the upland) was deeded to South Scituate, for salt haying rights.

Driving through North Marshfield today, it’s easy to imagine the village’s agricultural past. Many open fields and stone walls remain, as well as the occasional working farm. The John Little Conservation Area was named for the family who operated a dairy farm there. Jack and Grace Little’s Little Jersey Farm offered milk and cream from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jack’s son Christopher still operates the family farm, on the parcel he retains, across the street, raising cattle for beef. Indications of the village’s other industries are harder to come by. Other than the dam that forms Rogers Pond on Cove Creek, one might never know of the grist mill, fish hatchery, or blacksmith shop, nor the tannery, rivet factory or box/shingle mill.

A more prominent industry, by far, in this area was shipbuilding. The North River was known nationwide for its ships. From 1645 to 1871 there were 24 shipyards along its banks, producing more than 1,000 vessels. There were two major shipyards in North Marshfield. From 1790 to 1819, the Rogers Shipyard operated at Gravelly Beach, at the end of present-day Cornhill Lane. And just downstream, at what is now the Union Street Bridge, was the Brooks-Tilden Shipyard (1837-1847). Because the lands along the rivers were richly forested, there was plenty of timber available. Teams of oxen dragged oak and pine to the Hatch sawmill nearby, or to saw pits at the shipyards themselves. Today all that remains of the shipyards are metal historic markers erected at some of the sites. Once the forests were stripped bare, and the greater world sought ships too large to be built on this particular river, the local industry faded out.

Last weekend’s event at Little Conservation Area was the first of what I hope will be a series of walks I’ll be leading this winter and spring for the North and South Rivers Watershed Association (NSRWA). If you’d like to be in the loop, I recommend signing up for NSRWA’s weekly e-newsletter. For details, visit: http://www.nsrwa.org/.

by Kezia Bacon

November 2017 

Kezia Bacon's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to protecting our waters. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org. To browse 20 years of nature columns, visit http://keziabaconbernstein.blogspot.com

Celebrate 10 Years of Community Preservation!

A view of the South River in the proposed park. Photo courtesy of NSRWA.

Ten years ago, Marshfield was one of the first towns on the South Shore to pass the Community Preservation Act (CPA). CPA enables cities and towns to set aside money for specific projects: namely, the purchase of open space lands, the creation of affordable housing and recreation opportunities, and the preservation of historic sites. The funds come from a surcharge of up to 3% on property taxes, and are matched by the state of Massachusetts. CPA is an excellent way to enrich a town’s quality of life, curb overdevelopment, and bring financial support to important community projects.

Now that Marshfield has been collecting CPA funds for a full decade, there is much to celebrate. Historic sites where preservation or restoration projects have taken place include the Daniel Webster Estate, Clift Rogers Library, the 1835 Marcia Thomas House, Hatch Mill, the GAR Hall, the Winslow House, and the Seth Ventress Building – plus Veteran’s Park, the Korean War Veterans Honor Roll, and Fire Station #2. Recreation accomplishments include improvements at the Uncle Bud Skate Park and Coast Guard Hill, as well as a Trails & Ways Committee mapping project. In the realm of affordable housing, improvements include an affordable housing plan and coordinator, and conversions of several existing residences.

Perhaps Marshfield’s greatest CPA accomplishment, however, is setting aside more than 100 acres of open space. In a town that continues to undergo commercial, industrial and residential development, it is essential that some land be saved. In the past decade, Marshfield has developed an Open Space Plan, and has acquired sizable land parcels on Union Street (the Little and Messer Conservation Areas) and Plain Street (the Ellis Preserve), among others. Now in progress is the creation of the South River Park, on Ocean Street, right in the heart of the downtown.

Our local environmental organizations are gathering together this spring to celebrate the Town of Marshfield’s many CPA-related accomplishments. The North and South Rivers Watershed Association (NSRWA), the Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts, Mass Audubon South Shore, and The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) will co-sponsor a series of walks on some of Marshfield newly-acquired public lands. The public is invited! Go, and see for yourself what the Community Preservation Act has done.

• Easter Egg Hunt at the Ellis Preserve - Saturday, April 3rd, 11 am. Bring the family and kids to find Easter eggs, some painted by North River Arts Society artists. The parcel is approximately 28 acres, protected in 2006 using CPA funds. It has a cranberry bog, a pond and a forest of oak and white pine and protects drinking water wells and the South River. Wildlands Trust holds the conservation restriction and its staff will lead this walk. Park on Sandy Hill Road (off Route 139) next to the preserve in Marshfield.

• Maryland Street Conservation Area on the North River - Sunday, April 11th, 1 pm. This 17-acre parcel abutting the North River marshes and The Trustees’ 68-acre Two Mile Farm is a real gem! Protected at town meeting just last fall, this the first time that it will be open to the public for walking. Join NSRWA and TTOR staff to walk original cart paths and explore this new addition to Marshfield’s conservation lands. Meet at the Two Mile Farm parking lot on Union Street, Marshfield.

• Little’s Conservation Area, 915 Union Street - Sunday, April 18th, 1 pm. This lovely 25-acre parcel was protected in 2008 and abuts other areas conserved privately. The parcel is mostly upland with vibrant green ferns and a nice walking path. There is a small parking lot at 915 Union Street, Marshfield. Mass Audubon South Shore Sanctuary staff will lead this walk; a reception will be held at a neighbor’s afterwards with light refreshments.

• Site of Proposed South River Park (formerly Buckles and Boards), 2148 Ocean Street (Rte 139) - Sunday, April 25th, 1 pm. Come look at the site of the future (we hope) South River Park! The South River Park Working Group members, including the NSRWA, will be on hand to show the existing site and the proposed park drawings as well as to discuss opportunities for extending the greenway and a future walking trail along the South River.

By Kezia Bacon-Bernstein, Correspondent
March 2010

Kezia Bacon-Bernstein's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org. To browse 13 years of Nature (Human and Otherwise) columns, visit http://keziabaconbernstein.blogspot.com.

The Importance of Open Spaces / North River Sanctuary

A boardwalk along the banks of Hannah Eames Brook at Mass Audubon's North River Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield.

The first South Shore conservation area I ever visited was Massachusetts Audubon’s North River Wildlife Sanctuary, on Route 3A in Marshfield Hills. But I didn’t go there to observe, appreciate or immerse myself in the natural world. I was sixteen, in high school, and was only there to make out with my boyfriend, whose house was within walking distance of the sanctuary.

Back then the concept of conservation land was foreign to me. I’d visited state and national parks, but I wasn’t aware that towns and non-profit organizations also created open spaces to be used by the public. I remember being incredulous at first when I realized that the large plot of land comprising North River Sanctuary was there for me – and everyone else – to enjoy. Imagine my delight when I found out, years later, that this was one of perhaps fifteen conservation parcels in Marshfield alone, and that all the other South Shore towns contained public open space areas as well.

Despite my original motives for visiting North River Sanctuary, I eventually learned to appreciate all that it had to offer. I especially enjoyed strolling downhill through the open fields and following the boardwalk to the pier overlooking the river. Even when I wasn’t accompanied by a young man, North River Sanctuary became a destination for me.

North River Wildlife Sanctuary is also home to Mass. Audubon’s regional headquarters, and comprises 184 acres, including hardwood forests, a red maple swamp, and the aforementioned lookout on the river. One of the main trails winds though the woods to platform at the edge of Hannah Eames Brook. Another trail runs the perimeter of an overgrown meadow, sloping down to the salt marshes of the North River, where in the winter you can sometimes see harbor seals sunning themselves on the floats that are moored midstream.

Sometimes when I visit conservation areas like North River Sanctuary, I think about what such places would be like if they had not been designated public open space. How many house lots might have fit there? How many roads? It sobers me to imagine these parcels cleared of trees and filled in with manmade structures. I’m relieved that someone had the foresight to leave these lands untouched.

The South Shore is the fastest-growing region in the state. Everywhere I look I see new houses, new roads. Each day I watch huge trucks rumble past my own home, transporting lumber, concrete, sand, and gravel to the neighborhoods being carved out of the woodlands down the street. The traffic seems bad enough, but what will it be like when all those new houses are inhabited, with two cars in the driveway, and just as many errands to do as everyone else? It’s only going to get more congested. And with that increased population will come a need for wider roads, larger schools, greater capacity sewage treatment plants, additional fire and police personnel . . . in short, a higher tax rate.

I know we can’t stop it, but I’ve been wondering lately what we might do to slow the crunch of development. The best solution I’ve heard of is the Community Preservation Act, which was recently passed by the state and will be going out to individuals towns this coming year for further acceptance.

If a town adopts the Community Preservation Act, it can elect to set aside conservation land and thus stave off rampant development. Using some foresight, and the tax dollars it would end up spending further down the line to cover increased infrastructure costs, the town can buy the land to keep it clear of development. And what’s more, the state will pitch in additional funds! No one likes a hike in taxes, but if we take the long view and realize that we’re going to be paying more down the line if we let this opportunity pass us by, it makes sense to be proactive.

Next time you’re out and about, take a look at the landscape. Compare the ratio of developed and undeveloped land. Imagine the remaining open spaces filled in with houses, businesses and roads. Think about what the traffic will be like. And consider what we might do to maintain the low-key character of the towns we love so much. The future of the South Shore lies in our own hands.

by Kezia Bacon Bernstein, Correspondent
December 1999

Kezia Bacon Bernstein's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168.