Walking Club - Lansing Bennett Forest in Duxbury

Walking Club – Lansing Bennett Forest in Duxbury
Saturday, November 11
10:00am – 11:30pm

Please join us on Saturday, November 11 as we explore the Lansing Bennett Forest in Duxbury with Guest Host Tag Carpenter. Tag Carpenter grew up in Duxbury, and stayed because he hasn’t found a nicer place. He’s an active kayaker, and has been walking the land since his first dog showed him a wildlife trail leading away from his side yard in the 1970s. Presently serving on the Duxbury Historical Commission, Tag’s perspective on water quality protection, historic preservation and land conservation has recently evolved to incorporate the indigenous experience. Tag offers that the land can speak to us, if we are prepared to quiet our minds, consider history, and take the time to listen.

The Lansing Bennett Forest consists of 344 acres of wooded property along Phillips Brook, owned by Duxbury Conservation. Formerly known as Trout Farm Conservation Area, this property is dedicated to Dr. Lansing Bennett, who served as the Chair of the Duxbury Conservation Commission from 1967-1979. The Town of Duxbury purchased Lansing Bennett Forest from the Lot Phillips Company (a wooden box manufacturer) in 1970. Howland’s Mill was built at this site around 1830, on the banks of Phillips Brook. Originally a grist mill, it later became a sawmill, but it struggled due to low water flow. To remedy this problem, the mill operators dug a ditch under today’s Franklin Street to Black Friar Swamp, to channel more water into the brook. After the sawmill closed, part of the property became a trout farm (trout were prevalent in Phillips Brook). Fish were raised here, and then sold to markets and restaurants. Both wild brook trout and brown trout still inhabit the brook. Before this property’s milling era, there was a charcoal pit on site. The local shipbuilding industry in the late 1700s used charcoal in the process of smelting bog iron ore. Remnants of this pit are visible from the trail that leads from the parking area into the property. Prior to European contact, the Mattakeeset band of the Massachuseuk (or Massachusett) Native American tribe lived for thousands of years in the North River watershed. Their village included most of today’s Pembroke and Hanson. Meanwhile the Patuxet band of the Wampanoag tribe inhabited the Jones River watershed, and the area now known as Kingston, Plymouth and Duxbury. This property lies within the upper portion of the South River watershed — right between those two territories. It’s possible that both tribes utilized the area.

Join us as we explore the history and wildlife of this special property at 262 Union Bridge Rd, Duxbury, MA.  

This event is FREE, however, registration is required.

REGISTER HERE.