Ellis Baseball Fields

Ellis Field, 746 Circuit St, Hanover, MA 02339, USA

Town of Hanover: 781-826-5000

https://www.hanover-ma.gov/parks-and-recreation/pages/field-use-permits

Owned By: Town of Hanover

• Directions
• Trail Map

The primary feature of Hanover’s Ellis Baseball Fields is its four baseball fields. There is also a short woodland trail. In addition, the property is an alternate access point for the French’s Stream Trail, which leads into Hanover’s Forge Pond Park and Rockland’s Summer Street Conservation Lands. Golfing is not permitted on site.

Features

Way in the back of the property there is an old railroad bridge over Cushing Brook, a remnant from the Hanover Branch Railroad. There is currently no trail connection between the baseball fields and the bridge. In the future, there will be access to the bridge from the Hanover Branch Rail Trail.

The property is named for Calvin Josselyn Ellis Jr., who served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, and died in combat over Wesendorf, Germany in April 1945.

This land is within the region of the Massachusett (or Massachuseuk). To learn more about local Native American tribes, we encourage you to interact with their members. The Massachusett tribe at Ponkapoag and the Mattakeeset band of the Massachusett share information on their websites.

Trail Description

There is a short woodland trail along the northern edge of the property.

Ellis Field is also a great spot from which to access the French’s Stream Trail, which connects with Forge Pond Park in Hanover and the Summer Street Conservation Lands in Rockland. Walk a short distance south down Circuit Street, toward King Street, cross the road, and look for the large green sign indicating the start of the French’s Stream Trail. Follow this trail to a bridge at the confluence of the Drinkwater River and French’s Stream.

Habitats and Wildlife

This large grassy area is comprised mostly of baseball fields. It is bordered by forest composed of pine, beech, birch, maple and holly.

The property drains to the Drinkwater River, which flows southeast from Forge Pond, into Factory Pond, and onward to the Indian Head River. According to Martha Campbell’s Remembering Old Abington, the name “Drinkwater River” is said to be an Anglicized version of the original Native American name for the stream, Nannumackeuitt, “which meant that a hollow stem had to be used as a straw when sucking up water from this shallow, sluggish stream.” However in A Historical Sketch of the Town of Hanover, John S. Barry indicates that the name derives from the occasional of a new sawmill opening a short distance upstream of Forge Pond, near Ellis’s Bridge, after the original mill was burned down in 1676 during King Philips’ War. After “cold water, instead of spirituous liquors, was furnished as a beverage,” the term “Drinkwater” emerged.

The Indian Head River forms the boundary between Hanover and Hanson, and merges with Pembroke’s Herring Brook, a short distance downstream of Ludden’s Ford Park, to form the North River at a spot called The Crotch. The North River flows 12 miles through Pembroke, Hanover, Norwell, Marshfield and Scituate, eventually making its way to Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.