The East Quabbin Land Trust encourages visitors to all of its preserves. Please be respectful of the land and other visitors. EQLT has several policies that guide use of the land, including a Dog Walking Policy, Hunting and Fishing Policy and Recreational Trail Use Policy. We encourage you to explore the several miles of trails at the Deer Park Preserve and the adjoining Coxhall Kitchen Garden preserve.
The Deer Park Preserve is a 78-acre property with access from Barre and Simpson Roads in Hardwick. To visit this property, park at the kiosk on Barre Road, just a under a mile east from the Hardwick Common. The property was donated by two separate families in 2006 and 2007.
The property is mostly forested with areas of dense white pines, a ridge with mature oak and hickory, and mixed hardwood trees throughout. The ridge divides the property into two watersheds, with headwaters of Danforth Brook flowing westerly and Fish Brook draining the easterly part of the Preserve. There are several wetland areas associated with the Fish Brook drainage. A small 7-acre hayfield sits on Barre Road with easy parking and informational kiosk welcomes visitors to the property. There is a beautiful network of stone walls and interesting natural and cultural features, all of which make this preserve an ideal location for recreation.
The East Quabbin Land Trust manages the preserve for diverse wildlife habitats. A ten acre area that straddles Fish Brook is kept as early successional habitat. The trees were harvested in 2011 and again in 2016 to maintain shrubby and low tree growth. Also a portion of that area and adjoining oak-hickory woods was treated with a prescribed burn to remove unwanted trees, such as white pine and non-native plants. A nesting box for American kestrel stands at the northern end of the hayfield.
The East Quabbin Land Trust encourages visitors to all of its preserves. Please be respectful of the land and other visitors. EQLT has several policies that guide use of the land, including a Dog Walking Policy, Hunting and Fishing Policy and Recreational Trail Use Policy. We encourage you to go explore the Coxhall Kitchen Garden.
The Coxhall Kitchen Garden is a stone wall enclosure about 200 feet square, or nearly one acre in area. Access is on Simpson Road about 1000 feet south from Ruggles Hill Road in Hardwick. There is no street sign at this intersection, so look for two large oak trees that mark the road intersection.
The Coxhall Kitchen Garden borders the easterly side of Simpson Road. The property was donated in 2007 along with much of the Deer Park Preserve.
The walled enclosure sits on a tract of land once owned by Brigadier General Timothy Ruggles, who bought the land from Elizabeth Cox in 1771. Known now as the Coxhall Kitchen Garden, this roughly one-acre walled area was built by Ruggles a few years after he purchased the land. Traditional English walled gardens were intended to keep wandering animals out and to create microclimates for fruits and vegetables. The warm side of the walled garden was used for sowing in early spring, while the cool side was planted later to extend cool season crops into the hotter summer months.
Timothy Ruggles was a prominent figure in the French and Indian Wars, and a controversial Loyalist in the Revolutionary War. Only three years after purchasing the property, Ruggles left Hardwick for Boston to accept the oath of the Mandamus Council. At the onset of the Revolution in April 1775, all of the Ruggles’ Hardwick property, including his “Cox Farm,” was confiscated because he was considered an absentee landowner and an enemy of freedom. Much of the land was sold at public auction, but the “Cox Farm” eventually reverted back to Elizabeth Cox in 1783.
This stone wall has withstood the test of time and the hazards of New England winters. Local stones of all sizes and shapes were carefully placed to form a fabric that shifts and moves to accommodate frost and provide drainage. The large stones were likely hoisted in place with tripod, block and tackle, planks, fulcrums, and levers.