The Kennebec Land Trust and Readfield Historical Society will co-sponsor a Readfield History Walk from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Sept. 13.
The tour will include parts of the Readfield’s Town Farm and Forest; the Huntoon Cemetery — in years past known as the “Poor Farm Cemetery”; and KLT’s abutting Macdonald Woods.
Howard Lake from the land trust will lead the group through the Macdonald Woods, formerly a 100-acre farm where the old foundation is still evident as are nearby remains of an ancient mill site and a 1950’s logging operation. Lake also will explain ways one can read woods that have evolved from cleared and plowed farmland to forest.
Tim Sniffen of Readfield Conservation Commission will share plans for the next timber harvest and other aspects of the commission’s management plans for the Town Forest. Readfield Historical Society historian Dale Potter-Clark will share pictures and some of what she has learned while researching for her book about Readfield’s poor farms and paupers of long ago.
The two properties are respectively owned by the land trust and the Town of Readfield. The land trust and the conservation commission members work collaboratively with each other and the Readfield Trails Committee to maintain a total of 210 acres.
According to land trust’s website, the properties include more than three miles of hiking trails that feature stone walls, cellar holes, Jones Brook’s seasonal flowage, and a small nutrient-rich floodplain that provides diverse habitats for many birds and mammals.
There will be no fee or registration necessary for this event. Walkers should meet and park at the North Wayne entrance by 10 a.m.
Directions: Drive east on North Wayne’s Kents Hill Road, pass by the south end of Innes Ridge Road and look for the land trust parking sign that indicates where parking is available, on the left side of the road. Do not block the road or driveways.
For more information about this or other history walks, contact Potter-Clark at crossings4u@gmail.com or 441-9184.
For more information about land trust, email info@tklt.org or call 377-2848.
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