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Newton Park and Conservation Lands
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Webster Conservation Area and
Hammond Pond Reservation |
LOCATION: Newton Center and Chestnut Hill
Location
and driving directions on Google Maps for entrances at:
Chestnut Hill Shopping Center Hammond Pond Parkway
Warren Street Madoc Street
MBTA: a 0.5 mile walk from Newton Center Station, or
a 0.5 mile walk from Chestnut Hill Station
Newton Conservators trail map (Buy a copy of our trail guide)
Other maps and aerial
photos: Newton Assessor Bing USGS
Connects to: Houghton Garden
SIZE:
114 acres
LONGEST WALK : 2.0 miles (a longer walk that includes this park and another one)
ACQUIRED: 1968-1979
ADMINISTERED BY:
Webster Conservation Area: Conservation Commission
Hammond Pond Reservation: DCR
FEATURES:
The largest conservation area in Newton
is wooded, with noted rock outcroppings of Roxbury
Puddingstone, brooks, ponds, wetlands, fields, and an historic woodland garden.
Activities to enjoy here are walking, jogging,
nature study, geology study, birding, rock climbing, and cross-country
skiing.
Gooch's Caves - These are Roxbury Conglomerate
fissure caves.
Sandstone Ledges - These thick ledges
alternate with Roxbury Conglomerate rock. They are sandstone formations
that may have been river deposits. You can see the evidence of ripple
marks, such as are made by water. Note the very long, almost vertical
joints toward the westerly end of the ledges. The ledges are located
west of Hammond Pond Parkway and north of the MBTA track, off the
southbound lane of the Parkway. Enter the pathway about 600' south
of Beacon Street and see the ledges to the right of the path.
Deer Park - Mrs. Webster brought a couple
of dozen deer into the area many years ago. Today, only several
occupy an enclosed area
of six acres.
Hammond Woods and Pond - The trails and
cliffs attract hikers and rock climbers. The pond,
as a "great pond" (any pond larger that 10 acres) is state-owned,
operated by the DCR. Its average depth is just four feet. Access
is from the gravel beach on the west side of the pond, near the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center parking lot. The pond
and its adjoining marshes and woodlands provide valuable habitats
for a diversity of wildlife, aquatic species, and native plants.
Houghton Garden - This section of the
park is described on a separate page of
this website.
HISTORY:
| 1650 |
Thomas Hammond
began farming the eastern section. |
| 1852 |
A railroad line,
now the MBTA, was built.
The culvert from the 1850 Hammond Brook Canal went underneath the
tracks. |
| 1896 |
Edwin Webster
bought the land and moved the Kingsbury house to 137 Suffolk
Road. The Websters lived at 307 Hammond Street. |
| 1916 |
Webster gave 38 acres of the southern half to the Commonwealth. |
| 1935 |
Webster donated
a seven acre playground at the end of Warren St. to the city. |
| 1954 |
About 25 acres
of the southern half was sold by the MDC to Congregation Mishkan
Tefila. |
1968-
1979 |
City of Newton
took by eminent domain portions of the former Webster and Houghton
lands for conservation. |
| 1972 |
Robert Cohen bought Webster Vale. This later became the Charles
Cohen Conservation Area.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
This park is described in the AMC
Massachusetts Trail Guide.
Another AMC
book, Exploring in and around
Boston on Bike and Foot, describes a 2-mile walk in Webster
Conservation Area.
 DCR
web page
History in the Stones
 Wikipedia entry
Hammond Pond
project begins
1970s map of Hammond Woods
Photo gallery
Photos on Flickr
... and more ... and more ... and still more
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