Crystal Spring Preserve - Plainville, MA

Replenish your soul in this historic and diverse natural area, Wildlands’ first preserve in Plainville.

Crystal Spring Preserve is a 36-acre natural oasis that quietly yet proudly discloses its rich history to anyone willing to listen. Only a quarter mile from the strip malls and general cacophony of Route 1 in Plainville, the property offers a tranquility befitting the former site of the Crystal Spring Center for Ecology, Spirituality, and Earth Education. The Center, established in 1949 by the Catholic-affiliated Dominican Sisters of Peace, offered ecological programs for children and adults for more than three decades.

Today, a one-mile loop trail leads visitors through a secluded woodland containing white pine, red oak, and American chestnut trees. In the northwest corner of the loop, the trail connects to additional hiking paths through 65 forested acres owned by the Town of Plainville, which in turn abut state conservation land. Along the southwest portion of the loop, the dense woodland canopy gives way to a slowly reforesting grassy meadow, evidence of the apple and peach orchards that predated the Center.

On your hike, look out for two particularly striking clues about the preserve’s unique past. Along the northeast corner of the trail, a glacial erratic boulder, known affectionately by the Center as Grandfather Rock, offers a geological glimpse into the landscape as it lay 10,000 years ago, when the last glacial ice sheet melted across New England. As you continue counter-clockwise along the loop trail, you will find the Creation Circle, a spiral of stepping stones where the Center led generations of children and adult learners in the Cosmic Walk, a “contemplative participation in the Great Story of our Universe through time and space” that “dramatically conveys the brief history of humanity, as well as the uniqueness of each person’s life.”

Diverse wildlife calls Crystal Spring home. A vernal pool in the northwest portion of the preserve provides crucial breeding habitat for reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrates. The adjacent woodlands offer a variety of avian havens, from scrubby understory habitat for White-throated Sparrows and Carolina Wrens to canopy nesting and singing sites for Wood Thrushes and Pine Warblers.

Access:

While the loop trail is only one mile long, be prepared for an occasionally steep hike across this hilly terrain. Watch your step over exposed roots and rocks along the trail.

Acquired:

Donated to Wildlands Trust in 2022 by the Crystal Spring Center for Ecology, Spirituality, and Earth Education.

History:

Crystal Spring Preserve may only have become Wildlands Trust’s first Plainville preserve in 2023, but our history with the parcel predates the official acquisition by two decades. In the mid-2000s, we met with Sister Chris Loughlin of the Crystal Spring Center for Ecology, Spirituality, and Earth Education to discuss a partnership to permanently protect the campus. In 2008, this dialogue led Wildlands to receive a Conservation Restriction (CR) on most of the property. As Crystal Spring neared its end as a spiritual center, Sister Chris worked with Wildlands to ensure that the property continued to serve its fundamental purpose in perpetuity—to connect people with nature. In 2022, Wildlands assigned its CR to the Attleboro Land Trust and acquired outright ownership of the land. The property was restored and made open to the public in May 2023.

Wildlands extends its deep gratitude to the Sisters of the Crystal Spring Center for Ecology, Spirituality, and Earth Education for their clear-eyed foresight and boundless generosity at a critical moment for the future of the natural space they cherished. We particularly thank Sister Chris, who died in 2022. As Sister Chris’s longtime colleague, friend, and Crystal Spring board member Kathy McGrath recalls:

The Crystal Spring Center was one of those very special places. A place where all were welcomed, where the Sisters—Chris, Barb, and Carole—demonstrated their reverence for Earth and respect for all beings, where music and the arts flourished alongside their community garden. Chris was the heart of this place. She often said the Sisters held this land in sacred trust for the whole Earth community. It was her most fervent wish that, in the spirit of the original gift of the Toner family, the land be freely given and preserved as a sanctuary for all beings. The Crystal Spring Board of Directors and the Dominican Sisters of Peace have faith that Wildlands will create a preserve that reflects the vision of the Dominican Sisters who enlivened Crystal Spring with their spirits.

Location:

On west side of School Street, Plainville, MA

Directions:

From I-495 North: Take exit 36B to Route 1 South to N. Attleboro. In 2.1 miles, turn right onto George Street. In 0.4 miles, turn left onto School Street. Look for the Wildlands Trust trailhead sign and parking lot on your right, about 500 feet up the road. 

From I-495 South: Take exit 38 onto Route 1A and keep right onto Route 1A South. In 500 feet, turn left onto Nickerson Street. In 900 feet, turn right onto Berry Street. In 0.6 miles, turn left onto Wampum Street. In 0.6 miles, turn right onto Everett Skinner Road. In 1.0 miles, turn right onto School Street. Look for the Wildlands Trust trailhead sign and parking lot on your right, about 500 feet up the road. 

Parking:

The trailhead parking lot off School Street (on the end nearest to Everett Skinner Road) is large enough to accommodate two cars. Additional parking can be found at the Town of Plainville conservation land to the north of the preserve, across from 153 Everett Skinner Road.