Poet Tzynya Pinchback: Writing the Land at D.W. Field Park

In the video above, meet Plymouth-based poet Tzynya Pinchback! This year, Tzynya is partnering with Wildlands Trust to spotlight the beauty of D.W. Field Park in Brockton.

Writing the Land is a collaborative outreach and fundraising project that partners with nonprofit environmental organizations to coordinate the “adoption” of conserved lands for poets. Each poet is paired with a land usually for about a year, and they visit the location to create work inspired by place. Learn more at writingtheland.org.

Tzynya Pinchback is a poet, essayist, and author of the poetry chapbook “How to Make Pink Confetti” (Dancing Girl Press, 2012). Her recent work centers on the Black woman body in nature and in joy as an act of resistance and appears in Deaf Poets Society, Mom Egg Review, Naugatuck River Review, Raising Mothers, and is broadcasted on WOMR’s Poets Corner. She was a finalist for 2020 Poet Laureate of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and 2020 writer-in-residence for the Cordial Eye Gallery & Artist Space. Tzynya is a Los Angeles native who is surviving cancer and New England winters in Plymouth, MA.

Stay tuned for opportunities to engage in Tzynya’s work!

Photo Update: Human History of Willow Brook Farm

Andrew and Ann Dee Pelley (left) met with Skip Stuck (right) to share historical photos and other documents connected to the Willow Brook Farm property.

By Skip Stuck, Key Volunteer

Over the last year, I have completed nine "human histories" of Wildlands Trust's preserves and the communities that surround them. With each one, I am reminded of the near-impossibility of creating a truly accurate and clear-cut account of past people and events. History is always "in the eye of the beholder." History from the perspective of Native Americans will often be at odds with that of colonists. Farmers, academics, industrialists, religious leaders, the wealthy, the poor, the young, and the old will view the same events in different ways, colored by their cultures, experiences, hopes, and biases. "Accurate" history is a laudable, yet usually unreachable, goal. 

Pictures can bring us closer to that goal. While I've discovered many written narratives on local human history, pictures, paintings, maps, and illustrations have been much harder to find. That is why I was excited a few weeks ago when the Trust was contacted by Willow Brook Farm neighbors Ann Dee and Andrew Pelley, who wanted to share some historical photos of Wildlands’ Pembroke preserve. They saw the history that we published last April and its request for more information, especially pictures. After some intensive research at the Pembroke Historical Society, Ann Dee and Andrew visited us at our Plymouth headquarters, accompanied by some amazing pictures and documents.  

Before you read further, I encourage you to revisit the original April 2024 entry of “Human History of Wildlands: Willow Brook Farm.” Click here.

Barker & Pleasant Street Houses

The Barker House was built sometime between 1783 and 1810 and burned down in 1915. Photo courtesy of the Pembroke Historical Society.

The Pleasant Street House was built in 1777 by Israel Turner. Photo courtesy of the Pembroke Historical Society.

In 1877, the Pleasant Street house was moved to Barker Street on the Willow Brook Farm property, where it remains today. It is said that it took a team of oxen six weeks to move the house. Photo from 1979, courtesy of the Pembroke Historical Society.

Above are two of the earliest dwellings on the property. The Barker house, owned by Benjamin Barker and his family, burned down in 1915. 

The property continued in Barker and relatives’ hands until 1914, when it was purchased by William Hurley. Hurley established the Willow Brook Dairy Farm, which became renowned for the quality of its Guernsey cattle.

“1st prize Breeder’s Herd | Springfield, October, 1917.” Photo courtesy of the Pembroke Historical Society.

“IMP, Cherry’s Memento, No. 27562 | 1st Prize and Grand Champion, Brockton and Springfield | October, 1917.” Photo courtesy of the Pembroke Historical Society.

Until the early 1950s, the farm thrived, adding a large barn, milking station, and many acres of pasture. 

William Hurley, owner of Hurley Shoe Company in Rockland, purchased the land in 1914. Thereafter, he built this dairy barn in the middle of the property. Photo courtesy of the Pembroke Historical Society.

Willow Brook Farm milking station. Photo courtesy of the Pembroke Historical Society.

Today, many reminders of that time remain, including the foundation of the milking station, numerous stone walls, falling fence posts, and open pastures, maintained as part of Wildlands Trust's commitment to preserving Willow Brook Farm’s agricultural history. 

We want to thank Ann Dee and Andrew Pelley for providing us with a richer understanding of the human history of Willow Brook Farm through their pictures. 

For others who have information of any kind that can help us refine our understanding of the human history of Wildlands, please contact Communications Coordinator Thomas Patti at tpatti@wildlandstrust.org or 774-343-5121 ext. 108. We may feature your insight in future “Human History” editions. 

And finally, please visit our online property description and trail map of Willow Brook Farm and explore its trails in person. 

Welcome, Callahan!

Wildlands Trust is ecstatic to welcome Land Steward Callahan Coughlin to our team! Callahan is the second Land Steward to join us this winter, doubling the size of our permanent stewardship staff. Along with Rebecca Cushing, who joined us in January, Callahan will assist in the maintenance and management of Wildlands preserves. Read Callahan’s bio below, and be sure to say hello when you see him on the trails!

---

As a Wildlands Trust Land Steward, Callahan Coughlin returns to the region and organization that first set his sights on a career of community and impact. 

Growing up near Plymouth’s Morton Park, Callahan spent much of his childhood in nature, wandering the woods with his siblings and kayaking on Billington Sea. He first encountered Wildlands in 2017 as a member of Green Team, our summer service-learning program for conservation-minded high school students. Even then, Callahan took note of the tight-knit dynamic of Wildlands’ staff. His time on Green Team led him to his first job at Bay End Farm in Bourne, which cemented his desire to work outdoors on a small, driven team. After college, Callahan spent six months in Georgia, conducting prescribed burns to restore the habitat of gopher tortoises and other native species. But the opportunity to monitor, maintain, and restore Wildlands’ protected areas, eight years after Green Team, compelled him to come home. 

“I wanted to find something where I could make a real difference and learn more about local plants and wildlife,” Callahan said. “It’s inspiring to do good work with good people.” 

Callahan studied environmental science and agriculture at UMass Amherst. After graduating, he completed an internship with the Friends of Chatham Waterways. In his free time, Callahan enjoys kayaking, archery, cooking, and identifying flora and fauna. He also serves as a Marine Animal Rescue & Response Volunteer for Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

Trail Updates: Willow Brook Farm & Beyond

Harry and Mary Todd Trail at Willow Brook Farm in Pembroke. Photo by Rob MacDonald.

It’s been almost a year since we started our revitalization project at Willow Brook Farm in Pembroke. Thanks to your support of our summer fundraising campaign, we’ve already made major strides toward our goal of keeping Willow Brook healthy and safe for future generations of people and wildlife. While there’s much left to do, we wanted to keep you apprised of the latest on our efforts.

In early February, Wildlands staff and volunteers spent a VolunTuesday completing the replacement of the first boardwalk on the Harry and Mary Todd Trail. That means, after a couple months out of service, the Todd Trail is back open! The trail will close again at some point in the spring so our stewardship team can repair the second boardwalk. So enjoy it while you can!

Earlier this winter, we also cleared a new trail along the perimeter of Willow Brook’s central field. Known as the Pasture Loop, the path affords visitors a close-up view of the freshly restored stone wall, and a glimpse into the preserve’s agricultural past. Learn more about the human history of Willow Brook Farm here.

Pasture Loop at Willow Brook Farm in Pembroke. Photo by Rob MacDonald.

If it’s been a while since you’ve visited Willow Brook Farm, you’ll notice an even more dramatic change to the landscape, with trees and other vegetation cleared back from much of the entrance trail and field. That’s because Wildlands has embarked on an ambitious restoration of the preserve’s grassland habitat.

True to its name, Willow Brook Farm was an agricultural site for over 300 years. Diverse wildlife made itself home in the grasslands spanning most of the property. Since then, forests have reclaimed much of the land, save for the central field that Wildlands mows annually to preserve this critical habitat. Unfortunately, invasive plants and woody growth continue to encroach on the field from the forest edges, threatening the grassland’s suitability for native birds, insects, and other wildlife. Removing this aggressive vegetation is the first step to restoring the field’s beauty and diversity.

Grassland restoration is a multi-year process, so we appreciate your patience.

Willow Brook Farm in Pembroke. Photo by Rob MacDonald.

Up next at Willow Brook Farm: refurbishing the parking lot, improving trail signage, and building covered picnic tables. Stay tuned!

In other trails news:

Thanks to our VolunTuesday crew, a new trail at Emery Preserve in Plymouth offers visitors a more varied route to the iconic Beech Tree Clearing. The trail is now a loop, connecting to existing trails on the other side of Ship Pond Road.

See the green loop in the southeast corner of this trail map:

Davis-Douglas Conservation Area trail map. Click the map to download a PDF version.

At Sylvester Field Conservation Area in Hanover, the boardwalk on the southeast portion of the trail loop is closed for the winter as Wildlands staff works to lower its incline. The rest of the trail remains open.

See you on the trails!

Human History of Wildlands: Rochester Preserves

Leonard Farm; now the Hiller Farm on the Trustees of Reservations’ East Over Reservation in Rochester. Via the Plumb Library.

By Skip Stuck, Key Volunteer 

Wildlands Trust is fortunate to have three preserves in the town of Rochester: two “showcase” preserves, Stephen C. L. Delano Memorial Forest and Rounsville II Preserve, and one “community” preserve, Lincoln P. Holmes Memorial Woods, which, along with an adjacent Town-owned parcel, is known as Doggett's Brook Recreational Area. Together, these preserves comprise nearly 300 acres of protected woodlands, wetlands, streams, and vernal pools. 

Like most of Southeastern Massachusetts, Rochester has a rich human history, dating back more than 10,000 years to the retreat of the last glacier and the Native Americans who soon followed to hunt and eventually settle this new land. In what would become Rochester, they found a heavily forested and reasonably flat territory with soils relatively easy to work, but better suited for forests than farming. Nonetheless, the area was well populated by Native peoples who hunted, fished, and farmed small plots by the time of first contact with Europeans. By the early 1600s, the Natives were a band of the Wampanoag Tribe who called themselves Sippicans and the area Menchoisett (or Sippican to the English). 

Map of Old Rochester Territory. In Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Massachusetts: Being a History of these Towns and also Part of Marion and a Portion of Wareham (1907).

Old Rochester 

When originally settled by the English, Old Rochester included the present towns of Rochester, Mattapoisett, Marion, and a portion of Wareham. More on this later. 

The first documented description of the area comes from two sources, both members of the 1602 expedition to the area by Bartholomew Gosnold, who attempted to establish a settlement on nearby Cuttyhunk Island. As they traveled up Buzzards Bay, crew members Brereton and Archer noted seeing many shell middens, small harbors, and "open woods, kept open of underbrush by the Indians." Paradoxically, the "wilderness" often described by early European explorers was from its earliest times a land fully utilized and carefully sculpted by human hands.  

Rochester's first property grant from Governor Bradford of the Plymouth Colony was made in 1640. However, it only allowed settlers to negotiate with the Natives and purchase the property from them. Although there was much negotiation, there is little evidence that much land was actually purchased for the next 38 years. Nonetheless, settlers trickled in, first occupying the harbors, ponds, and river bottoms to trade and fish. This all changed following the Natives' defeat in King Philip's War (1675-78), when Indigenous lands became "open by conquest." In 1679, the Colony approved the "Rochester Township Grant," which permitted the small settlements to come together and incorporate a town. Once this finalized in 1686, family farms increased in the area. In 1704, the first corn mill was established in this part of the Colony by the Handy Family.  

Fishing, trading, whaling, and shipbuilding also grew in importance, causing rapid growth of the sections of town on Buzzards Bay. Meanwhile, the inland portion of town benefitted from logging and timber production. The Town of Wareham split off from Old Rochester and was incorporated in 1739. 

A prosperous area by 1775, Old Rochester gave early support to the campaign for American independence from England, voting to sustain the Continental Congress and support the revolution. In fact, Rochester provided a greater proportion of its men to serve in the war than any other town in Plymouth Colony. One notable Rochester son born in 1792 was Joseph Bates, who went on to found the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Yet Rochester suffered a significant setback in 1816, when its 1,500 residents were hit hard by an epidemic of spotted fever epidemic, a disease associated with typhus and several tick-borne infections. 

Town Common, 1880. Via the Plumb Library.

The birth of Rochester Town 

The success of the coastal sections of town soon resulted in other areas following Wareham’s lead and splitting off from Rochester: Marion in 1852 and Mattapoisett in 1857. Without these areas, Rochester became a landlocked community and turned its focus to forestry and farming, an agricultural identity it largely retains today. Cranberries, and to a lesser degree livestock and corn production, prevail. It is also a "Right to Farm" community, qualifying with zoning and tax incentives to preserve its farming history.  

In keeping with the Town's desire to retain its rural history and character, several families chose in recent years to preserve their properties from development and protect their natural beauty. In 1987, the family of Lincoln P. Holmes donated to Wildlands Trust 100 acres of woodland, which in combination with the Town of Rochester's Doggett Brook property became the Doggett Brook Recreation Area. Less than two miles away, Wildlands acquired two other parcels. In 1985, Susan Delano donated 111 acres of retired wood lot to become the Stephen C.L. Delano Memorial Woods. In 1994, Winnifred Rounsville donated 43 acres to create the Rounsville II preserve. These properties, in addition to the Trustees of Reservations’ Eastover Reservation, combine to make Rochester a great place for hikers and all nature lovers to visit. 

Memorial stone at Stephen C. L. Delano Memorial Forest.

Learn more 

Visit wildlandstrust.org/rochester to view the full descriptions of our Rochester showcase preserves. Then, explore them for yourself! 

Resources for this piece include the Rochester Historical Society, the historical photos collection of Rochester's Plumb Library, and especially the book Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Massachusetts: Being a History of these Towns and also Part of Marion and a Portion of Wareham, published 1907 by Grafton Press. 

A brief aside: although the event was mentioned only briefly in this piece, Rochester and surrounding communities played a large part in the most devastating conflict of colonial times, King Philip’s War (1675-1678). I strongly encourage readers to learn more about this event, which has been mentioned in other Wildlands Trust histories. A good starting point is Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick.