Old Town Hill

Old Town Hill IUCN Category V - Protected Landscape / Seascape
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location	Massachusetts , United States
surface	215 ha
WDPA ID	55554087
Geographical location	42 ° 46 ′  N , 70 ° 51 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 46 ′ 7 "  N , 70 ° 50 ′ 58"  W
Setup date	1952
administration	The Trustees of Reservations

Old Town Hill is a 531  acres (2.1  km² ) nature reserve around the hill of the same name near Newbury in the state of Massachusetts in the United States . It is managed by The Trustees of Reservations organization.

history

The Indians called the area around the hill Quascacunquen , which means something like waterfall and is believed to refer to the waterfalls of the nearby Parker River . Shortly after the Puritans arrived in Boston in 1634, Newbury's first prayer house was built at the foot of the 168  ft (51.2  m ) high hill. A short time later a sentry house followed on the highest point. The hill served as pasture for up to 12,000 cattle and 3,000 sheep, but it was also of great strategic importance. It also served as an important landmark for ships sailing along the coast .

Protected area

Approximately 3  mi (4.8  km ) of hiking trails are part of the Bay Circuit Trail in the reserve along the Parker River through wetlands , salt marshes , open spaces, and forests. When the weather is good, Mount Agamenticus in southern Maine can be seen from the topmost point .

Forests and fields provide a habitat for birds nesting on the ground as well as birds of prey such as falcons and owls . In the area of salt marsh thrive Spartina , goldenrod and beach lilac , while in the tidal pools hydrobiidae , Common beach crabs and ribbed mussels ( geukensia demissa live) and in turn as food for wading birds like Heron and other herons serve.

The salt marshes were formed 12,000 years ago by retreating glaciers and are now characterized by the tides that occur twice a day . They are part of New England 's largest salt marsh, the 25,000 acres (101.2 km²) Great Marsh , which extends over 20 mi (32.2 km) between Gloucester and southern New Hampshire .

See also

• List of protected areas of the Trustees of Reservations

Individual evidence

1. ^ Property History. (No longer available online.) The Trustees of Reservations , archived from the original on April 26, 2014 ; accessed on April 25, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ About Old Town Hill. (No longer available online.) The Trustees of Reservations , archived from the original on April 26, 2014 ; accessed on April 25, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Old Town Hill in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
• Old Town Hill on TripAdvisor