Moore State Park

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A few weeks ago, I visited Moore State Park in Paxton, MA. This beautiful public park covers about 400 acres of woodlands, meadows, and waterfalls on Turkey Hill Brook. Locals know the site for its flowering bushes, including azaleas, mountain laurels, and rhododendrons, and the site has the remains of buildings from the 18th through early 20th centuries. The park is even listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Moore State Park Historic District. More recently, in 2003, the American Chestnut Foundation planted blight-resistant trees in the park.

Rhododendron bush among the brambles at Moore State Park; a single pink flowering bush surrounded by thick green bushes and trees.

The park is named in honor of Major Willard Moore, a leader of the minutemen during the American Revolutionary War, who spent his life in Paxton and died during the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was later memorialized in the painting “The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker’s hill, June 17, 1775” by John Trumbull, where Moore appears near another dying Patriot. To this day, the Paxton Historic Commission continues to recognize June as Moore Month.

Stone walls at Moore State Park; a grassy hill, tree covered with stone walls zigzaging up the side Stone stairs at Moore State Park; primitive stone steps amid thin trees going up a hill

The park highlights its remaining buildings on the Water Power Walk with a brochure available online. The original earliest building, a sawmill, dated from 1747, which is over 275 years ago. However, the current building on the original foundation is a reproduction constructed in 1983, which is 40 years ago. According to research completed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), this mill could cut about 1000 boards a day, ten times more efficient than a single person.

Even more stone walls at Moore State Park; the remains of the foundation of a farmhouse with three walls intact at about three feet high and the corner missing. Turkey Hill Brook at Moore State Park; a shallow, narrow river with small rapids through a wooded area.

A pair of grist mills used for grinding grain into flour once stood by aptly named Gristmill Pond and nearby Sawmill Pond. Like the sawmill, the grist mills greatly increased efficiency, as a mill could grind up to 300 pounds (136 kilograms) of flour in an hour using a millstone. In contrast, a single person using a mortar and pestle could grind up to the 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) in an hour. Sometimes, a person would use a quern or quern-stone, a miniature version of the millstone. In either case, the grist mill could do the work of sixty people! A series of dams constructed along the river allowed mill owners to control the water going through their turbines or water wheels powering the grinding stones. Even blacksmith shops used this waterpower, whether to work bellows, which acted like giant artificial lungs to make their fires hotter, or turn drill presses to put holes in metal goods. Farther down the brook, a massive triphammer beat the husks off grain that would later be ground into flour.

The Grist Mill at Moore State Park; an unpainted single story building with a boarded up window set over a slow-moving body of water with a visible gap between the wooden floor and the water. Another View of the Grist Mill at Moore State Park; a single story unpainted wooden building perched on top of a stone foundation over a small river with trees surrounding and nearly covering the structure. Sign for Triphammer Site; a brown painted wooden sign with white painted sans serif letters and an arrow pointing up carved into the side.

Despite the ingenuity of waterpower, the operation closed down by 1927, almost 100 years ago. Florence Eleanor Reed Morton, an eccentric spiritualist and Worcester resident, purchased what was then called the Eames property in 1930 and lived in the nearby schoolhouse. Having earned a degree in landscape architecture, perhaps the first Massachusetts woman to do so according to the Paxton Historical Society, Morton redesigned the property as a retreat for those practicing Bahá'í, a Middle Eastern religion founded in the 19th century. She plant the famous flowers, turned the sawmill into a teahouse, and built a Swiss chalet.

Schoolhouse at Moore State Park; a two story Federal style clapboard building with several additions painted light pink with a gray roof set on top of a grassy hill.

Morton sold the property to the wealthy Spaulding family in 1946. The mother of the family, Constance “Connie” S. Spaulding, named her new home “Enchanta” for its beautiful flowers. Her children, Josiah Augustus Spalding and Mary Spalding Powell, sold the land to the state in 1965 so that it could become a public park. In 1990s, the Enchanta Bridge was built in the park and named in honor of the Spaulding family.

Enchanta Bridge at Moore State Park; a small wooden covered bridge for pedestrians set on top of a man-made waterfall.

Moore State Park is a relaxing day trip off the beaten path. Picnicking, walking leashed dogs, and operating non-motorized boats are permitted. Many of the hiking trails are paved and easily accessible, although some require greater dexterity. The remaining mill, falls, bridge, and ponds are a popular spot for photographers and painters. The parking lot is small and fills up quickly, but plenty of parking is located along Brigham Road; do not park along Sawmill Road. Finally, the park could use significantly more signage, as most of the historical information is only available online. I hope to see future improvements to this promising historic site.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 7/10

Accessibility: 7/10