Laurel Hill Association

During a full day of hiking, where I also visited Ashintully Gardens and Tyringham Cobble, I arrived at Laurel Hill Association in Stockbridge, MA. The official website gives this organization a special distinction as “the oldest village improvement society in the United States”, as Stockbridge resident Mary Gross Hopkins Goodrich founded the society in 1853. The book Women of the Century, edited by Frances E. Willard and Mary A. Livermore, and published in 1893, described Goodrich as “not only the mother of every village improvement society in the United States, but the unwearying helper of every one…”

Today, the property is over 460 acres in size and includes multiple hiking trails plus a park. The site belongs to the Old Growth Forest Network to protect ancient trees. Additionally, the parking lot is connected to the three trails by a pedestrian suspension bridge, joining a list of special little bridges that includes the Androscoggin Swinging Bridge in Topsham, ME; Wiggly Bridge in York, ME; and an unnamed bridge at Jardín Botánico de Santiago in the Dominican Republic.

Ice Glen Trail

You cannot go anywhere in New England, or most of the northern United States, without hearing about the glaciers. The Laurentide ice sheet covered this area for several thousand years before receding about twenty thousand years ago, leaving behind boulders and ravines. The two-mile round trip Ice Glen Trail is one of these sites. Visitors must take care when navigating the rocky, often slippery trail. A carved rock on the trail indicates that the property was a donation to the society by David Dudley Field in 1891. Two men by this name, a father and a son, lived in Stockbridge. The elder was a Congregational pastor and historian who died in 1867, while the younger was a lifelong politician and United States Congressman who became an anti-slavery Republican to support Abraham Lincoln. Since Field Jr. died in 1894, the donation must have been made by him.

Laura’s Tower Trail

A less difficult but still hilly walk is nearby Laura’s Tower Trail. According to the website, visitors who walk the many steps to the top of the tower should be awarded with a view stretching “68 miles west to the New York Catskills, and 50 miles north to the Green Mountains in southern Vermont”. However, recent tree growth prevents visitors from seeing much of anything. The hills are a worthy challenge for those preparing for a more strenuous mountain hike, but not so fun for people hoping for a panoramic view. Additionally, I have not been able to find out who Laura was.

Mary V. Flynn Trail

The flat, easy trail is described as wheelchair accessible, although the trail requires a few repairs before this would be true. The trail celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year, as it was constructed in 2003. Mary Veronica Flynn, for whom the trail gets its name, was called “the grande dame of Stockbridge and its politics” by the Berkshire Eagle as the title of her obituary published on July 20, 2013. Flynn was greatly beloved by her community, where she taught history at the regional high school, acted the first director of Chesterwood, the studio of local designer Daniel Chester French, in 1960; was elected as the first woman to serve on the Select Board in Stockbridge in 1978; and mentored thousands of townspeople.

Laurel Hill Park

Up the hill from the small, paved parking lot is Laurel Hill Park. A large interpretive sign, along with a document available online as a PDF, described highlights from the history of the park. In 1834, the wealthy Sedgwick family bought what is now called the Laurel Hill property to turn it into a public park and conservation area. Nearly twenty years later, Goodrich founded her society around the upkeep of the property. However, the organization did not own the land until 1878. Since then, donors from the Sedgwick family and other prominent Stockbridge residents have added multiple man-made features to the property. The rostrum, which is a stone pulpit or podium, at the center of the stone stage, was dedicated to recently retired Laurel Hill Association president Henry Dwight Sedgwick in 1905. Never the type to skip on expense, the podium was designed by French, who also created The Minute Man in Concord, MA (not The Minute Man in Lexington, MA, which was designed by Henry Hudson Kitson, who also built nearby Santarella in Tyringham!) along with the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Even the young sculptor would build an impressive resume, as Henry Augustus Lukeman would sculpt the Pulitzer Prize medal from a design by French, along with creating many other awards and monuments.

Also on the podium was Sedgwick Seat, which signage claimed to have taken “4 teams of horses and 12 men 2 days to move” to its current location from a nearby farm. Half-hidden in the nearby woods is the Musgrave Seat, which was named for Jeanie Lucinda Field, who became Lady Musgrave. She grew up in Stockbridge and was the daughter of Field Jr. She married British diplomat Sir Anthony Musgrave, and the couple lived in British colonies around the world, including Canada and Australia. Even further up the hill was the Butler Seat, built as a memorial to Prescott Hall Butler, a lawyer who died unexpectedly at age fifty-three. He was tangentially related to the Sedgwick family through his stepmother, Susan Ridley Sedgwick Butler.

Conclusion

For those who enjoy long walks, history, and nature in combination, this is a great opportunity. The trails are generally well-marked, and plenty of parking is available. Like many trails, portions of the paths may be muddy depending on rainfall. Ice Glen Trail can be dangerous if hikers arrive unprepared. Wear sturdy shoes and bring water. The other trails and park pose fewer risks, although the hills will tire even energetic hikers.

Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 7/10

Accessibility: 3/10