Present - The park and trail
Where in Leverett can you go to experience nature while taking a stroll through history?
We recently developed a heritage park and nature trail, which includes the remains of the Grave’s Ironworks along the Sawmill River. The park provides a place for active recreation and leisure activities. Interpretive signs explain how the sculpting of the natural environment was used to benefit the development of Leverett.
Signage in the park highlights structural remains of the Graves Ironworks developed in the 1800s. Triphammers operating in this iron works were powered by water shunted from the River by a shallow dam, a hand-made laid up stonewall levee with earthen berm, a canal, and pond system. The ironworks and adjacent smithy produced scythe snath handles with iron fasteners, and hoes all of which were important for local agriculture.
Prior to the Contact Period and Colonial Development, the Pocumtuck/Sokoki people used this area to transit from Lake Wyola to the Connecticut River settlements.
In the 19th century the site housed the Grave’s sugar shack, which used off-cuts from the sawmill to power its evaporator to process sap from sugar maple trees, some of which are on the site. This was an important industry beginning in the 19th century.
By the 20th century the sugar shack had collapsed.
On the footprint of the sugar shack, a pavilion with benches overlooks the river, a sand and stone beach, and provides a panoramic view of the mill and the dam. It will by ADA accessible and can serve as a staging area/workspace for visiting school classes.
Invasive shrubs have been removed and repopulated with native trees and plants that attract pollinators. Signs describe the flora and fauna and history of the area. One branch of the trail follows the Sawmill River, with benches placed at appropriate spots, before it circles back to the Ironworks, runs alongside the levee, and meets the entrance.
Parking will be available for everyone.
Messages the site will communicate or inspire:
Reflection on past activities by Native Americans.
Ingenuity of the technology and industry of colonial settlers.
Consideration of how current technology and industry contrast with that history.
Appreciation of flora and fauna, and the impact of disease and invasion by other species, and how to mitigate this