Norris Reservation,Norwell

Description: From the www.thetrustees.org website:  In the 1920s, Albert and Eleanor Norris began purchasing land along the North River, a National Natural Landmark and a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Scenic River. They eventually built a cottage, cut a trail system, opened up the shady forest to attract wildflowers and ferns, and created a haven for woodland and riverside wildlife.

A walk through the Reservation takes in a cathedral of pines, groves of beech, and scattered American holly. A lichen-covered granite outcrop, set too deep for early farmers to remove, emerges from the forest floor. Stone walls mark former property boundaries, pastures, and croplands. A rustic boathouse serves as an observation deck over the North River.

The Norris Reservation owes much to the millers, farmers, and shipbuilders who used and shaped this landscape. In 1690, the energy of Second Herring Brook was first harnessed to run a gristmill and then a sawmill. Farmers later cleared the forest, grazed cattle near the river's banks, and harvested salt hay. Between 1650 and 1870, shipyards or landings operated along tidal parts of the North River. Skilled shipwrights turned white oak and pine into various sailing vessels .  

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