One of a series of articles exploring the natural and human history of Harpswell Heritage Land Trust’s protected land. When we began walking Flossie, our newly adopted dog, on Harpswell Heritage Land Trust’s (HHLT) Curtis Farm Preserve, I wondered who the Curtises were and what they grew. By diving into public records online, I now… Read more
Look around you at Skolfield Shores Preserve and consider all the history that has occurred at this site over the centuries. For 10,000 years this place has been a stopping place for Native Americans along their travel route from the forest, down the rivers and along the shore to Cape Cod. To travel from inland… Read more
While each of the trails in Harpswell has something to offer, I always look forward to time spent at Long Reach Preserve. Not only does the Preserve offer the longest hike in town (nearly 2 miles in total), but you can enjoy a wide diversity of terrain and genuine solitude on this walk. The… Read more
Thanks to a $3,800 grant from LL Bean and the sweat equity of dedicated Harpswell Heritage Land Trust (HHLT) volunteers, visitors to the scenic Basin Cove area of Harpswell Neck have a new picnic area to enjoy. Located across Basin Point Road from the parking area for HHLT’s Curtis Farm Preserve, the picnic area was… Read more
Articles and photographs by Jym St. Pierre On Saturday, August 20, 2016, we dipped the kayaks into the blue water of Mere Point Bay and paddled the short distance to Birch Island. The goal was to visit a property that Harpswell Heritage Land Trust is working to preserve. Casco Bay is a drowned landscape. After… Read more
It is always interesting to understand the history of a piece of property – who owned the land back in time, and how their interactions with the land shaped the property we can see today. In the case of the two parcels involved with Harpswell Heritage Land Trust’s (HHLT) Otter Brook Project, there are intersecting… Read more
Houghton Graves Park is a place of peace and memory you might have missed while traveling along Route 24 between the library and post office on beautiful Orr’s Island. It’s definitely worth a stop. The location holds memories for me because it is next to the site of the former Green Anchor gift shop, a… Read more
by Jamie Pacheco Spring has arrived here in Southern Maine and most of the snow has melted. In honor of this, Essex and I have started revisiting the slippery and steep, formerly snow-covered trails in Harpswell. On Tuesday afternoon we headed out to give Devil’s Back Trail the once over. This began as a nerve-wracking… Read more
by Jamie Pacheco It is cloudy, there is a chill in the air, and rain is impending; welcome to early spring in Maine. Would anyone like to join me for a walk? Or course not! Any sane person would be avoiding a walk in the woods (or anywhere) in this sort of weather. But let… Read more
By Jamie Pacheco Hello. My name is Jamie and my family and I are happy to be recent transplants to Harpswell. The more we see of Harpswell, the more we think we may never leave. I’ll be writing stories about my exploration of the trails and shore of Harpswell and posting them on Harpswell Heritage… Read more