Half Moon Meadow

Half Mood Meadow

Download a descriptive brochure for Half Moon Meadow

Location and Description

Half Moon Meadow is located between Sargent Rd and Reed Farm Rd and abuts the railroad tracks. Entrances are marked on both roads, with a small parking area on Sargent Rd.

The land (64 acres) is varied in terrain, including an abandoned pasture, high woodlands, and low wetlands. It contains a mature oak swamp, which feeds into Half Moon Meadow Brook, a tributary of Fort Pond Brook. The swamp is an important groundwater recharge area. Watch for towering white pines as well as eastern hemlock. A one-mile long trail connects Sargent Rd to Reed Farm Rd and is named in memory of the late Helen Volkmann, former Boxborough Conservation Commissioner.

History

Half Moon Meadow includes a series of acquisitions. In 1975 Alice Ryerson donated a 10.3 acre parcel to the town, Arno Perkins donated 0.5 acres, and the town purchased 28 acres from the Paino-Lavaca Realty trust for $21,000, with $10,50 being reimbursed by the state. The Sudbury Valley Trustees donated two acres to the town in 1987, to be preserved as open space. The developers of Reed Farm II donated 4.91 acres in 1997. In 2000, the BCTrust made its first land acquisition and purchased an abutting 18 acres from the Grady family, forming the Grady Conservation Preserve, accessed by a 0.25 mi spur off to the east of the main trail (not pictured in map above).

Notable Features

Look for an old stone slab bridge crossing Fort Pond Brook and several vernal pools near the trail entrance on Sargent Rd. An impressive outcropping of bedrock is located beside the main trail. The BCTrust land was once part of Inches Woods, and old-growth oak forest.