Soutter Field/Bigelow Woods/Hubbard Brook Farmfield
Year Acquired: 1992 and 2008
Size: 93.7 acres combined
Miles of Trails: 0.83 miles
Features: River views, hardwood stands, active farming.
Overview
These Land Trust properties are perhaps most valued as an iconic farming landscape, with cows grazing in the field and cornstalks appearing in their rows in spring. Yet behind them lie another 65 acres of the forested floodplain of the Sudbury River. Mary (Bigelow) Soutter donated 76 acres to the Land Trust in 1993. In 2008, another 17 acres were purchased from her estate with generous Land Trust member donations and Community Preservation Act funds from the Town. Both acquisitions represent an important step in the Land Trust’s initiative to protect local farmland.
Trails: Level terrain, some wet areas and uneven footing along the field.
Entrances/Parking: Parking is available at the Walden Woods Project on Sudbury Road. Trailhead is found directly across Sudbury Road from this parking lot.
Map Legend
Icons on the map can be clicked to get directions on Google Maps (works best for Parking Icons). Many Land Trust properties have trails that cross onto other land. Please stay on trails and abide by posted signs.
Explore the Land
The 0.8 mile trail begins at Sudbury Road and then runs along Hubbard Brook Farmfield until it reaches Bigelow Woods. The first stretch of the trail runs between fenced pasture land and cultivated fields. A local farm –Verrill Farm– grows corn on this prime agricultural land. Because the field is well-drained upland, it can accommodate an early crop; harvested in July, it is some of the first local corn available in the area. The next trail segment parallels the field behind a hedgerow, on a moist and uneven path along a wetland. Ferns such as royal fern and cinnamon fern are abundant here, and elsewhere in Bigelow Woods. Popping up along the trail in late April is the small wildflower, wood anemone. Just as the path turns away from the field and begins heading further west, the trail splits into two: one a narrow foot path and the other a wider path. Both trails reconnect just before the trail reaches the Sudbury River.
The trails in Bigelow Woods pass along mature woodland of hemlocks, white pines, and white, black, and scarlet oaks. Some of these trees, measuring 10 to 12 feet in circumference, are estimated to be 170 years old, making this one of the oldest woods in Concord. The trail ends at a gravelly bank overlooking the Sudbury River and marks the east end of an old ford. Downstream, Bigelow Woods includes 0.5 miles of riverfront along the Sudbury River, down to the Route 2 bridge. Although there is no trail on Soutter Field at this time, Concordians enjoy the view it provides of grazing cattle. The cattle are being raised for meat by Verrill Farm and are seasonally grazed on this field.
History of Preservation
In 1992, Mary (Bigelow) Soutter gifted 76.7 acres of land off of Sudbury Road to the Land Trust, including the beloved cow pasture and the immense wetland and forest beyond. Her gift of land to the Land Trust came with a superimposed conservation restriction deeded to the Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT). With the generous help of SVT and the community, the Land Trust raised enough funds for the land’s care and management. The Land Trust was also the recipient of a grant from the Conservation Fund of the American Greenways Program sponsored by DuPont – one of 50 Land Trusts in the nation to receive an award – in recognition of the land’s critical value to the existing greenway on the Sudbury River.
In 2008, the Land Trust was given the opportunity to buy the adjoining farmland from the estate of Mary Soutter. This 17-acre property has historically been used for agriculture and is part of one of five agricultural areas identified in Concord’s “2015 Open Space and Recreation Plan” as a priority for protection. Hubbard Brook Farmfield was a significant purchase for the Land Trust. It was made possible only through the generosity of the Land Trust members, neighbors and friends of land conservation, funding through the Community Preservation Committee, and the support of the Concord Natural Resources Commission.
The acquisition of Hubbard Brook Farmfield, in conjunction with Mary Soutter’s earlier gift and nearby purchases of agricultural land by the Walden Woods Project, means that this treasured agricultural landscape has been successfully protected in perpetuity.
