About Fork Factory Brook

135 acres

Follow a network of trails through wetland, hayfields, and wooded upland to discover views and the foundations of an historic mill.

What makes Fork Factory Brook a special place?
The trails here run over an unexpected diversity of landscapes: wetland, hay fields of the former Long Acre Farm, and wooded hillsides offering views of the surrounding area, and the remains of a 19th-century pitchfork mill. Part of a much larger original farm holding, the fields of Long Acre Farm have been in agriculture for at least 300 years. Throughout the 18th century, it was a classic New England self-sufficient farming operation that pastured livestock, grew crops, and harvested hay.

Trails
1.5 miles of trails. Easy hiking.

When to Visit
Year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset. Allow a minimum of 1 hour, 3 hours if also visiting Rocky Woods.

Facilities
A wide range of visitor facilities are located across the street at Rocky Woods.

Regulations & Advisories

• Mountain biking permitted only on designated trails. Trails are closed to mountain biking March 1 to April 30, during muddy season.
  
  
• Dogs are allowed only through our Green Dogs program.
  
  
• Dogs must be kept on a leash at all times in Rocky Woods parking area.
  
  

Directions

Hartford Street
Medfield, MA
Telephone: 508.785.0339
E-mail: charlesrivervalley@ttor.org

Get directions on Google Maps.

From I-95, take exit 16B and follow Rt. 109 West for 5.7 mi. through Westwood and into Medfield. Take right hairpin turn onto Hartford Street in Medfield. Follow for 0.6 mi. to The Trustees' Rocky Woods Reservation. From intersection of Rts. 27 and 109 in Medfield, take Rt. 109 east. Bear left onto Hartford Street and follow for 0.6 mi. to Rocky Woods parking area (100 cars). The entrance to Fork Factory Brook is on the opposite side of Hartford Street from Rocky Woods.

Admission

When to Visit
Year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset. Allow a minimum of 1 hour, 3 hours if also visiting Rocky Woods.

Admission
Rocky Woods admission fees apply: Trustees members FREE. Nonmembers: Adult $4; Child (12 and under) FREE.

Property History

Throughout the 18th century, Long Acre Farm was a classic New England self-sufficient farming operation that pastured livestock, grew crops, and harvested hay. It also produced rope from hemp, processed flax and wool, made butter and cheese, and used animal byproducts to make candles and boots.

Next to Long Acre Farm, Joshua Morse operated a grist mill along the Mill Brook at least as early as 1771. In 1838–39, Henry Partridge purchased two mills, one on the south side of Main Street (Rte 109) – a cut-nail mill – and one on the north side – Morse’s grist mill. He modified both to create a factory that gives the reservation its name. Partridge and his brother-in-law Malachi Babcock, a blacksmith, had apparently developed a high-quality steel that they used in a Sherborn factory to produce edge tools such as cranberry rakes, adzes, knives, broadaxes, and possibly plows. They saw the Medfield mills as an opportunity to expand their business into hay and manure pitchforks, shovels, spades, and hoes for area farmers who, at the time, produced more than 1,000 tons of hay annually and looked after hundreds of head of livestock. Partridge's operation prospered for twenty years during which time he built a large cut-granite mill building.

For a brief time after the Civil War, new owners used this mill building for a paper cutting enterprise, but it quickly fell into disuse with the advent of coal-powered industry. When the town decided to widen Main Street in 1927, the mill building was dismantled and the granite reused in the construction of a house on Foundry Street. Much of the mill site now sits under Route 109. All that remains is its broad earthen dam and stone raceway at the southern end of the Reservation.

Property Acquisition History
Original acreage a gift of Pliny Jewell, Jr. and Mrs. Barrett Williams in 1966 in memory of their parents. Additional land purchased in 1978. Additional land given, by bequest, by Joel A. Goldthwait in 1985.

 

Programs

Click here to learn more about our Summer in the Valley Photo contest.

Volunteer Opportunities

Work Parties

Maps and Resources

Printed trail maps are distributed free from bulletin boards in Rocky Woods parking area. Please understand that supplies periodically run out. We recommend that you download a trail map before your visit.

Planning Your Visit

Before You Go
We encourage you to visit as many Trustees properties as you can.

Wherever your travels take you, please observe all posted regulations, follow special instructions from property staff, and keep in mind the Stewardship Code:

• Protect wildlife and plants.
• Guard against all risk of fire.
• Help keep air and water clean.
• Carry out what you carry in.
• Use marked footpaths and bridle paths.
• Leave livestock, crops, and machinery alone.
• Respect the privacy of neighboring land.
• Enjoy and share the landscape with others.

Click on links below for further visitor information:

Before Setting Out

Enjoying Trustees Reservations

Safety

About Hunting on Trustees of Reservations Land

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