• Lake Cochichewick is part of the Town of North Andover’s public drinking water supply; public access is not permitted.
• Due to the dry condition of the woodlands, wild fires are not uncommon. Please do not drop cigarette butts or use fire in any form.

The Trustees reserves the right to photograph or video visitors and program participants for promotional use, and usage of our properties implies consent. Find the full policy here.

Prior to settlement, Weir Hill undoubtedly was the site of Native American activity; a 1968 archaeology survey identified a campsite at the southeast end of the reservation. It is likely that Native Americans set fire to the hill to improve the landscape for hunting, and used submerged fish weirs (woven fences with stakes) to catch alewives in Cochichewick Brook before they reached Lake Cochichewick to spawn. The reservation takes its name from these fish weirs.

In the mid 17th-century, early settlers cleared the slopes of Weir Hill for use in livestock grazing, including sheep and cattle. In the 18th and 19th centuries, dams were built along Cochichewick Brook to power lumber and grist mills, and for the past 100 years, Lake Cochichewick has provided North Andover’s main supply of drinking water (public access to the lake is not permitted).

In 1853, industrialist Moses T. Stevens married Charlotte Emeline Osgood, and over the next 30 years, Stevens’ prosperous flannel wool mill enabled them to acquire much of the land on the west shore of the lake, including Weir Hill. Here, Stevens built a country estate of more than 500 acres that included a magnificent redbrick and brownstone mansion with accompanying stables, greenhouses, and farm buildings.

Later in his life, Moses T. Stevens helped found the North Andover Country Club, which was built in 1897. The original clubhouse’s half-hidden foundation can be seen in the southeast corner of Weir Hill, right on the shore of Lake Cochichewick. At the time, members would paddle across the lake to the links to play golf and then back to the club house for dinner and dancing in the evening. In 1909, the club was moved across the lake where open farmland allowed for the development of a golf course and new clubhouse.

Property Acquisition History
Original acreage a gift, with endowment, of the Estate of Abbot Stevens in 1968. Additional land given by the Abbot Stevens Trust in 1975. Additional land purchased by MLCT in 1974 with funds donated by the Abbot and Dorothy H. Stevens Foundation and the Nathaniel and Elizabeth P. Stevens Foundation. Additional land donated in 1994 by the North Andover Improvement Society.

Trustees ecologists, along with our partners at Northeast Forest and Fire Management, Massachusetts DCR, and North Andover Fire Department will conduct a prescribed fire at Weir Hill on Tuesday, June, 4.

A prescribed burn is the controlled application of fire to the land to accomplish specific conservation and land management goals.  Weir Hill’s south slope has burned regularly for centuries, and the property's woodlands and shrublands contain many rare species of plants and animals adapted to and dependent upon frequent fire.  In applying prescribed fire, this partnership will reduce fuel loads and the risk of wildfire, provide training for firefighters, and perpetuate these rare natural communities that depend on fire to thrive. 

Weir Hill will be closed to the public on the day of burn activities.

Click here to download the Weir Hill Abutters Letter (dated 3/5/08).

Download the Weir and Boston Hill Fact Sheet, the Fire History of Weir Hill, graphs illustrating the frequency and response rate of fires, and maps (Weir Hill, Ward Reservation) of the proposed burn units.

Learn more about The Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.

Download the memorandums of support from North Andover Fire Department and North Andover Conservation Commission (pdf).

Management Planning for Our Properties
 

Since 1891, The Trustees of Reservations have worked to protect special places in Massachusetts and maintain them to the highest standards. To ensure these standards are met, a program of careful planning and sound management is essential. Comprehensive property management plans are created for each reservation and are completely updated approximately every ten years. We often work with volunteers, property users, and members of the community to carry out this planning, which typically involves several steps:
 


• Describing in detail the site’s natural, scenic, and historical resources; identifying management issues related to the protection of those resources. 

• Developing a detailed list of management recommendations, a work plan, and a description of financial needs for implementing the actions.