Click here to learn about prescribed burns at Weir Hill.
Property Description	194 acres | Established 1968
Rising gently above Lake Cochichewick, Weir Hill (historically pronounced “wire hill”) offers hiking trails that pass over the crest of the 305-foot double drumlin and track the shore of Lake Cochichewick. 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 thirty 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 over 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 built in 1897 a clubhouse whose 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 farm land allowed for the development of a golf course and new club house. Generations of agricultural use, a history of fire, and cutting and mowing regimes have created a patchwork landscape on Weir Hill that supports ten different types of plant communities, from a 60-acre oak-hickory forest to hillside seeps, intermittent streams, and wet meadows.  Several threatened state-listed and watch-listed species can be found on Weir Hill, including the white bog orchid (Habenaria dilitata), violet bush clover (Lespedeza violacea), butternut trees (Juglans nigra).
Trails
Four miles of trails. Moderate hiking.
Literature
Printed trail maps are distributed free from the bulletin board in the parking area. Please understand that supplies periodically run out. You may also download trail maps from this web site or mail order trail maps in advance of your visit.
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.

E-mail:
neregion@ttor.org

When to Visit:
Year-round, daily, 8am to sunset. Allow a minimum of 1 hour.

Admission Fees & Permits:
Free to all.

Regulations / Advisories:

How to Get There:
From I-93: Take Route 125 (Andover By-pass) north 7.3 mi. At traffic lights, merge left onto Route 114 west. At traffic lights opposite Merrimack College (on left), turn right onto Andover Street (remains Route 125) and follow for 0.2 mi. Turn right at traffic lights (remains Andover Street) and follow for 0.6 mi. (past The Stevens-Coolidge Place). Bear right at fork and continue 0.2 mi. to intersection at Old North Andover Center. Go straight over for 0.1 mi. and then left onto Stevens Street. Continue for 0.8 mi. to entrance on right. From I-495: Take exit 42 and follow Route 114 east 1 mi. Turn left onto Route 133 east and follow for 0.2 mi. to lights and straight over (becomes Andover Street). Follow for 0.6 mi. (past The Stevens-Coolidge Place). Bear right at fork and continue 0.2 mi. to intersection at Old North Andover Center. Go straight over for 0.1 mi. and then left onto Stevens Street. Continue for 0.8 mi. to entrance on right. Limited roadside parking only.

Road Map:

To main entrance

Weir Hill Trail Map (PDF 137K)

Weir Hill Management Plan 2006 (5MB)