Chatham Conservation Foundation, Inc.

Chatham's Land Trust - preserving land for the benefit of people, plants, animals, and ecosystems.

E - News
Training Field Triangle Vernal Pool, photo by Dorothy Bassett
Featured Trail - Training Field Triangle
Greetings!

We hope your June is off to an excellent start. We are continuing to send out membership appeal letters, and we are so grateful for all of your support!

In our efforts to help the community find connection in nature, we hope you enjoy exploring our featured trail through the Training Field Triangle. It's a relaxing place with large trees, a peaceful bench overlooking a certified Vernal Pool, and wildflowers large and small.

This trail has a particularly poignant feature which echoes into current events today. A trail branches from the mail path and leads to a smallpox cemetery with an info panel on the outbreak in Chatham during the 1760s. The panel honors Dr. Samuel Lord, who was dedicated to treating his patients until he contracted the disease and passed away in 1776. A new headstone was created for Dr. Lord in the 1950s to replace his simple marker, and to honor his valiant service.

The trail is mostly flat with gentle slopes. Please take care to note where the poison ivy has leafed out along the trail, check for ticks, and you may want to bring some mosquito repellent. Click here for maps of other great walking trails around Chatham, or check the box of maps by the info panel in front of the Mayo House. Please stay healthy everyone!

-The CCF Team

Featured Property - Training Field Triangle

There are three entrances to this .75 mile loop trail, with pulloff parking areas located along Old Comers Road, Old Queen Anne Road, and Training Field Road. A southeastern exit enables visitors to easily access Chatham Conservation Foundation’s Barclay’s Pond property on the other side of Old Queen Anne Road.

This 39-acre Oak and Pine forest was purchased by the Town in 1972 for the purpose of conservation and passive recreation. The property gets its name from its historic use during the Revolutionary War, when it functioned as a training field for soldiers. Additionally, the area is home to Chatham’s 18 th century smallpox cemetery, located just off the trail in the northwestern portion of the property and featuring a detailed info panel that describes the history of the site.

The property features a variety of native plants and wildlife, with viburnum, dewberries, and narrowleaf cow wheat currently in bloom. Follow the trail to the southwestern portion of the property, where you can take a seat on a shaded bench overlooking the property's certified vernal pool and read the nearby info panel highlighting the wetland's importance for local wood frog, salamander, and fairy shrimp populations. Make sure to keep an eye out for poison ivy and ticks, and we hope you enjoy your walk!

A Message To Pet Owners


Pets are welcome on the trails! Please keep pets on a leash, and remember to pick up after them. Pet waste pollution is preventable!

Pictured here: Dorothy walking Nola on the Training Field Triangle trail, where it slopes down to the bench and info panel on the Vernal Pool. More wildlife photos and stories on Facebook
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