Freetown-Fall River State Forest

Infobox_protected_area | name = Freetown-Fall River State Forest
iucn_category =

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caption =
locator_x = 265
locator_y = 50
location = Assonet, Mass., USA
nearest_city = Fall River, Massachusetts
lat_degrees = 41
lat_minutes = 46
lat_seconds = 45.48
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 71
long_minutes = 02
long_seconds = 31.34
long_direction = W
area = 5,441 acres (22 km²)
established = c.1930
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = Massachusetts Department of Conservation and RecreationThe Freetown-Fall River State Forest (more commonly shortened to Freetown State Forest) is a large tract of forest land located in Freetown and Fall River, Massachusetts. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and operated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Its headquarters is located in Assonet, Massachusetts.

History

The majority of the land was acquired over twenty years beginning in the 1930s. The forest sits on over 5,400 acres (22 km²) of land and includes Profile Rock, a granite outcropping which local Native Americans believe to be the image of Chief Massasoit. Also in the forest is a convert|227|acre|km2|1|sing=on Wampanoag reservation.ref|dcr

The Civilian Conservation Corps worked on the property in its early years. A statue was dedicated in honor of the program and its efforts in the forest in September, 2002.ref|92902

The forest is home to the annual "Fun Day in the Forest" event sponsored by the Friends of the Freetown-Fall River State Forest. For a number of years, it also served as the course for the Big Bang Mountain Bike Race, a benefit event for the Independence Day events in Freetown.

Fires

The Freetown State Forest has suffered fires on several occasions:

*In September, 1980, a fire burned approximately convert|230|acre|km2|1 of woodland adjacent to and in the state forest over the course of a week.ref|91180
*Fires in 1988 and 1991 burned an estimated hundred acres each, while a fire in March, 1976 destroyed an estimated 500 acres (2 km²).ref|5101
*The last major fire occurred on April 30, 2001, when fire destroyed between 90 and convert|100|acre|km2|1 of the forest.ref|5101 The fires were mostly put out on April 30, while small fires continued into May 1.ref|5201

Controversies

The Freetown State forest has suffered from a number of incidents since the 1970s with varying degrees of publication.

Cult rumors

Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, there was widespread speculation that a Satanic cult inhabited the forest. These rumours were partially substantiated in 1980 when police were approached by individuals who claimed to have witnessed cult activity.ref|041980

Mary Lou Arruda

In November, 1978, the forest became infamous when the body of Mary Lou Arruda, a 15-year-old cheerleader abducted from Raynham, Massachusetts that September, was discovered tied to a tree (some rumor of decapitation, but not true). James M. Kater of Brockton, previously convicted of kidnapping in 1967, was convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Arruda in 1979.ref|122295 The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overturned the verdict, and he was convicted again in 1986. The verdict once again overturned, he was retried in 1992, with that attempt ending in a mistrial.

Kater was tried for the fourth time in 1996, and his conviction was upheld in 2000.ref|83100 In the 1996 trial, the defense charged that police had withheld information relating to cult activity in September, 1978, which it claimed could have provided an alternative to Kater.ref|110596

2001 double homicide

In 2001, two men were found shot to death on Bell Rock Road, which runs through the forest connecting Assonet and Fall River.ref|71501

Timeline of other issues

*In 1987, a drifter mistaken for an undercover police officer was murdered in the forest.ref|32788

*In 1991, a Fall River man was beaten and later discovered in the forest.ref|1191

*In 1996, hazardous waste was found dumped in the Fall River portion of the forest.ref|121396

*In 1998, a teenager from New Bedford was found beaten in the vicinity of the forest after having been left there.ref|101598

*In the spring of 2006, a number of domesticated dogs in various states of aggressiveness were found abandoned in the state forest.ref|030906

*In the summer of 2006, an emu was discovered roaming southeastern Massachusetts, and was periodically spotted in the forest.ref|072606

References

* [http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/southeast/free.htm Freetown-Fall River State Forest] Mass. DCR site

*From "The New Bedford Standard-Times"::*Costa-Crowell, Carol Lee. [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-95/12-22-95/b4kater.htm Murderer's appeal loses 17 year edge] . December 22, 1995:*Estrella, John. [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-96/12-13-96/b01lo059.htm Hazardous waste found dumped in Freetown] . December 13, 1996:*Rising, David. [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/10-98/10-15-98/a01lo007.htm Woman's link to beaten boy investigated] . October 15, 1998:*Finucane, Martin. [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/08-00/08-31-00/a11sr028.htm Murder conviction upheld in Kater case] . August 31, 2000:*Apuzzo, Matt, with Aaron Nicodemus and Monica Allen. [http://www.s-t.com/daily/05-01/05-01-01/a01lo005.htm Fire rips state forest] . May 1, 2001:*Brown, Curt. [http://www.s-t.com/daily/05-01/05-02-01/a01lo007.htm Firefighters douse forest's hot spots] . May 2, 2001:*Albrenaz, Ami. [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-02/09-29-02/a06lo020.htm Freetown statue honors Depression era workers] . September 29, 2002:*Fraga, Brian. [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/03-06/03-09-06/17local.htm Residents hounded by dogs left in forest] . March 9, 2006:*Fraga, Brian. [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/07-06/07-26-06/04local.htm Mystery emu on the lam] . July 26, 2006

*From "The Boston Globe"::*Satan cult probed in 2 deaths. April 19, 1980:*Winds, dry air fuel forest fires near Fall River. September 11, 1980.:*Man sentenced to life for murder of drifter. March 27, 1988:*Plea entered in assault. November, 1991:*Satanic angle raised in slay trial. November 5, 1996:*2 victims identified in Fall River slaying. July 15, 2001
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0764327992?linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0764327992 "Dark Woods: Cults, Crime and the Paranormal in the Freetown State Forest"] Christopher Balzano, Schiffer Books (October 2007)

External links

* [http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/trails/Freetown-FallRiver.gifTrail map] (GIF)