- Weir Hill
Weir Hill Reservation (historically pronounced “wire hill”) is a 194 acre park located in the town of
North Andover ,Massachusetts .The Trustees of Reservations owns and maintains this property.Rising gently above
Lake Cochichewick , Weir Hill offershiking trails that pass over the crest of the 305-foot doubledrumlin and track the shore of the lake.Prior to European settlement, the Weir Hill area was used by
Algonquin peoples. A 1968 archaeological survey identified a campsite at the southeast end of the reservation. It is likely that Native Americans periodically set fire to the hill to improve the landscape fordeer hunting and usedfishing weir s to catch alewives inCochichewick Brook before they reached Lake Cochichewick to spawn. The reservation takes its name from these weirs.In the mid 17th century, early settlers cleared the slopes of Weir Hill for
grazing sheep andcattle . In the 18th and 19th centuries,milldam s were built along Cochichewick Brook tolumber - andgristmill s.Generations of
agricultural use,wildfire , cutting and mowing have created a patchwork landscape on Weir Hill that supports ten different types of plant communities including a 60-acreoak andhickory , hillside seeps, intermittent streams, andwet meadow s. Several threatenedspecies can be found on Weir Hill, including the white bog orchid, violet bush clover and butternut trees.This reservation was first established in 1968 and has been expanded numerous times since.
External links
* [http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/373_weir_hill.cfm The Trustees of Reservations: Weir Hill]
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