Bourne Sisters Woodland
by Gordon Schimmel
Cataumet, Massachusetts
TRAIL MAP for Bourne Sisters Woodland
"“To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.”"
~ Helen Keller
Eleven generations of family history culminated in a very generous gift of twenty-two acres of woodland to the Bourne Conservation Trust in summer of 1996. The Bourne family began its tenure on the land in the late 17th century, farming, logging and, on occasion, going out to sea.
The gift was the culmination of a life dedicated to 4-H Club work by Beth Bourne who was the embodiment of the Cooperative Extension Service’s pledge: “Head, Heart, Hands and Health.” As a 4-H county agent in New Hampshire and a club organizer in Massachusetts, she dedicated her life to inspiring generations of young people, introducing them to stewardship of the land and service to the community.
he also served as a Pied Piper to her two younger sisters, Helen and Rachel, spontaneously organizing outings in the woods and along adjacent cranberry bogs. Her dedication to the land resulted in transporting more than two hundred white pine seedlings from New Hampshire to Bourne that she and her sisters planted nearly one hundred years ago.
Today, these pines comprise a cathedral-size canopy served by well-marked trails. An original path to the property was marked out by Beth Bourne and her sisters and later more extensive trails were created by BCT “trail meisters” who also expanded access to the area by building a bridge over the creek bordering the east side of the property. This property is unique among BCT conservation lands with steep hills and deep valleys, punctuated each spring by small by stately Lady Slippers and occasional carpets of Mayflowers.
The challenge for the BCT was developing a parking area along County Road to provide convenient access to the Bourne Sisters Woodland property. An existing town-owned conservation parcel provided limited parking near the BSW property but it did not actually provide any direct connection to it. Fortunately, the Trust was able to raise $50,000 to purchase additional land to link the parcels and create ample parking. The effort provided easy access to the sisters’ gift, a gateway to some of the most dramatic wooded landscape in Bourne, as well as to the Back River, via the town-owned Leary property.
The words of Helen Keller continue to be true today and, thanks to generosity of the Bourne sisters, woodland “carpets” are abundant and more luxurious than oriental carpets, welcoming all who wish to hike the woodlands of their family’s legacy.
Bourne Sisters Woodland
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TRAIL MAP for Bourne Sisters Woodland