Our final hike celebrating Dunbarton’s 250th anniversary will be to the historic Stone farm on Saturday, December 19.
We have few recent claims to fame in Dunbarton. However, in 2006, Boston University’s Center for Geography and the Environment calculated that the Center of New England lies in our town. Who knew!
The Boston Globe subsequently published an article about this discovery, revealing that the Center of New England, situated at 43.117199 degrees latitude and -71.593498 degrees longitude, sits at the intersection of Stone and Guinea Roads on the Stone farm.
Stonehurst, as it is called, was the last working dairy farm in Dunbarton. During our excursion we’ll view some of the most impressive old stone foundations in town, including the remains of an 18th century tavern that was once a stopover on the road from Canada to Manchester and Boston.
The tavern keeper's daughter, Mary Beard, married James Stone of Henniker. They settled next door to her father in 1809. It was their son who built the farmhouse where Judy and Jim Stone more than 150 years later raised their two children on a dairy farm.
Today, the fields are leased for hay and the woods are managed for timber and other wood products. We'll hear some of the stories those fields and woods have to tell about the property's history.
An effort is underway to conserve this remarkable 200+ acre piece of our agricultural roots and heritage and we’ll give an update on that as well.
Meet at 10 a.m. Dress warmly. We'll be mostly on roads but will do some bushwhacking so wear appropriate footgear. Approximately 2 hours. Please park on the side of Guinea Road.
Note: The southern end of Guinea Rd. is an unmaintained dirt road. It is advisable to drive to the Stone farm from Grapevine Rd.
For more information contact hike leader Margaret Watkins.
