Rand Brook Forest

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The Rand Brook Forest was acquired as separate parcels over a number of years, from 1999 to 2016. Land from the Hardwicks, Seamans, Lordens, Turners, the ‘Priest Addition’ and the “Greenfield Lot”, were combined to form this 514-acre forest. Francestown Land Trust owns the forest, providing management and stewardship, and the Forest Society holds the Conservation Easement on a portion of the property.  

The aesthetic value of the Rand Brook Forestis primarily in its remote, rural setting amidst large contiguous blocks of conserved lands. On a clear day, there are excellent views of Pinnacle, Lyndeborough, Rose Mountains. The maintained trails provide excellent opportunities for viewing wildlife, historical features including cellar holes, and the pristine flow of Rand Brook. Stewardship of the grassland pollinator field, forest, and wildlife habitats ensures that this forest will continue to maintain the aesthetics of a diverse and natural landscape. 

Native Americans held court in New England for approximately 12,000 years prior to the more recent history during the 1700’s and 1800’s that we’re familiar with. By the mid-1700’s settlement was on the rise in the area, with enough farms to support a meeting-house and church. People in these outlying areas often found association with neighboring communities and town borders took many years to settle. The area of greatest flux, known as the “Lyndeborough Addition”, was a corridor lying roughly along Rand Brook and north of the Lyndeborough Mountains. Initially annexed to Lyndeborough in 1750, border disputes from 1772-1792 resulted in portions shifting between Lyndeborough, Greenfield and Francestown. The Woodwards, Duttons, Battens (Rand, for whom the Brook is named was Batten’s son-in-law) and Drapers (the Draper farm cellar hole is in the Driscoll Hill Town Forest) were among the petitioners who were eventually successful in acquiring the remainder of the “Lyndeborough Addition” for Francestown. These family farms were occupied by their descendants well into the 1800’s. 

The stonewall boundaries, the abundance of old homesteads, and the current forest conditions indicate that this land was cleared for agricultural purposes, mostly being sheep pasture. Also, like much of New England, the farmland was abandoned between the late 1800’ and early 1900’s due to a combination of reasons including better available farmland in the mid-

west, job opportunities available in larger towns and cities, economic impacts of the great depression, and the impacts of World War II.

The parcels that make up the Rand Brook Forest contain at least six homestead sites with cellar holes from homes and foundations from barns, old wells, a schoolhouse, and an old mill site. The most prominent homesteads were along Driscoll Hill Road and Russell Station Road. Many of the cellar holes, wells, and stonewalls within this area are in excellent condition and provide a fascinating example of early New England settlement.

The Rand Brook Forest offers recreational opportunities including walking, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing and winter activities. Dogs are allowed under direct control, preferably leashed. 

A comprehensive Forest Inventory was conducted in the fall of 2020 on the entire property. Data includes information describing tree stocking, timber volumes, and details on understory species and regeneration. Other information collected includes mapping of streams, wetlands, forest cover types, stonewalls, and any other interior features of significance. The Forest Inventory provides critical data in determining forest growth, structure, density, composition, health, potential, and management recommendations.

A Forest Management Plan was prepared in May 2021 to provide critical data, mapping, and management recommendations to help identify and guide long-term natural resource uses. Management guidelines were established to promote good stewardship of the land with primary goals to improve wildlife habitats, protect water resources, maintain a healthy resilient forest, protect or enhance significant natural communities, and maintain recreational trails. 

Various wildlife habitat improvement projects have been initiated in the Rand Brook Forest including field reclamation for pollinator purposes, creating wildlife openings in the forest and planting fruit producing trees. Efforts to control the invasive barberry along Rand Brook and the removal of mono-culture red pine tracts have taken place in recent years.