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Meadow Pond Trail LbNA #27259

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Nov 19, 2006
Location:
City:Canterbury
County:Merrimack
State:New Hampshire
Boxes:1
Planted by:CSV
Found by: 3 Purple Mushrooms
Last found:Oct 12, 2010
Status:FFFFFF
Last edited:Nov 19, 2006
Canterbury Shaker Village
Meadow Pond Trail Letterbox

Take Exit 18 of I-93 or Rt. 106 to Shaker Road (at the Beanstalk Store in Loudon) and follow the signs to Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH. Park in the parking lot behind the buildings on the west side of the road and take the unmarked trail that heads into the woods directly behind the brick Trustee’s Office. The trail is kept fairly clear, but sturdy shoes are recommended. Round trip is about a 1 mile walk.

As you head down the trail you will see a lot of historic artifacts littering the sides of the trail. Historically (before there were dumps and transfer stations), the Shakers used to put a lot of their refuse out here. Can you find the icebox? Bed springs? Paint cans? Today, we consider this area an archaeological site, so PLEASE do not disturb any of the artifacts.

The trail will bear right just after entering a part of the forest dominated by hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) trees. On the right you will see a small pond known as a vernal pool (“vernal” means “spring”). These small pools fill up with spring rain and snowmelt water and are an important breeding habitat for spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) and wood frogs (Rana sylvatica). On the first warm, rainy night of the spring, these secretive amphibians migrate from their homes under logs and leaves on the forest floor to lay their eggs in these pools. After hatching, the aquatic frog tadpoles or salamander larvae develop in the pool, free from fish predators. They emerge onto land and begin their terrestrial life about the time the pool dries up in the late summer. You will find two more vernal pools up ahead on the left.

After walking through a beech (Fagus grandifolia) forest (look for bear claw marks on the trees!) you will finally arrive at Meadow Pond. The pond was created historically by the Shakers and is now held back by a beaver dam at the far southern end. Keep an eye out for a variety of birds, beaver, moose, deer, turtles, and frogs that live here today.

Starting between the two old granite gate posts, with your back to the pond and the leaning post on your right, walk in a straight line approximately north-eastward between two white pine trees, then through (or around) a cluster of three trees. Just beyond that, what looks like a fallen log turns out to be a large old metal pipe. You’ll find what you’re looking for in the southern end. If anything is missing, please call (603) 783-9077 ext. 281.

You may either follow the trail back the way you came or continue north along the edge of Meadow Pond and along the inflow stream by an old Shaker mill foundation. The trail intersects with an old road running due east-west. Turn right on the road and walk up the hill where you will intersect with Shaker Road and walk back to the Village (1.7 miles).

Additonal Information:
Canterbury Shaker Village was founded in 1792. At its peak in the 1850’s, over 300 people lived worked and worshipped in 100 buildings on 4,000 acres. Practicing equality of the sexes and races, common ownership of goods, celibacy and pacifism they devoted their “hands to work and hearts to God” while striving to make their communities an earthly heaven.

Today Canterbury Shaker Village is an internationally-known, non-profit museum National Historic Landmark with 25 original Shaker buildings, four reconstructed buildings and 694 acres of forests, fields, gardens and mill ponds under permanent conservation easement. The Village is open seven days a week from 10:00-5:00 from May-October and Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays in November. Stop in at the Admissions desk in the Visitor Education Center to learn about admission fees, daily tours, exhibits, craft demonstrations & kids’ activities. Visit the Village’s website at www.shakers.org