My never-ending quest to find interesting, and if possible, family-appropriate hikes continue. Living in the South Shore, although quite built up commercially and residentially, there are copious numbers of walking trails. Recently, my family and I took a trip to the Stewart/Person Preserve in Kingston, Massachusetts. With the main loop around Sylvia Place Pond about a mile in length, it is a perfect hike for my two boys.
The Stewart/Person Preserve is protected by the Wildlands Trust, a conservation group based in Plymouth with properties scattered around the South Shore. One of my favorite trails of the year was Tucker Preserve in Pembroke, also a Wildlands Trust land parcel.
Our adventure at the Stewart/Person Preserve
There are only two difficult aspects of this walk, and the first is the parking lot. The parking lot is located off Sylvia Place Road, a cut-through between Route 80 and Indian Pond development. The lot is super small, with room for maybe two cars. There are No Parking signs on the street, so it is not clear what other parking is legal except for the small lot. Luckily, on my visit, there was only one other car in the lot.
Once out of the car, we faced the only other difficult part. For my kids, the steep incline close to the parking lot was semi-challenging. Once scaled though, the path levels out with a drop on one side. Soon enough, Sylvia Place Pond comes into view.
Fish Ladder Fun
There is a well-marked loop that rings the pond. I began heading right, counter-clockwise. The first area of note is the fish ladder. Living in the South Shore, the region is chock full of fish ladders due to the herring run. The river herring, which are born in the rivers, live their lives at sea, and then return to freshwater to spawn, were once plentiful. Due to industrialization, many of the natural waterways of the anadromous fish were dammed in the name of progress. To rectify the situation, more recently fish ladders have been built on the waterways to allow the passage of fish such as the herring to swim back upstream to their original habitat. This fish ladder was built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.
At the Stewart/Person Preserve, the fish ladder is one of the most impressive I have seen. In researching the herring run of the South Shore for my book, “A History Lover’s Guide to the South Shore,” I have seen a lot of fish ladders.
Toward the bottom of the fish ladder, a stream leads to the other pond on the property, Bryant Mill Pond. I hiked back up adjacent to the fish ladder and continued my walk around the pond. Walking on, about a third of the way around there is a bench. At this bench, my sons decided to start throwing rocks into the pond. At times, on this area side of the pond, the trail is narrow.
A bit farther on, a walkway led over the water. On the far side of the pond, the trail is easier to traverse than the first part. At the final third there is another bench which again, my sons enjoyed throwing rocks near. On the last portion of the trail, a small wooden bridge spans a stream. Soon after, we were back on the trail toward the parking lot.
A Little History.
In addition to being a great place to take a walk, this area has quite a bit of history too. It was once the site of three mills, collectively known as Millgate. These included cannonball, tack, and shoe factories. The signage at the preserve says “O.W. Stewart Preserve”. It was known as this until 2011 when another land grant from the Person family was added to the parcel.
The Stewart/Person Preserve is a perfect walk for a quick mile loop or a hike with kids. With the water access, benches, and wooden bridges, there is enough variety to keep the young ones happy. Granted, the fish ladder alone should suffice as a diversion. If you’re in the South Shore of Massachusetts and looking for a hike, try this preserve.
