Morrison Farm

Morrison Farm is a town-owned property located on Concord Rd. between Icehouse Pond on Nashoba Brook and the Woodlawn Cemetery. It consists of both several large meadow areas, the pond shoreline, and a wooded area beyond the meadow which is contiguous with the wooded areas of Woodlawn Cemetery. The largest Acton Community Garden occupies part of one of the meadows, and there is both an unused house and a remaining barn which is used by the town for equipment storage. An attempt by the Town Recreation Dept. to take the land and build a Recreation center on it was defeated in the early 2000s. There is an ongoing attempt to obtain an agricultural restriction on this land.

The Land Stewards (LSC) have been officially watching over Morrison Farm since 2018 (unofficially since its purchase by the town). The pumphouse for the Community Garden doubles as the storage shed for the LSC.

While a small parking lot and boat ramp access to Icehouse Pond had long been present on Concord Rd., the town greatly improved this area starting in 2019. They enlarged the parking lot, and added a handicap accessible trail along the western edge of Icehouse pond, including two long-needed bridges across the rivulet/swamps draining into the pond. As part of this improvement, in 2019 the Wet Meadow (the meadow between areas L and K in the map) was professionally mowed for the first time in decades, re-establishing it as a meadow.

Note that a whole separate page is needed for work along the eastern side of Icehouse Pond (not discussed here).

Pam Resor Orchard

The Pam Resor Orchard needs occasional work clearing the mulched areas around the trees, and also adding new mulch. In dry times, the younger trees can use some water from the Community Garden.

The real work here is in keeping the invasives down in the "meadow" area at the edge, and under the adjacent Cherry and Crabapple trees.

The adjacent meadow is supposed to be mowed by the town every fall, but it is frequently "missed". The areas around the bird-nests need manual cutting/clearing every year regardless.

The area under the large Cherry tree in the southwest corner was first cleared in 2016, and years later continues to provide copious Asian Bittersweet regrowth. The Crabapple trees (really part of Area L) followed a year later, then the area in between (once a Bush Honeysuckle/Asian Bittersweet thicket preventing an view of the Wet Meadow!)

In 2024, these areas still require yearly clearing of Asian Bittersweet and Bush Honeysuckle regrowth.

Area A - The Horse Paddock

This is the old horse paddock, which since 2019 contains the Community Garden pump and pump house/LSC storage shed. It drops off to the south into a low-land between it and Concord Rd. which continues back to the swamp separating it from the Icehouse Pond parking lot.

Since 2019, there has been an attempt to keep a path mowed back through the paddock to the back gate, partially to help with invasive plant removal. Starting in 2021, there has been regular use of a footpath coming in from Concord Rd. along the eastern edge of the paddock and joining with the Yellow Path. This has been encouraged by removing the invasives along the path.

As of 2024, the paddock still has a lean-to in the back which has lost its corrugated tin roof and is falling off of its foundation. The town has been asked multiple times to please remove it. In 2017, before there was a Community Garden pump & pump-house, Joe Holmes got several Land Stewards to pull the Asian Bittersweet off, then realized that the roof was falling off.

The path through the paddock, and the area under the trees next to the fence have been mowed once or twice a year since 2020. They were mowed in June 2024.

Along the Concord Rd. side, the fence is starting to lose boards (they are longer than the normal fence boards). It was cleared of Asian Bittersweet in 2023.

Area B - The Blackberry Patch

There had long been a blackberry patch in this area, but starting in 2019 the invasive plants (Asian Bittersweet) were manually removed and signs put up to prevent mowing of this area in the fall. The result is a gorgeous patch of blackberries which are enjoyed by Acton residents, both feathered and not.

Long term maintenance of this patch will require occasional mowing to help w. the invasives and prevent any woody growth. The idea is to split the patch into two areas, and allow one area to be mowed every fourth year (alternating to ensure there are always blackberries to pick!). This will hopefully start with the fall mowing in 2024.

Area C - The Crabapple Orchard

Crabapple Blossoms

Crabapple Blossoms

There is a stand of Crabapple trees between the meadow and the trail, which creates stunning visuals in the spring (there are several different Crabapple varieties, w. various flower colors).

The Crabapple Orchard itself is in relatively good shape (although always in need of deadwood pruning). The western (meadow) edge is the big problem. A serious attempt to clear out the Glossy Buckthorn and Asian Bittersweet on this edge began in 2022. It was continued in 2023 (and partially in 2024). There is still a serious cluster of MF Rose which needs removal in the Northwest corner of the orchard.

The opposite side of the trail from the Crabapple orchard is a combination of Dogwood, MF Rose, Asian Bittersweet, and Glossy Buckthorn, which is being gradually cleaned up. It is actually better thought of as Area L.

Area D - The Oaks

The Barn in its heyday

This area is the hedge row between Morrison Farm and the "work area" of Woodlawn Cemetery. It has a couple of large Oak trees w. a Spruce and Cherry trees in between, then transitions to Eastern White Pine closer to Concord Rd.

The trees were being overtaken by Asian Bittersweet when first approached in 2019. This was cleared from the trees, but the town had left equipment along the edge preventing mowing. In 2022 the town moved the equipment, allowing mowing of that area.

It was completely mowed (to the fence row) in 2022 and 2023. Note that the opposite side (in the "work area" of Woodlawn Cemetery) was also mowed w. the field mower, in order to deter regrowth.

In 2024, that area desperately needs mowing, but the town has once again parked equipment (tractor accessories) there. A farm structure which previously delimited this area and was used for equipment storage was removed in 2023 after self-destructing in the elements (roofing flying off, walls dropping).

There are a number of common buckthorn trees in that hedge row. This was awaiting positive ID, then NR approval. Girding started in June 2024.

A corollary to this area is the Asian Bittersweet vines growing along the back edge of the barn, and the Glossy Buckthorn thicket supporting them. These were last cleared in June 2024. Due to the age of the adjacent structure, Grape, Nightshade, and Virginia Creeper vines are all cut in that area.

Area E - Cemetery Border

The woodlands between the meadows and Woodlawn Cemetery are not officially part of Morrison Farm. Past the stone wall it is all Cemetery Land, but the trail network is contiguous with that of Morrison Farm, and the town allows removal of invasive species on all town land.

The main invasive in this area is Glossy Buckthorn, with occasional MultiFlora Rose and Asian Bittersweet. It has been occasionally swept since 2016, and still needs clearing of regrowth and new growth.

Area F - The Meadow Border

The northern and western borders of the large meadow are where the invasive plants explode. Glossy Buckthorn and Asian Bittersweet are the main culprits.

There has been no concentrated effort to remove invasives along the border since 2000, only irregular ones.

A large concern is removing any trees which fall into the meadow, as invasives will quickly take hold in any area not getting its yearly mowing. In October of 2019, three large trees which had fallen into the meadow over the previous couple of years (including one which caused a re-routing of the trail which is still maintained as an option five years later) were cleared by a work party with three sawyers and a number of volunteers.

Another concern is that due to overhanging branches, the town doesn't mow very close to the edge, meaning that the edge advances into the meadow every year. A regular effort is needed to cut back branches that intrude too far into the meadow.

The northern edge was checked in Spring 2024.

Area G - The Wooded Area

This is a huge area, which faces the same problems as Area E: Glossy Buckthorn, with occasional MultiFlora Rose and Asian Bittersweet.

Area H - The Causeway

This is a causeway going out to the site of an old bridge across Nashoba Brook. The story is that this was never a road, but was instead built by a farmer who had a barn in East Acton, and needed a way to get his cows over to pasture on the west side of Nashoba Brook. In the early 2020s, the bridge site was the location of a beaver dam.

The causeway needs regular clearing to remain passable. Last cleared in 2023.

Area I - The Jungle

This area is a thicket of Glossy Buckthorn, gradually being taken over by Asian Bittersweet.

There has been no attempt to work it since 2000.

Area J - Old Icehouse Pond Trail

This is a well-worn path along the edge of Icehouse pond, including a place where dogs frequently go for a swim on the northern end. It was well used before the town added the bridges and created the Yellow loop trail.

The vegetation between the trail and the pond edge has been cleared of invasive plants (mostly Glossy Buckthorn) yearly since 2020. It still needs a yearly sweep to cut regrowth from existibng roots (done in 2024).

The vegetation between the trail and the meadow is another story. It is a mess of large Autumn Olive, Glossy Buckthorn, and Multiflora Rose, adorned with Asian Bittersweet. This was bush-hogged somewhat in 2018, and has seen occasional attempts at clearing, but remains as an active work area. The adjacent meadow itself has a large amount of Asian Bittersweet and Glossy Buckthorn, and could probably benefit from mowing twice yearly.

A 40' section right to the south of the dog access was moved inland by 6' in 2022, due to path erosion preventing any growth along the pond edge.

Icehouse Pond

Fall View of Eastern side of Icehouse Pond

This area has great potential, but the town dedicates very little to its maintenance, other than a regular mowing. The enlarged parking lot meets the needs of both Bruce Freeman bike path access and access to Morrison Farm/Icehouse pond. There is a great kiosk describing the use of Icehouse pond in the past two-hundred years. The accessible trail is built of a stabilized engineered wood product, which has held up relatively well over its first decade.

The town ignores any vegetation that isn't lawn. This means there are plenty of invasive plants, and maintenance needed. There is a collapsed wood beam wall along the path which has been that way for five years.

The vegetation around the parking lot is mostly Glossy Buckthorn and Asian Bittersweet, although there is a promising Aspen colony which might eventually crowd it out. This malaise extends into the swamp next to the parking lot.

The vegetation between the Accessible trail and the pond near the parking lot has largely been cleared since 2021, with one final section cleared in June 2024. The trail then winds away from the pond and continues north. This section experienced serious trail widening, and had brush piles placed in 2022/2023/2024 to keep walkers on the path. The area around the path in this section had a serious Glossy Buckthorn infestation, which is starting to come under control (cleared in June 2024).

The native vegetation along Icehouse pond has been trimmed back in the 2023/2024 period by a beaver active in the area. This should improve the viewing, but encourages the invasive plants.

Area K - The Fishing Trail

This is another trail that was maintained by fisherman and intrepid walkers, long before the town opened it up to everyone. Originally accessed either by a series of logs laid through the bog from the old Icehouse Pond parking area, or by mucking through the sump draining Area L between the two wet meadows, this trail goes parallel to the yellow accessible trail, closer to the pond. The vegetation along the trail is in pretty good shape, with lots of Highbush Blueberries. The invasives here are mostly Glossy Buckthorn.

The trouble area is on the northern edge, where it approaches the sump. There is lots of Asian Bittersweet in this area.

Swept to clear regrowth in 2023 and 2024 (except for the trouble area).

Area L - The Sump

Morrison Farm has a highland, which includes the house, barn, Pam Resor Orchard, Community Garden, Paddock and the large meadow. There is also a lowland: two "wet meadows" which can be quite muddy for large parts of the year. There is a ditch separating the highlands from the wet meadows, in an early attempt at improving the drainage in the wet meadows. This ditch runs north/south to the east of the Blue trail, and has a drainage ditch running between the two wet meadows (covered by a large accessible bridge).

The ditch is lined with Dogwoods, Crabapples, Birches, Cherries and other trees. It is also home to a long term Asian Bittersweet infestation, and Glossy Buckthorn.

The southern end was worked, starting in 2019, as part of clearing the edge of the Pam Resor Orchard, and the northern end has been worked starting about the same time as part of the Crabapple orchard. The entire length was worked to cut Asian Bittersweet in 2023. It needs regular sweeps to clear regrowth from root.

The area around the meadow edges, especially where the Yellow trail bridge crosses the sump, has Glossy Buckthorn infestations. Around the Yellow trail bridge over the sump, these have been worked yearly since 2020: 2021, 2022, 2023.

Area M - Concord Rd. Boundary

This area is also not legally part of Morrison Farm, but is otherwise ignored by the town. There are vigorous Oaks here, and the only attention required is to clear out the Glossy Buckthorn and Norway Maple saplings trying to crowd them out. This includes both sides of the stone wall along Concord Rd.

Last cleared in 2023.

Area N - Concord Rd. Playing Field

This is not legally part of Morrison Farm, but this is a very visible part of Acton: the backdrop to the Joseph Robbins homesite, and the end piece of the Concord Rd. playing fields. Due to this ambiguity, permission was obtained (Oct. 2022) from the Cemetery commission to allow invasives removal here.

Black plastic, covered in wood chips, was used in under the Spruce tree, and also under one of the Cedars, to smother the Asian Bittersweet. It should be up for removal in Fall, 2026.

This area was mowed of regrowth in late June 2024.

The beautiful, large crabapple tree was cleared out of Asian Bittersweet, Common Buckthorn, and Bush Honeysuckle in 2022, and the town has kept it clear, mowing underneath it.