Church Conservation Area

George Church at dedication ceremony.

The George & Katherine Church Wildlife Conservation Area is 21 acres on Marion Road/Route 105. This beautiful pine forest is permanently protected through the generosity of George E. and Katherine H. Church, a beloved Rochester couple who dedicated themselves to the Town of Rochester throughout their lives.

HABITATS:

• pine forest

HISTORY: George Church & Katherine Hartley married in the 1950s – thus joining two of Rochester’s oldest families. The Hartleys were one of Rochester’s largest and most influential families, owning and operating Hartley’s Saw Mill and store located on Gifford’s Brook. The Church family owned the sawmill on the Mattapoisett River since the mid 1700s.
Katherine’s first love was working with and nurturing young lives both through her work as a school nurse in Acushnet and in the community teaching first aid and swimming at the family compound on Snow’s Pond. During World War II, George served in the Army Air Corps in England and Katherine in the Nurse Corps.
It was Katherine’s wish that this land be preserved for all to enjoy in its natural state. Following her death in 2007, George honored Katherine’s wish and worked with the Rochester Land Trust to dedicate the property in her memory.

LOGGING:

Long ago, this land served as a timber farm to help provide lumber for the Hartley Sawmill. Since it had last been cleared of trees for this purpose, it was allowed to “go back to nature”. This meant that the surrounding pines seeded it all at once with their seeds. As those seeds grew into trees, it became forestland again. But there was a problem (though it took some time to develop). The pines were well spaced as saplings, but as they grew, they were all of the same age and size and much too close together. The trees’ lower branches were starved of light from their proximity to one another, and the undergrowth below (that small mammals and birds need for homes and deer need for forage) eliminated. Rochester Land Trust had possession of the property at this point, and, working with an accredited forester, made a plan to fix this. In 2019, a forestry plan was followed, choosing specific areas to log, in order to create a healthier environment for the remaining trees, and to provide light for undergrowth to re-emerge. Even the “debris” logs that were left behind were intentional—they will decompose and become a rich humus to help feed the flora, both new and existing. As you visit through the years, take note of the changes. Some will be rapid. Others may take years or decades (these are the lifetimes of trees, after all). Rochester Land Trust must take the long view on this property, as it will be protected for all time.

VISIT: Enjoy your visit to this peaceful spot and remember the generosity of the couple that helped preserve this corner forever.

• Walk the circular trail surrounding the cellar hole of an old homestead. The trail begins and ends at the field.
• Watch for signs of deer, fox and raccoon. Many woodland birds have been sighted here.
• Picnic at the picnic table.
• Please take your trash with you.