Trescott Water Supply Lands

Description

The Trescott Water Supply Lands feature miles of recreation trails on both maintained class VI roads and maintained trails, plus unmaintained trails and temporary logging roads.

Recreational users are welcome except within 250 feet of reservoirs (see the map photo below for areas closed to the public). Users may enjoy these activities: walk/hike/run, snowshoe/ungroomed ski, bike, leashed dogs, horses, photography, nature study, and hunting in season.

PROHIBITED uses: motorized vehicles, dogs off leash, swimming, fishing, boating, camping/open fires, alcohol, disturbing historic sites, and access within 250 feet of reservoirs.

Other restrictions:

• Pick up after pets
• Open dawn to dusk
• Use at your own risk
• Stay off trails when muddy

Other Information

The Trescott Company owns 1,165 acres here in the upper watershed of Camp Brook. The Company was established in 2010, and is an equal partnership between the Town of Hanover and Dartmouth College.  The Town of Hanover separately owns 178 acres containing the reservoirs and water filtration plant, all of which are closed to the public.

Professional foresters manage the lands to ensure a healthy forest and pure water for tomorrow, and public recreation. Hunting is necessary to protect native tree growth from over-browsing by deer.

History

In the 1800s, ten farms thrived here on fine soils and ready access to water. One became the town’s Poor Farm, where the community’s indigent citizens lived and worked. The farm included an ice-cutting operation and busy sawmill. Local children attended the one-room District No. 4 School at Mason’s Four Corners.

Disastrous fires in 1880 and 1890 revealed the need for a better water supply for fire-fighting. In 1893, the village precinct and college formed the Hanover Water Works Co., damming Camp Brook and buying 50 acres for a reservoir.  News of a typhoid epidemic in Ithaca, NY, prompted buy-out of the entire watershed by 1912. The farms were dismantled and human occupation ended, but their cellar holes and impressive stone walls remain.

The 2007 Patriot’s Day Windstorm blew down much timber that had been planted to protect water quality. Reforestation efforts, including control of invasive plants that followed the blowdowns and protection of rare plants, continue under a new forest management plan.

The Trescott Lands Recreation Committee has been appointed by the Trescott Company to manage responsible public recreation of this area, while protecting our drinking water.

Trail Manager

For more information, please contact the Hanover Trails Committee: