Guiney Memorial Forest
Guiney Memorial Forest is 33 acres of land in the southeast corner of Royalston and abuts protected land forming thousands of acres of open space. The land to the south is part of the Army Corps of Engineers' Birch Hill Dam managed property. To the east, the abutting land is part of the Otter River State Forest, which together with other protected land extends miles to the north and east.
Forest cover is principally old field white pine arising on land once used for farming. Stone walls and scattered old barbed wire fencing remains from past use of the land as pasture. The hurricane of 1938 impacted this area severely, and trees with large sweep, root throw mounds and down trees show evidence of the damage done. Some breakage occurred in the ice storm of December 2008, with the principal impact being downed trees and branches across the trail.
Topography is flat to gentle slopes with the highest land in the center, falling off to the east and west. A small perennial stream in the eastern third of the lot flows out of a small man-made pond on the northern border and runs to the south where it enters Beaver Pond whose outlet, Stockwell Brook, flows into the Millers River to the south.
Public Access
The Guiney Memorial Forest is open to the public for non-motorized outdoor recreation including hiking, bird watching, and nature study.
Directions
40 Morse Rd, Royalston, MA 01368
From Route 202, take Route 68 north to South Royalston and turn onto River Rd. Follow River Rd about .4 miles to turn left on to Neale Rd. Turn right when Neale Rd ends at a T and head east on Neale Place, which becomes New Boston Rd, for a total of .6 miles. Turn right on Morse Rd. Park at the south end of Morse Rd. at the gate.
Note: Do not park at the residential house.
Ownership
Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust
Gift From
Father John Guiney (1998)
Year Protected
1998
Property History
Father John Guiney’s family donated this 33-acre property to Mount Grace on the condition it be maintained as a wildlife sanctuary. Father Guiney retired from a parish in Watertown to a house on Morse Road adjacent to the land where he kept trails open throughout and spent much time walking there.