J Harry Rich State Forest

The original forest area was settled around 1656 by English farmers. One of the original Selectmen of Groton was John Tinker, and he ran a trading post for a short period of time that was near where Nod Brook enters the Nashua River. This area of Groton was cultivated from colonial times until the middle 1800’s when it was abandoned. The land then reverted to a forest. The property was eventually purchased by the Lawrence family in 1890. They created a small White Pine plantation. In 1918, the East Pepperell dam was built. The dam flooded roughly 140 acres of the property and created Pepperell Pond, which now abuts Rich State Forest. From 1923 to 1952, J. Harry Rich, a Professor-Emeritus of Forestry at the University of Massachusetts, acquired the present amount of forest acreage. Through forest management, he established a forest of predominantly White Pine. In 1956, the forest, under Professor Rich’s ownership, was dedicated as a certified Tree Farm. The forest continued to be managed by Professor Rich until his death in 1964. Subsequently, the title was transferred to the Rich Tree Farms and Forestry Corporation. Under both Professor Rich’s and the Corporation’s ownership, the forest was silviculturally managed and produced four million board feet of timber and 2,000 cords of fuelwood. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts purchased the forest in 1981. It is managed now by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) out of their Willard Brook Headquarters in W. Townsend, MA.