When submitting eBird observations at the More Brewer Park Complex, it is most helpful to start a new checklist for each hotspot in the park. Use the general hotspot when you have a checklist that includes multiple locations or if no other hotspot or personal location is appropriate for your sightings.

Francis Brewer, son of John R. Brewer, spent happy boyhood days on his father’s World End Farm; and possibly inspired by that experience began in 1884 to purchase sheep grazing land at Great Hill. He originally planned to create a park and give it to the town. Instead, he married, built a house and farm buildings, and raised a family there. In the spring of 1921, Brookes More, a poet purchased the Great Hill estate. His daughter, Katherine More, eventually married Francis Brewer’s son, Wilmon Brewer, also a poet.

Nearly a century after Francis Brewer began buying the land, his original intent was fulfilled by an act of uncommon generosity when, in 1980, Dr. and Mrs. Wilmon Brewer gave the Higham Conservation Commission 107 acres of the Great Hill estate. Combined with the previously acquired 31.4 acres to the north and the 48.1 acres of Brewer Reservation earlier given by the Brewer family, the park totals 186.5 acres of varied land, much of it interlaced with winding carriage paths.

An outstanding feature is a spacious meadow, surrounded by pine. Larch and dogwood. Brewer Pond, gorgeous when water lilies are in bloom, and the more secluded Ice House Pond, provides habitats for many creatures. Other features include a trail through Bear Swamp and the foundation of the tiny cottage of Bootleg Charlie, immortalized in Brookes More’s poetry.

In 2006, the protection of Bear Swamp was enhanced by a 5-acre gift from the Estate of Gertrude Higgins. The 112-acre park provides access to Hobart Street and New Bridge Street. Parking is located along Hobart Street.

Cranberry Pond located south of More Brewer Park and west of Brewer Reservation was once a cranberry bog known as Bouve Pond. The Cranberry Pond area is a 13.8-acre preserver that attracts ice skaters and waterfowl. Parking is located along French Street.