Jacobs Meadow

Jacobs Meadow

Hingham, Massachusetts 02043

Official Website
Jacobs Meadow map

About this Location

Jacobs Meadow has trails through woodlands and meadows, plus a view of Fulling Mill Brook. Jacobs Meadow is located directly adjacent to the Lehner Conservation Area. Access is limited on school days. Please visit this property on weekends, and when school is not in session (late afternoon, holidays, summer).

Old stone walls can be found throughout this property, most of which was donated to the Town of Hingham, and the Hingham Conservation Land Trust, by Helen Burns (the town purchased additional acreage from abutters). Additional land donors include the Goodlatte family, Richard & Virginia Kurtzman, and Robert & Carolyn Garvie. Please be mindful of private property.

According to the Hingham Land Conservation Trust, the area where Jacobs Meadow is located is known as Glad Tidings Plain. It has long been associated with the family of Nicholas Jacob, who immigrated from England and settled in Hingham in 1633. (The “s” was added to the family name a few generations later.) Members of the Jacobs family became toolmakers, blacksmiths, millers, and farmers.
Trail Description

A trail behind the Wilder Memorial Building leads into the woods, and shortly thereafter, to a large open meadow. There are loop trails to the north and south. The meadow offers easy, relatively flat walking, while the forest trails are narrower, with occasional small hills. The same trail network can also be accessed through the Lehner Conversation Area. A kiosk marks the property boundary. Some of the trails in the woods are marked with white blazes, others are marked with wooden posts, and some are not marked at all.

Open meadows are the centerpiece of this property. They are bordered by woods and wetlands on both sides, offering a wonderful sense of seclusion. Most of the forest is pine and oak, but there are some lovely groves of cedar and beech, plus some holly and maple. Plenty of greenbrier too! There are some glacial erratic boulders as well.

Fulling Mill Brook runs through the rear of the property and the streams and wetlands on this property flow into the brook, which is a major tributary to the Weir River. The Weir River flows north through Hingham, with Tower Brook and Accord Brook joining it in its first mile. It gradually turns northeast and flows for another 1.4 miles, through Weir River Farm and eventually into Foundry Pond. The Weir River Estuary, designated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an Area of Critical Concern, begins just below the manmade dam at the pond. The mile-wide estuary forms the border between Hingham and Hull and empties into Hingham Bay.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Content from Official Website

Last updated February 28, 2024