Petticoat Hill

Petticoat Hill
Highest point
Elevation	1,180 ft (360 m) ^[1]
Coordinates	42°22′54″N 72°44′41″W / 42.38167°N 72.74472°W / 42.38167; -72.74472Coordinates: 42°22′54″N 72°44′41″W / 42.38167°N 72.74472°W / 42.38167; -72.74472
Geography
Location	Williamsburg, Massachusetts, United States
Parent range	The Berkshires
Climbing
Easiest route	Loop trail to Scott Hill (subordinate summit)

Petticoat Hill
Open Space Reserve
Location	Williamsburg, Massachusetts

Biome	northern hardwood forest
Plant	red trillium, trout lily, white baneberry, wild ginger, American basswood, black birch, hornbeam, Northern red oak, pignut hickory, shagbark hickory, red maple, sugar maple, white ash, white pine, eastern hemlock.
Animal	American black bear, coyote, white-tailed deer.

Founded	1906
Management	The Trustees of Reservations

Area	60-acre (24 ha)

Website: Petticoat Hill

Petticoat Hill is the name of a 1,180 foot (361 m) hill and a 60-acre (24 ha) open space reservation located in Williamsburg, Massachusetts in the eastern Berkshire Mountains. The reservation, occupying the east side of the hill, is managed by The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR), a non-profit conservation organization. The hill and reservation are characterized by steep slopes largely wooded with northern hardwood forest species, particularly eastern hemlock.^[1]^[2]

Geography and ecology

Petticoat Hill rises nearly 1,000 feet (300 m) above downtown Williamsburg; its subordinate summits include Scott Hill, 1,027 ft (313 m), on which are located the reservation and trails; and Unquomonk Hill, (1,083 ft (330 m). The east and south sides of Petticoat Hill drain into Unquomonk Brook, thence into the Mill River, the Connecticut River, and Long Island Sound. The north and west sides of the hill drain into Meekin Brook, thence into the Mill River.^[1]

Petticoat Hill species include American black bear, coyote, and white-tailed deer. Flora includes spring wildflowers such as red trillium, trout lily, white baneberry, and wild ginger. Tree species include American basswood, black birch, hornbeam, Northern red oak, pignut hickory, shagbark hickory, red maple, sugar maple, white ash, and white pine. There are trees on the property that are over 100 feet (30 m) tall and some that are 10 feet (3.0 m) in diameter or more.^[3]^[4]^[5]

History

Petticoat Hill receives its name from a family of seven daughters, who, according to local tradition, lived on the hill and regularly hung their petticoats from a laundry line where they "wave[ed] in the wind [and were] visible for miles around when they did their laundry on Mondays."^[2]

By the early 19th century, the area around Petticoat Hill was the most populated section of Williamsburg. The current reservation property, except for a field of boulders, was mostly sheep pasture. When farming interests moved to the Midwest by the late 1800s, the hill gradually reverted to forest. Old stone walls, foundations, and cellar holes are the only remains of the hill's former use.

The east side of Petticoat Hill was donated to The Trustees of Reservations in 1906 by Mrs. Edward W. Nash in memory of her husband. Additional land was donated in 1924.^[2]^[4]

Recreation

The Petticoat Hill reservation is open to hiking, cross country skiing, picnicing, and hunting (in season); TTOR manages a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) loop trail through the property. Another trail, Locke's Loop, is managed by the local non-profit Williamsburg Woodland Trails organization with permission from private landowners; it joins the reservation hiking trail near the summit of Scott Hill, passes over the crest, and descends through private property before returning to the reservation. No marked trails ascend to the actual summit of Petticoat Hill.^[2]^[4]

References

1 2 3 USGS 7.5 minute series topographic maps via ACME Mapper. Retrieved January 2, 2009
1 2 3 4 Trustees of Reservations: Petticoat Hill Retrieved January 2, 2009
↑ Leverett, Robert (2007). "Petticoat Hill, Williamsburg, MA" Native Tree Society. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
1 2 3 Williamsburg Woodland Trails: Petticoat Hill. Retrieved January 2, 2009
↑ "Petticoat Hill Reservation" Hidden Hills.com. Retrieved January 2, 2009

External links

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

National Historical Parks	Adams Blackstone River Valley Boston Lowell Minute Man New Bedford Whaling

National Historic Sites	Boston African American Frederick Law Olmsted John Fitzgerald Kennedy Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters Salem Maritime Saugus Iron Works Springfield Armory

Other National Park Service Units	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Cape Cod National Seashore

National Wildlife Refuges	Assabet River Great Meadows Mashpee Massasoit Monomoy Nantucket Nomans Land Oxbow Parker River Silvio O. Conte Thacher Island

Other	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve West Hill Dam (USACE)

State Parks

Parks	Alewife Brook Ames Nowell Ashland Bash Bish Falls Blackstone River and Canal Heritage Borderland Boston Harbor Islands Bradley Palmer C. M. Gardner Callahan Castle Island State Park Chicopee Memorial City Square Clarksburg Cochituate Connecticut River Greenway Demarest Lloyd Dighton Rock Dunn Ellisville Harbor Fall River Heritage Gardner Heritage Great Brook Farm Halibut Point Hampton Ponds Holyoke Heritage Hopkinton Lake Lorraine Lake Wyola Lawrence Heritage Lowell Heritage Lynn Heritage Massasoit Maudslay Moore Mount Holyoke Range Natural Bridge Nickerson Pearl Hill Pilgrim Quinsigamond Robinson Roxbury Heritage Rutland Skinner South Cape Beach Wahconah Falls Webb Memorial Wells Western Gateway Heritage Whitehall Wompatuck

Reservations	Beaver Brook Belle Isle Marsh Blue Hills Breakheart Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Dorchester Shores Elm Bank Fort Phoenix Hammond Pond Hemlock Gorge Horseneck Beach Jug End Lynn Shore Middlesex Fells Mount Everett Mount Greylock Mount Sugarloaf Mount Tom Myles Standish Mystic River Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Nasketucket Bay Neponset River Pope John Paul II Purgatory Chasm Quincy Quarries Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Salisbury Beach Sandy Point Scusset Beach Stony Brook Upper Charles River Wachusett Mountain Walden Pond West Island Weymouth Wilson Mountain

Other	Appalachian Trail Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Cape Cod Rail Trail Fort Revere Lake Dennison Recreation Area Lower Neponset River Trail Nashua River Rail Trail Norwottuck Rail Trail Quabbin Reservoir Southwest Corridor Park Squantum Point Park Streeter Point Recreation Area Sudbury Reservoir Wachusett Reservoir Ware River Watershed Area

State Forests

Wildlife Management Areas

Wildlife Management Areas	Agawam Lake Agawam Mill Pond Ashby Ashfield Hawley Attitash Ayer Game Farm Baddacook Pond Bakers Pond Bay Circuit Trail Bearse Pond Becket Bennett Birch Hill Black Brook Blackstone / West River Bolton Flats Boxboro Station Brayton Point Salt Marsh Breakneck Brook Brewer Brook Bullock Ledge Burrage Pond Canoe River Catamount Chalet Chase Garden Creek Salt Marsh Childs River Chockalog Swamp Church Homestead Clapps Pond Clinton Bluff Concord River Connecticut River Cook Pond Copicut Coy Hill Crane Pond Cummington Cusky Pond Dartmoor Farm Darwin Scott Memorial Day Mountain Deerfield River Dogfish Bar Beach Coastal Dolomite Ledges Dunstable Brook E. Kent Swift Eagle Island East Mountain Eastham Salt Marsh Elbow Meadow English Salt Marsh Eugene D. Moran Facing Rock Fairfield Brook Farmington River Fish Brook Fisherville Pond Fisk Forestdale Lot Fisk Meadows Five Mile River Flagg Swamp Flint Pond Four Chimneys Fox Den Fox Island Salt Marsh Frances A. Crane Freetown Swamp George L. Darey Housatonic Valley Glen Echo Lake Gosnold Grassy Pond (Dennis) Grassy Pond (Plymouth) Green River (Franklin County) Green River (Berkshire County) Greenfield River Halfway Pond Hamilton Hancock Harlow / Cooks Pond Haskell Swamp Hauk Swamp Hawksnest State Park Hawley Head Of The Plains Herman Covey High Ridge Hinsdale Flats Hiram H. Fox Hockomock Swamp Hog Pond Lot Honey Pot Hoosatonic River Hoosic River Hop Brook Housatonic River Hubbard Brook Hunting Hills Hyannis Ponds Ipswich River John J. Kelly Joint Base Cape Cod Jug End Fen Jug End Kampoosa Fen Katama Plains Knops Pond Konkapot River Lackey Pond Lake Lorraine Lake Rohunta Lake Snipatuit Lake Warner Lanesboro Lawrence Brook Lawrence Pond Lot Leadmine Leyden Lilly Pond Little Alum Pond Long Sought For Pond Maple Hill Maple Springs Martha Deering Martin H. Burns Mascuppic Lake Mashpee Pine Barrens Mashpee Pond Lot Mashpee River Mckinstry Brook Meetinghouse Swamp Merrill Pond Miacomet Heath Mill River Millers River Mine Brook Montague Plains Montague Moose Brook Moose Brook Moose Hill Mossy Pond Mount Watatic Reservation Mt. Esther Mt. Toby Highlands Mt. Toby Mt. Tom Muddy Brook Muddy Pond Mulpus Brook Nashua River Natty Brook Nemasket River Nissitissit River Noquochoke Nordeen Marsh North Brookfield North Shore Salt Marsh Northboro Oakham Olivers Pond Orange Otis Packard Pond Palmer Pantry Brook Pauchaug Brook Peru Peterson Swamp Phillipston Podunk Marsh Poland Brook Popple Camp Popponesset Beach Poutwater Pond Powell Brook Prince River Provincetown Route 6 Corridor Purchade Brook Quaboag Quacumquasit Quag Pond Bog Quashnet River Quashnet Woods State Reservation Quinapoxet River Quinsigamond Marsh Quisset Raccoon Hill Rainbow Beach Red Brook Richardson Robbins Pond Rochester Rocky Gutter Rowe Salisbury Salt Marsh Salisbury Salt Marsh Sandwich Game Farm Sandy Pond Satan's Kingdom Savage Hill Savoy Sawmill River Scorton Creek Coastal SE Mass Bioreserve Sevenmile River Shattuck Brook Sheperds Island Shubael Pond Sibley Brook Sly Pond South Barrier Beach South Meadow Pond South Shore Salt Marsh South Triangle Pond Southampton Southwick Spectacle Pond Springhill Lot Sputtermill Pond Squannacook River Stafford Hill Sudbury River Sunderland Islands Taconic Mountain Taunton River Taunton River Tekoa Mountain Thad Ellis Thayer Pond Three Mile Pond Townsend Townsend Hill Trapfall Brook Triangle Pond Tully Brook Tully Mountain Tully River Wakeby Pond Wales Walnut Hill Ware River Warwick Wendell West Meadows Westboro Westfield River Westfield Weymouth Back River Whately Great Swamp Whately Ponds Whately Wilbraham Game Farm William Forward Williams River Williamsburg Winimusset Wolf Swamp

Wildlife Sanctuaries	Billingsgate Island Carr Island E. Howe Forbush Egg Rock Grace A. Robson J.C. Phillips Knight Penikese Island Ram Island (Salisbury) Ram Island (Mattapoisett) Susan B. Minns Tarpaulin Cove Watatic Mountain

The Nature Conservancy

Black Pond Bog Boat Meadow Francis Newhall Woods Grassy Pond Greene Swamp Halfway Pond Island Hawley Bog Hockomock Swamp Hoft Farm Homer-Watcha Preserve Katama Plains McElwain-Olsen Miacomet Moors Reed Brook Drury Sandy Neck David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail Stacy Mountain Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

Audubon Society Wildlife Sanctuaries

Arcadia Broad Meadow Brook Broadmoor Daniel Webster Drumlin Farm High Ledges Ipswich River Moose Hill North River Pleasant Valley Stony Brook Wachussett Meadow Wellfleet Bay

Other

Concord Land Conservation Trust Harvard Forest Lincoln Land Conservation Trust Lloyd Center for the Environment Lynn Woods Reservation Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary

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Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
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