Baker's Meadow

Indian Ridge/West Parish Meadow/Baker's Meadow
Reservations
Andover Village Improvement Society

Glacial esker, birdwatcher's paradise

Size: Indian Ridge: 23 acres

West Parish Meadow: 28 acres

Baker's Meadow: 59 acres

Access: Red Spring Rd. and Reservation Rd., signs at
each entrance. Trails from Argilla Rd., Oriole Dr., and Meadow View Lane lead to Baker's Meadow.

Parking: High school, Red Spring Rd. and West Parish Cemetery lots; along Oriole Dr.

History
    Indian Ridge has been a popular walk for Andover residents since the last century.

   Those in poor health were once advised to walk around the Ridge twice a day.

   In 1896, Indian Ridge was offered for sale by the Hartwell Abbots.

   Alice Buck, one of Andover's first conservationists, led efforts to save the Ridge.

   Her cause inspired editorials in Boston and New York newspapers and articles in national magazines.

   The property was purchased in December 1897. Alice Buck is memorialized by a plaque mounted on a boulder in the reservation.

   Baker's Meadow, really a pond, was named for Dr. Symonds Baker who owned most of the area during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
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  During the 1920's, when muskrat fur was in fashion, Alexander Henderson dammed his land here to form a pond for his muskrats.

   He was wiped out by the 1929 crash, but he maintained the area for small birds and animals.

   In 1958 Harold Rafton, a tireless conservationist, persuaded the Hendersons to sell their land to AVIS.

   In 1992, AVIS purchased West Parish Meadow from nearby West Parish Church.

Natural features
   10,000 to 12,000 years ago the Wisconsin Glacier covered Andover.

   Meltwater streams flowed through cracks in the glacier, depositing rocks and gravel in their channels.

   Eskers, the resulting ridges, may be 100 feet in height and several miles long.

   The Indian Ridge esker reaches up to 50 feet.

   West Parish Meadow, one of the few true meadows remaining in town, has several small ponds, beautiful expanses of wildflowers, and many birds.

   A self- guiding nature trail booklet is available from AVIS.

   More than 145 species of birds, including herons, ducks and rare snowy owls, have been observed in Baker's Meadow.

The wetlands also provide vital habitat for muskrat, mink and beaver.

Bay Circuit route
The Bay Circuit enters Indian Ridge from Reservation Rd.

Follow the Bay Circuit markers up the esker, past the Buck Memorial and behind the high school.

Head downhill and follow the boardwalk into West Parish Meadow to Reservation Rd.

This section of the trail is 1.2 miles long.

   To continue on the Bay Circuit, turn right to the Cutler Rd. intersection; cross to West Parish Cemetery.


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