Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge

 SUMMARY: Once upon a time, the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge was a federal "Superfund" clean-up site. This was a consequence of the land being seized for World War II military munitions storage in 1942, and then used for military training and equipment testing until 1990. Roughly two-thirds of the 3.5 square mile refuge became open to the public in 2005 (the rest still closed off), with a visitors' center added in 2010. See ws.gov/refuge/assabet-river. 

Archaeological evidence confirms the presence of indigenous people dating back more than 7,000 years. Unlike much of what became Maynard in 1871, the southern third was more favorable for farming and had ponds that provided for year-round fishing. At the time of arrival of European colonists, what is now central Massachusetts and northern Connecticut was the territory of Nipmuc Native Americans. European diseases and colonial expansion decimated and displaced the native population, the tail end of this punctuated by King Philip's War of 1675-78. Surviving natives were either clustered in Christian convert "praying villages" or chose to move to native communities north and west of this region. When Sudbury was incorporated in 1639 and Stow in 1683, those contained all of future Maynard. There is a granite block in the Refuge on the Tri-Town Trail that makes the position where Maynard and the size-reduced Stow and Sudbury meet. 

As Maynard grew, most of the people settled in close proximity to the ever-enlarging woolen mill (1847-1950). By the 1920 census the population was a tad over 7,000 and it stayed close to that up to the eve of World War II. However, even as the downtown density grew, the southern third was mostly farm homesteads, mainly settled by immigrants from Finland who preferred farming to factory work. Much was grown for family consumption, but there were also orchards, dairy cows, hogs and chickens. Sales were made to stores in Maynard and neighboring towns, and there was an early morning 'milk train' to Boston. 

The Boothroyds' book (2025)

The evictions - when they came - were sudden. The United States entered the war in December 1941. By March of 1942 the Army had identified about 3,000 acres primarily in Maynard but extending into Hudson, Stow and Sudbury, as suitable for a munitions waystation. Munitions and other war supplies could be held there until Boston harbor was ready to load ships bound for Europe. As documented in "The Ammo Dump," some 80 homesteads received notice in April that their land was being taken be eminent domain, with as little as ten days to vacate. The government calculated what it estimated as fair market value to pay the evicted families, but many of those families felt they were being underpaid, as it fell on them to also sell or dispose of furniture, farm equipment, animals, etc. And find a place to live. And jobs. If there were any promises that people could return after the war those were not in writing and never happened. Sixty years later - for those still alive - there was a bittersweet opportunity to visit once the Refuge was open, perhaps to find the site where there house and barn and fields had been, now a forest.

One of the most interesting features of the Refuge are the World War II era ammunition bunkers. The site was chosen to be convenient to railroad shipping to the Boston Navy Yard yet far enough inland so that a German battleship could not shell the area. Each of the 50 bunkers, officially referred to as “igloos,” has inside dimensions of 81x26x12 feet, with a curved roof. Sides and roofs were mounded with dirt for extra protection and disguise. [Air view disguise and Maynard's airplane lookout tower atop Summer Hill were overkill, as Germany never completed several attempts to build aircraft carriers.] Today, from all but the door end, these bunkers resemble small hills, complete with trees growing on top. Bunker #303 is sometimes open for tours.

After WWII this site, referred to as the Fort Devens-Sudbury Training Annex, served as a troop training ground, ordinance testing and chemical laboratory disposal area for Natick Labs, i.e., the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center. A 1980s assessment led to this being categorized as an EPA “Superfund” clean-up site in 1990, as the site was contaminated with arsenic compounds (sprayed along the railroad tracks as a herbicide) and other chemicals, including flame retardant and firefighting chemicals now known to contaminate water supplies. Extensive clean-up efforts continued for years. The cost exceeded $20 million. The Superfund designation was ended in January 2022, after removal of underground fuel tanks, 55-gallon barrels of cheemical waste and tons of contaminated soil. Monitoring of groundwater contamination continues. Most of the site was turned over to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2000. The Assaber River National Wildlife Refuge was opened to the public in 2005, with a visitors' center added in 2010. 

Entrance to the FEMA facility

A 72 acre portion of the land adjacent to the end of Old Marlborough Road was transferred to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Here, FEMA maintains a Regional Response Coordination Center for natural and man-made disasters. It includes an underground bunker designed to provide shelter and support for several hundred people during a limited nuclear war. See https://coldwar-ct.com/FEMA_Regional_HQ_Maynard.html for exterior and interior photos. 

The Refuge covers 3.5 square miles. In combination with the other seven eastern Massachusetts wildlife refuges, these preserve land for mammals, reptiles, and local and migratory birds. There is a wonderfully informative, child-friendly, Visitor Center at 680 Winterberry Way, off of Hudson Road. For people who just want to park and roam, the north parking lot is accessed from White Pond Road, reachable from Route 117 in Stow. There is a small parking area at the end of Old Marlborough Road, but the trail accessed from that entrance is often flooded in winter and spring. Within the Refuge there are 15 miles of old roads and walking trails, with the roads (which are in poor repair) open to bicycling. No dogs allowed anywhere in the Refuge, no other pets, no horses, no fires, no overnight camping, no ATVs, no dirt bikes, no snowmobiles. Catch-and-release fishing is allowed, but only from the Puffer Pond dock.

Whitetail deer fawns lose their white-spot camoflage
in the fall as they grow their much thicker, all-brown
winter coat. Other pre-winter adaptations include
storing more body fat and slowing metabolic rate.
Still, winter weight loss can exceed 20%.  

Hunting is allowed for deer, turkey, grouse, woodcock, coyote, rabbits and squirrels. This feels countradictory given the word "refuge," but without apex predator wolves and mountain lions, deer can become a serious over-population problem. The state's population is estimated at 175,000, with the eastern half of the state more than double the targeted density of 12-18 per square mile. Eastern coyotes - although larger than western coyotes for having historically bred with wolves during the eastern expansion - are still not very successful in preying on adult deer. During the fall/winter deer-hunting season hunters harvest about 15,000 annually. Refuge visitors are perhaps wise to wear orange or restrict visiting to no-hunting Sundays.

To learn more about the refuge, see ws.gov/refuge/assabet-river and the Friends of Woodlands and Waters website, which has a downloadable trail map at  https://www.woodlandsandwaters.org/assabet-river/trails. For history, see the Boothroyds' book "The Ammo Dump". It's major focus is the families that were evicted, but it also covers the military use of the area between the end of World War II and subsequent conversion to the Refuge.

Click on photos to enlarge. To access hundreds of past columns from The Maynard Voice and the Beacon-Villager, visit www.maynardlifeoutdoors.com There is an index.