Bartholomew's Cobble is a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

, open space preserve, agricultural preserve, and bio-reserve located in southwest

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in the village of Ashley Falls abutting

Canaan, Connecticut Canaan is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,080 at the 2020 census, down from 1,234 at the 2010 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The town of Canaan is often referred ...

. The preserve contains more than 800 plant species, including

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

's greatest diversity of

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s and the greatest overall biodiversity in

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the Western Massachusetts, westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state, U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its la ...

; it also contains Massachusetts' highest populations of ground nesting

bobolink The bobolink (''Dolichonyx oryzivorus'') is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus ''Dolichonyx''. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. ...

s.NPS NNL Summary
/ref>''Bartholomew's Cobble'' Brochure, 2002 edition. The Trustees of Reservations. It was declared a

in October 1971. The preserve includes two rocky knolls for which the property is named (the Cobbles), as well as floodplain along the Konkapot and

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United ...

s, working hayfields and pastures, meadows, and Hurlburt's Hill, an open hilltop with a panoramic view of

The Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

, the

Taconic Mountains The Taconic Mountains () are a 150-mile-long sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains lying on the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England. The range, which played a role in the history of geological science, is separated from th ...

, and the Housatonic River Valley. The property has been owned and managed by the non-profit conservation organization

The Trustees of Reservations ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

since 1946. Hiking trails and an interpretive center and museum are located on the preserve. Rangers and staff lead guided canoe trips on the Housatonic River in season.Bartholomew's Cobble website
Retrieved June 30, 2021.

History

''Cobble'' is derived from the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

word ''kobel'' or ''koble'', usually applied to small, rocky, rounded and exposed hill. The property was originally occupied by the Mahican tribe and subsequently settled by Colonel John Ashley, a New England colonial revolutionary for whom Ashely Falls is named. Ashley built a house near the Cobbles—the Colonel John Ashley House—now a historic site also managed by The Trustees of Reservations. The name comes from a series of Bartholomews that owned the property after Colonel Ashley. In 1838 Wyllis Bartholomew purchased the Colonel John Ashley house and five and one quarter acres from the Ashley family; it is said he used it for farm laborer housing. He owned it until his death in 1846 when Wyllis' son Hiram inherited it. In 1852, Hiram sold it to his son George, who farmed it for many years. It didn't become known as Bartholomew's Cobble until George owned it." The property was farmland and pasture before it came into the hands of The Trustees of the Reservations in 1946. Additional acreage was acquired through more than ten purchases and donations from 1963 to 2000.

Biodiversity

Several factors contribute to the biodiversity of Bartholomew's Cobble. First, the region is spacially and climatically located such that it contains a number of species that reach the northern or southern limit of their range in North America. Second, the property is located at the boundary of two distinct state bioregions: the marble valley lowlands of

geology and the Taconic uplands. Third, the Cobbles, twin rocky knolls abutting the Housatonic River, are composed of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

, an

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

ic rock, and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, an

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The a ...

ne (

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

) rock. This produces high variation in soil chemistry, which in turn supports species of ferns and other plants that do not normally grow in close proximity to one another. Fern species include the walking fern, maidenhair spleenwort, mountain spleenwort,

maidenhair fern ''Adiantum'' (), the maidenhair fern (not to be confused with the similar-looking maidenhair spleenwort fern), is a genus of about 250 species of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae, though some researchers place it ...

, bulblet fern, marginal woodfern,

polypody ''Polypodium'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Polypodioideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The genus is widely distributed throughout the world, with the highest s ...

, ostrich fern, and evergreen woodfern. Flowering plant species include red columbine, herb Robert, northern prickly ash,

bloodroot ''Sanguinaria canadensis'', bloodroot, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America. It is the only species in the genus ''Sanguinaria'', included in the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is most closely related to ' ...

spring beauty ''Claytonia'' (spring beauty) is a genus of flowering plants native to Asia, North America, and Central America. The vitamin-rich leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, and the tubers can be prepared like potatoes. Description The plants are somewh ...

, bergamot, mayapple, and round-lobed hepatica.''Ledges Interpretive Trail Guide: Bartholomew's Cobble--A National Natural Landmark.'' (2002) The Trustees of Reservations. West of the Cobbles, the landscape changes to open managed hay fields dotted with

eastern red cedar ''Juniperus virginiana'', also known as eastern redcedar, red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico an ...

and then to upland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s of

red oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

eastern hemlock ''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...

yellow birch ''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the p ...

shagbark hickory ''Carya ovata'', the shagbark hickory, is a common hickory native to eastern North America, with two varieties. The trees can grow to quite a large size but are unreliable in their fruit output. The nut is consumed by wildlife and historically by ...

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...

, and black birch. Rare upland species include the great blue lobelia. Hay fields are managed to preserve habitat for ground nesting

s. Along the Housatonic and Konkapot River floodplain are located a number of

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

s, wetlands, open pastures, and

riverine A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it run ...

forests. Species include the

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbea ...

, bobcat,

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

, New England cottontail,

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

, eastern cottonwood,

American sycamore ''Platanus occidentalis'', also known as American sycamore, American planetree, western plane, occidental plane, buttonwood, and water beech, is a species of ''Platanus'' native to the eastern and central United States, the mountains of northeast ...

, black willow, and

stinging nettle ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Or ...

. Bartholomew's Cobble is an important migratory bird habitat. More than 250 species of birds have been documented on the property, including the bank swallow, bobolink, bald eagle,

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members of ...

, great blue heron,

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. R ...

wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a partially migratory species of perching duck found in North America. The male is one of the most colorful North American waterfowls. Taxonomy The wood duck was Species description, formal ...

, and

pileated woodpecker The pileated woodpecker ( ; ''Dryocopus pileatus'') is a large, crow-sized woodpecker with a prominent red crest, white neck stripe, and a mostly black body. These woodpeckers are native to North America, where it is the largest confirmed extant ...

Recreation and education

Bartholemew's Cobble, located on Weatogue Road in Ashley Falls, is open during daylight hours. In order to protect the delicate ecology of the area, no pets are allowed on the property. More than of moderately difficult hiking trails are located on the preserve, including ''The Ledges Trail'' a self-guided interpretive walk that runs over and around the Cobbles. The visitor's center and museum include displays of natural and human history, photography, art, and

taxidermic Taxidermy is the Art (skill), art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature (sculpture), armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ' ...

displays of local animals, birds, and bird eggs. The Trustees of Reservations offers guided natural history tours led by

naturalists Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

with proceeds supporting conservation work at Bartholomew's Cobble including wildlife research,

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

control, protecting

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, and restoring native habitats.

Gallery

File:Bartholomew Cobble Visitor Center.JPG, Visitor Center File:Bartholomew Cobble Visitor Center interior.JPG, Visitor Center interior File:Bartholomew's Cobble (Sheffield, MA).JPG, Cobble trail File:Bartholomew's Cobble (Sheffield, MA) - detail.JPG, Maidenhair spleenwort and

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

growing on Cobble ledge

References

External links

The Trustees of Reservations: Bartholomew's CobbleBartholomew's Cobble trail mapThe Trustees of ReservationsThe Colonel John Ashley House
{{authority control The Trustees of Reservations National Natural Landmarks in Massachusetts Protected areas of Berkshire County, Massachusetts Open space reserves of Massachusetts National Natural Landmarks in Connecticut Museums in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Natural history museums in Massachusetts 1946 establishments in Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1946