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Reservations
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Skug River ReservationFeatures:Near Jenkins Road is a glacial erratic, an enormous stone monolith that climbers use to practice elementary climbing techniques. Soapstone, or steatite, once quarried here is a soapy, greasy-feeling rock, very soft and easy to cut. It was used for tombstones, building stone and small carved hand-warming blocks. History:The Skug River got its name from a phonetic misspelling of Skunk. Over 200 years ago, its waters were dammed to power a profitable sawmill and grist mill. The dam has long since washed away, but the massive stone walls of the millrace can still be seen in adjacent Harold Parker State Forest from the Skug River Reservation trail. William Jenkins quarried soapstone here, leaving behind the massive outcropping of wedged rock near the bridge. Mr. Jenkins was also a renowned abolitionist and his home on Jenkins Road was a station for the Underground Railroad and a gathering place for William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The Reservations’ woodlands were once cleared farm fields. |
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