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Caroline Tuthill Preserve
The Caroline Tuthill Preserve is an expanse of over 150 acres of oak and pitch pine forest, wooded wetlands, salt marsh and open meadow. Sengekontacket Pond and Beach Road flank the Preserve to the north; the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road flanks the Preserve to the south. Generously given to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation by John and Nora Tuthill between 1972 and 1983, the Caroline Tuthill Preserve is the largest single gift of land received by Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation in its history.
The public is invited to enjoy the Preserve by walking on the Garrett Family Trail. The Garrett Family Trail was established in memory of Caroline Garrett Tuthill and is a self-guided nature walk. The trail follows a circuitous path through the forest, and includes expansive views of the salt marshes along Sengekontacket Pond. While walking the trail one might observe such birds as crows, blue jays, chickadees, towhees, pine warblers, white-breasted nuthatches and red-eyed vireos. In spring, one may also be treated to the sight of lady’s slippers, which grow along the trail and at the foot of the Preserve’s many oaks.
The Caroline Tuthill Preserve was formed by the Cape Cod lobe of the Late Wisconsin glacier, along with the surrounding land that stretches from Edgartown Harbor to the eastern shore of Lagoon Pond. The Preserve includes features such as high knobs and sunken kettleholes, features that are glacial in origin.
Current projects at the Caroline Tuthill Preserve include the control of invasive plants, the restoration of meadow habitat and pitch pine savannah habitat near the Triangle and along the Beach Road, the restoration of native plants, and an ecological inventory. The inventory will serve as the basis for a revised management plan, expected to be completed in 2010.
From the Triangle intersection in Edgartown, travel 0.4 miles west on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road to roadside parking and a kiosk. From the four-way stop at the junction of the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road and Barnes road, travel east 3.7 miles on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road to the roadside parking and kiosk.
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