QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 140
- Trail Mileage: ~3.2 miles in network
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Sights: 19th-century saltwater farm, meadows, salt marsh
Pettengill Farm is a gorgeous 19th-century saltwater farm on the estuary of the Harraseeket River, owned by the Freeport Historical Society.
After parking at the gate on Pettengill Road, you will begin by following a ~0.5-mile dirt driveway — which is wheelchair passable — through pretty woodland. You’ll pass the trailhead for the Ridge Trail on your left in about 0.3 miles. At 0.4 miles, when the road bends, it emerges onto wide, open meadows. The small, bright saltbox house is another 0.1 mile farther along the road. The home, ca. 1800, is surrounded by meadows. One slopes down in front of the house to the glistening salt marsh. You can’t enter the home but you can peer through the windows and check out the rock and seashell collection of the house’s last occupant, Mildred Pettengill.
Visitors are welcome to walk all around the property’s 140 acres — along the mown, flat field paths, down a little forested peninsula, or on short trails that traverse the steep ridge to the west, above the meadows. These paths (which aren’t wheelchair accessible) might not be well marked, but most are easy to follow. The trails through the back meadow are the flattest and easiest, and you can also check out stone remnants of old foundations. At some of the interest points, the historical society has put up informational panels.
You can also take mown trails down to the marsh’s edge. The inclines on these spur trails vary in steepness; the one to the old brickyard and wharf is particularly steep! The wooded peninsula loop can be found at the far eastern edge of the back meadow. Two trailheads are marked with signs for Grant’s Point and Carter’s Creek, which connect to form a 1.1-mile loop that includes a spur to a viewpoint over the marsh.
Things to look out for on your walk: stone walls, stone foundations, the remains of a an old wharf, and a possible ancient grinding stone (near the house).
Freeport Land Trust has more info.
Directions: The address 31 Pettengil Road in Freeport. From Main Street (Route 1), turn onto Bow Street. Go 1.5 miles; turn right onto Pettengill Road. The gate will be 300 feet ahead. Park on the roadside or to the side of the gate, but don’t block it! The walk to the farmhouse is about 15 minutes.
Photos by Michaela Goldfine.
