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Cushman Preserve
Cushman Preserve: Meadows beside Back River
Discover
Cushman Preserve offers an open-meadow walk beside the coves of Wiscasset's Back River. The water-facing part of the Chewonki property is a rewarding focus for a first visit, with enough change between shore, grass, and woodland to encourage a slow pace. Give the meadow and its outlooks a complete outing of their own.
Chewonki received the preserve in several pieces. Its account explains that the donors wanted a tree farm, established in the 1930s, maintained alongside pasture kept open for public enjoyment. Those wishes help explain the landscape's mixture of wooded ground and openings. Walking here can be an exercise in noticing how a place is cared for over time, with different parts serving different purposes.
Rebecca Goldfine's original account favors the meadow section. Her route follows an old stone embankment around a small cove, passes briefly through woods, and reaches connected meadows with a narrow path through the grass. She appreciates views over Cushman Cove and Back River. Keep the outing centered on that established approach, allowing the water scenes to become pauses rather than milestones to pass quickly.
The cove names recall earlier uses. In his 2015 Wiscasset Newspaper account, Phil Di Vece explains that Boom Cove once held timber in log booms for a nearby sawmill. The same area later supported commercial ice harvesting, with ice shipped to distant markets. Looking at the water with those histories in mind gives an otherwise quiet scene another dimension: a sheltered cove could once have been part of a busy working landscape.
Di Vece revisited the meadow route in a later published walk with his dog, Bo. He described the memorial to Margaret Stetson, the long opening toward the mouth of the cove, and views of Back River and Westport Island. He also observed young oaks appearing in the grass and woodland gradually edging into the meadow. His account gives a useful subject for attention: the boundary between open and wooded land is itself part of the experience.
Try pausing where the path offers both a nearby grass edge and a more distant water view. Look first at the larger arrangement, then at the detail that holds your eye. A photograph can use those layers without requiring a move away from the walking route. If you make notes, compare the enclosed approach around the cove with the meadow's broader outlook.
Use the preserve entrance near Point East Drive off Birch Point Road, checking current signs and leaving the narrow roadside clear. The ridge route extending south has been described as unmarked and poorly maintained in the original walking account. Choose the meadow visit independently, returning by the known approach instead of attempting a longer ridge connection.
Cushman is particularly interesting when its present views and earlier work are considered together. Timber, ice, tree farming, and public enjoyment have each left a place in its story. Return through the meadow with that layered setting in mind. A small circuit beside the water can reveal much more than a single scenic stop when the changing edges and remembered uses receive equal attention.
Fun facts
- Boom Cove’s name recalls timber once held in log booms for a nearby sawmill.
Before you go
- Use the Point East Drive entrance and follow current parking signs without blocking the narrow road.
- Keep the first visit focused on the established meadow route.
- Return by the known approach rather than taking an unmarked ridge connection.
Visitor perspectives
- Rebecca Goldfine especially values the meadow and cove views, while describing the separate southern ridge trail as unmarked and poorly maintained.
Capture
- Layer a meadow edge against the more distant water from the path.
- Pair a sheltered cove composition with a broader Back River outlook.
Social
Cushman’s meadow offers a water-facing Wiscasset pause.
A cove can hold the memory of earlier work.
Give the opening between woods and water time to unfold.
The established meadow route makes a focused outing.
Look closely where grass and young trees meet.
Chewonki’s preserve combines woodland care with public enjoyment.
A familiar return path can reveal a second view.
Carry the landscape’s changing uses into the walk.
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