NOYES MOUNTAIN
LOCATION: 172 Richardson Hollow Road, Greenwood
DISTANCE: 3 miles of trails
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
FUN FACT: Noyes Mountain includes 2,000' of
streams and 295 acres within the Norway Lake
watershed.
PERMITTED USES: Hiking, walking, biking, skiing,
snowshoeing, dog-walking
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Noyes Mountain Preserve will forever protect...
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Views: Iconic view of Norway Lake and access to extraordinary summit views.
Water: 2,000' of streams and 295 acres within the Norway Lake watershed.
Land: Dramatic ledges, working forests and fields in a significant undeveloped block.
Recreation: Trails for bikers, horseback riders, snowshoers, skiers, rock hounds, hunters.
Community: We will provide programs, pay property taxes, and manage resources.
The View of the Mountain
Looking north up the reach of Norway Lake two near mountains shape the horizon and frame the distant view of Old Speck Mountain. The western mountain is Patch Mountain (elev. 1565 feet), and the eastern steeper mountain is Noyes Mountain (elev. 1500). By day this community has enjoyed a verdant mountain backdrop to the lake, and by night humans and wildlife have benefitted from dark hills uninterrupted by development. That could all change quickly. The land trust saw this as our first and best opportunity to protect that seminal view that has been drawn, painted and photographed by many amateur and professional artists in the region.
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The View from the Mountain
The other view to protect for public enjoyment is less known to the general public and is the panoramic view south and west from near the summit of Noyes Mountain. Most of us have not seen Norway Lake, or North Pond, or the nearby McIntire Ridge or Patch Mountain from this altitude or direction. Easily travelled twitch trails will lead hikers, back country skiers, and snowshoers from a maintained landing to the viewpoint and summit beyond.
The Land
To the east of the summit, the land descends gradually to a saddle plateau towards Rock O Dundee. This is the path of the old road which crossed to Greenwood City. Now a working forest, the land was historically managed as a mix of agricultural fields, pastures and woodlands, as is evidenced by stone walls in the deep woods, and in historic photographs and paintings. The twitch trails on site are well maintained and will make wonderful hiking and back woods ski trails offering occasional views to the south.
Wildlife Habitat and Rare Plants
The parcel supports several rare plants and provides excellent wildlife habitat as it lies in an undeveloped block of 2691 acres. It also includes nearly 2000 feet of stream habitat and is given its size and altitude an important forested filter for the Norway Lake watershed.
Mineral and Cultural Significance
The parcel is the location of the respected Harvard Quarry (a separately held acre owned by Frank Perham open to the public) that was opened by Shavey Noyes and Tim Heath in the 1890s. The mineralogy of this mountain, like other deposits in this region, played an important cultural and industrial role in the history of western Maine.
Management
Noyes Mountain will provide non-motorized access to the rare views from the summit and quarry. The iconic view of Noyes Mountain from the southern shore of Norway Lake, will remain as it has been since settlement, a working rural landscape. The Trust will manage Noyes Mountain similar to other Preserves we steward. It would maintain existing trails on site, and potentially add additional trails for hiking, skiing, and mountain biking if consistent with our overall resource conservation goals. It would continue to allow hunting on site, keep the parcel in tree growth tax basis and manage the forest responsibly. Forest management revenue is important for the Trust’s own sustainability.
Funding Noyes Mountain Preserve Foot by Foot
Thanks to an anonymous donation, the Trust secured the Harvard Mine in January 2018!

History of Noyes Mountain
Historically the land, which is in Greenwood, was owned by the Stevens family and included a through road north to from Norway to Greenwood (from the Upton Brothers Road to the Hayes Road). In 1869 Ethel Stevens sold the land to Isaac Noyes.
Isaac Noyes became interested in the site’s pegmatitic outcroppings in the late 1880′s. In 1892 the ledge was opened for the first time and became a mecca for scientists and collectors alike, offering one of the most complex mineralized pegmatites in Maine. Mineral operations on the mountain were opened by Isaac’s 6th cousin George Lorenzo (“Shavey”) Noyes and Tim Heath about 1894. Tourmaline was first recorded from the locale about 1904 and over the years the green color found at this location has become known as “Harvard Green”.
The granite pegmatites Noyes collected were largely preserved and passed into the possession of the Harvard Museum, together with the lease of the property, in 1917. In the summer of 1923 active quarrying was undertaken by the Harvard Mineralogical Department under the supervision of Harvard University student Kenneth K. Landes for Landes' dissertation, Paragenesis of the Granitic Pegmatites of Central Maine (American Mineralogist, 1925, v. 10, p. 355-411). Loren B. Merrill of Paris and Arthur Valley undertook most of the actual excavation for Landes at the site.
Currently Frank Perham owns the 1-acre Harvard quarry, which remains open to the public in addition to mineral rights on 60 acres due to expire in 2016.
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- The American Mineralogist, Vol. 10. November, 1925, No. 11, The Paragenesis of the Granite Pegmatites of Central Maine by Kennth K. Landes, Harvard University
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Creating History Together
Thank you to all the individuals from the community who made donations to ensure the preservation of Noyes Mountain and to the Foundations who understood the importance of our campaign. We are humbled and honored to be able to serve the community and make our shared vision a reality. Below are just a few of those individuals.
Foundations
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Fields Pond Foundation
Davis Conservation Foundation
Friends of Maine Mountains
Open Space Institute
Anonymous
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Pegmatite
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Emory & Marilyn Ackley
Cushman & Pamela Andrews
Al & Lee Barth
Eliza Beghe
Jesse Wall & Rebecca Brakeley Wall
Thomas Curtis
Lee Dassler
Sally & Jim Gibson
Kathy & David Greenleaf
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Quartz
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Herb Adams
Dennise Whitley & BarryAllen
Candace Anderson
Beatrice Asken
Susan Baber
Ellen & Gene Benner
Tish Carr
Jesse Hill & Sarah Carter
Donna Miller & Mary Connaughton
Maurice Convey
Henry & Marie Coons
Ruth Whalen Crockett & Jonathan Crockett
Don & Ruth Dawes
Carol Dean
Donna DeMuth
David & Cathy Sanderson
Ethel Turner
Lisa Farrar
Warren & Beth Frechette
Donna & John Friberg
David Gagnon
Frances Girgenti
Kristin Roy & Tim Gosnell
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Tourmaline
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Katherine Anzalone
Barbara Share & Jack L. Armstrong
Pam & Dave Baker
Nancy Blum
Rocky Crockett & Katey Branch
Bruce Rood
Carl Costanzi
Jeffery Chase
David Langlois & Beth Coombs
Al & Pat Daniels
Emma & Ruby DayBranch
Bill Detert
Carol Dionne & Family
First Universalist Church of Norway
Theresa Foster
Fred Garbo
Joan & Chuck Frost
Ellen Stearns Gibson
William & Jane Gibson
Edwin & Jane Gibson
Lynn & Sal Girifalco
Alice Goodwin
Elinor Goodwin
Alice Grant
Jennifer Blastow & Mark Grover
Peter & Cindy Harbage
Helga Thurston
Nancy Hohmann
Barbara & William Howard
Fred Huntress, Jr.
Jon & Pamela Jacobsen
Myron Kassaraba
T Kleitz
Dave & Pat Ledlie
Robert & Pam Manninen
Mark Brandhorst
Donald McLean
Shelby Miller
MJ Connaughton
Bruce Jervis
Anthony Kleitz
James & Pirkko McBride
William & Marge Medd
Marilyn Mollicone
Susan Jacoby & Janet Nicholas
Pat Dugan & Jim O’Brien
Richard Sousa
Robert Volpe
Aimee Grimmel
Doris Jacobs
Jerry & Mert Parsons
Bill & Lill Van Order
Beth Macdonald
Robert MacMunn
Andy McCrum
Margaret Nation
Maryann O’Brien
Sandra Page
Emily Ecker & Marcel Polak
Eric & Lynn Rathbun
Richard Rice
Ruth Whalen Crockett & Jonathan Whalen
Virginia & Michael Schobinger
Simon Rucker
Jeff Stern
Ben Tucker
Stephen & Ellen Veazey
Pat Verrill
Zizi, Scott & Jasper Vlaun
David & Ann Watson
Al & Nancy Willard
Brian & Sherri Otterson
Paris Cape Realty
Bonnie June Pfeifer
Kristin Perry
Bob & Linda Popper
Theresa Ralff
Rich Sponholz
Rick Meagher
Rick Reeves
Barbara Werner & Catherine Riley
Roy Gedat
Lois & Ken Ruff
Sarah Shepley
Sarah Pribram
SC Miller
Shawn Kane
Shambroom Savastio Charitable Fund
Sheila Leavitt
Heidi Schellenger
Brian & Shelly Shibles
Warren and Sandy Shilling
Ann Siekman
Charlotte & Ray Snedeker
Andrew & Barbara St.George
Gary & Anne Stuer
Forrest & Cynthia Tinsley
Mary Delano & Tom Tomczyk
Janet Truman
Laurier & Wanda Turcotte
Robert & Mary Van Nest
Janet & Frank Vogt
Don & Hilary Ware
Will Willette
David & Elise Wilson
Jeff Wilson
Joan Woodman
Joseph & Caroline Zilinsky