READFIELD — A walk along the newly developed Esker Trail will take place Friday, May 10. Walkers should meet by 10 a.m. at 73 North Road, in the parking lot at the RSU #38 School Bus Transportation Service. All ages are welcome. No fee or registration necessary. The trail is 1/3 mile in length and follows part of the western boundary of Quimby Bog. Walkers will enjoy views of the bog, sightings of birds and wildlife and learn about the geology and history of the area.
Quimby Bog extends two miles from Readfield Depot Village northward to Rat Mill Hill Road in East Mount Vernon. It was named after Dr. Samuel Quimby of Mount Vernon because he owned a shingle mill and a saw mill on the outlet stream for 30 years, at the north end of the bog.
In the 1930s the Readfield town dump was established over an aquifer near the southwest side of the Bog. In later years, the Readfield Transfer Station took its place.
Co-leaders of this walk will be Dale Potter Clark, Readfield historian and author, and Andy Tolman, retired hydro geologist who has worked for the Maine CDC Drinking Water Program and previously by the Maine Geological Survey, conducting aquifer mapping throughout the State of Maine. Potter-Clark and Tolman will share insights into the historical and geological aspects of the area and will share reading material.
For more information contact crossings4u@gmail.com or 207-441-9184 or visit readfieldhistorywalks.blogspot.com.
PHOTO: The Dr. Samuel Quimby house on North Road, Mount Vernon. He was the first doctor in Mt. Vernon and Quimby Bog was named after him because he owned a shingle and saw mill on its outlet stream for thirty years. (Submitted photo)
