What is the NEMT Forest, and why does it matter?

For starters, it was once part of Breakheart Reservation …

Between 1891 and 1933, former President of the Lynn Historical Society, Ben Johnson, and his partners purchased 55 parcels of land through their company, Breakheart Hill Forestry and created Breakheart Hill Forest. In 1934 their executors sold the property to the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC; now DCR, the Department of Conservation and Recreation) to be preserved for future generations.  In 1965, the MDC sold and granted to the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School District a parcel of land containing the western most part of the former Breakheart Hill Forest- 60 acres more or less. (From Breakheart Reservation, by Alison Simcox and Douglas Heath, 2013).  The land remains the property of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts but administration was transferred to the elected officials of the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School District.

In short…

This land was originally intended to be preserved for future generations. Of this 60 acre parcel, approximately 30 acres were developed and the current school opened in 1968. The remaining 28 acre NEMT Forest stands today as a truly unique connection to Wakefield’s past.

Because most of the human activity has been focused on the eastern section of the Breakheart Hill Forest, the NEMT Forest is uniquely intact and exceptionally rich in wildlife and species diversity.

In this 1946 map going back 76 years, the future NEMT Forest was a part of State Reservation land in Wakefield. The intact native NEMT forest that exists today dates back to the original Breakheart Hill Forest.

Highlighted in green is the NEMT Forest, adjacent to Breakheart Reservation. Farm Street and Gate 22 are visible on the southwest border. Hemlock Road and Gate 23 are visible on the northwest border. Many people continue to believe this section of forest is part of Breakheart Reservation.