Soule Homestead Letterboxing Tour LbNA #19375
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Sep 18, 2005 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Middleboro |
| County: | Plymouth |
| State: | Massachusetts |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | Soule Educator  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Nairon |
| Last found: | Apr 2, 2017 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFa |
| Last edited: | Nov 9, 2015 |
Originally planted by Pearl Pirates and adopted in December 2009 by Soule Educator.
SITE DESCRIPTION:
Soule Homestead is a beautiful old farm and education center on the Middleboro/Plympton line, open from 9-5 Tuesday through Sunday. There is no entrance fee. It is located on rich land that was once used as a hunting ground by the Wampanoag Indians, later as a dairy farm by descendants of the Pilgrim George Soule, and is currently being leased from the town of Middleborough as a working organic farm and agro-ecology education center. The Homestead consists of 130 acres of beautiful fields, forests, wetlands, and gardens. It includes a large barn and private farmhouse that were built around 1830, and a visitor’s center and office space that were recently renovated adjacent to the barn. Many farm animals also live on the property. This simple 15-minute letterboxing tour will introduce you to the area immediately surrounding the buildings, and is recommended for all ages. Feel free to contact the Homestead at (508) 947-6744 or www.soulehomestead.org for further information or alternate directions.
DIRECTIONS:
From I-495: Take Rte. 44 East, Middleboro (exit 6 to rotary). From rotary continue on 44E to 4th set of lights. Turn left at lights onto Rte. 105 N (Plympton St.)Continue on Plympton St. for approximately 2 miles (do not take Rte. 105N left turn toward Halifax). When the road comes to a fork, bear left and then take an immediate left turn onto Cedar St. at the yellow Eddy Homestead. Continue 3/4 mile down Cedar and take the first right onto Soule St. The Homestead is 1/2 mile down on the left.
CLUES:
To begin, step inside the old barn and get a feel for the rural life that existed here up until the 1980’s, when the dairy industry began to decline and the farm was sold to the town. This barn was once home to 120 Holstein cows, but now it mostly holds many bales of hay taken from the surrounding fields, and sheep and goats on very wet and cold days. There is one permanent resident, however--Mario the rabbit, who lives in a cage far down on the left side. Also look for swallows’ nests and wooden pegs in the beams.
Coming out of the barn, look for the old silo and head down the little path to the left of the house that leads to the visitor’s center and office space adjacent to the barn on the left, and to the pen of Billy the goat on the right. Feel free to stop by, check out the visitor’s center and upcoming programs, and say hello to the friendly office staff. Also feel free to pet Billy, who is a very friendly goat. (But please don’t feed him anything, not even grass, since he’s on a special diet.) Also notice the many sheep grazing in the fields beyond the goat pen, which are probably best observed from a distance since they tend to be shy and run away if you try to get too close.
Next, head down the dirt driveway to the gate and let yourself through, closing it behind you. To the right is a beautiful wetland area full of cattails, goldenrod, jewelweed, Joe Pye weed, wild mint, thistles, Queen Anne’s lace, and many other wildflowers in season. It’s also a great place to look for birds and insects. Continue north down the grassy path about 140 paces until you come to the hay maze on the right, and see how long it takes you to get to the center!
Once you’ve found your way out of the maze, head back toward the buildings but this time let yourself through the orange gate toward the west, then turn south toward the new poultry barn. Before entering, be forewarned that geese are the only animals on the farm that will bite, and be sure to keep your fingers to yourself. Also notice the small pen to the left which holds two little white silky bantam chickens. Inside the poultry barn, you’ll see a group of Indian Runner ducks in the first pen on the left, Chinese geese in the first pen on the right, two Pilgrim geese named Yankee and Doodle in the second pen on the left, and many hens and one lucky rooster named Guapo in the last pen on the left. Lift up the wooden egg doors and see if any of the hens have been laying—and be amazed at the variety of egg colors and sizes. And finally, say hello to Silly the Goose and Happy the Duck (and friends) last on the right before you exit the barn.
Straight ahead you’ll see an impressive pile of compost that is used by the community gardeners, and as you tour the abundant gardens you’ll see how well it makes their gardens grow! Enjoy the variety of vegetables and flowers, and look for the scarecrows and bean teepee that were set up by the Jr. Volunteers. As you make your way east through the gardens, you’ll find yourself coming full circle back toward the farmhouse and barn. Notice the old farm equipment, including a wagon, a cultivator, and a hay rake, under the trees on the left, and the open grassy area on the right where folk concerts take place on summer evenings. In that same area is a beautiful specimen of a disease-resistant elm tree, which was planted about 15 years ago. Across the driveway, near the house, look for a very rounded boulder that some say looks like a helmet. Right next to that boulder is a maple tree in which the letterbox (with a stamp designed by a 13-year-old Jr. Volunteer named Isobelle Ouzman) is hidden--good luck! Please close and re-hide the letterbox exactly as you found it when you’re finished.
SITE DESCRIPTION:
Soule Homestead is a beautiful old farm and education center on the Middleboro/Plympton line, open from 9-5 Tuesday through Sunday. There is no entrance fee. It is located on rich land that was once used as a hunting ground by the Wampanoag Indians, later as a dairy farm by descendants of the Pilgrim George Soule, and is currently being leased from the town of Middleborough as a working organic farm and agro-ecology education center. The Homestead consists of 130 acres of beautiful fields, forests, wetlands, and gardens. It includes a large barn and private farmhouse that were built around 1830, and a visitor’s center and office space that were recently renovated adjacent to the barn. Many farm animals also live on the property. This simple 15-minute letterboxing tour will introduce you to the area immediately surrounding the buildings, and is recommended for all ages. Feel free to contact the Homestead at (508) 947-6744 or www.soulehomestead.org for further information or alternate directions.
DIRECTIONS:
From I-495: Take Rte. 44 East, Middleboro (exit 6 to rotary). From rotary continue on 44E to 4th set of lights. Turn left at lights onto Rte. 105 N (Plympton St.)Continue on Plympton St. for approximately 2 miles (do not take Rte. 105N left turn toward Halifax). When the road comes to a fork, bear left and then take an immediate left turn onto Cedar St. at the yellow Eddy Homestead. Continue 3/4 mile down Cedar and take the first right onto Soule St. The Homestead is 1/2 mile down on the left.
CLUES:
To begin, step inside the old barn and get a feel for the rural life that existed here up until the 1980’s, when the dairy industry began to decline and the farm was sold to the town. This barn was once home to 120 Holstein cows, but now it mostly holds many bales of hay taken from the surrounding fields, and sheep and goats on very wet and cold days. There is one permanent resident, however--Mario the rabbit, who lives in a cage far down on the left side. Also look for swallows’ nests and wooden pegs in the beams.
Coming out of the barn, look for the old silo and head down the little path to the left of the house that leads to the visitor’s center and office space adjacent to the barn on the left, and to the pen of Billy the goat on the right. Feel free to stop by, check out the visitor’s center and upcoming programs, and say hello to the friendly office staff. Also feel free to pet Billy, who is a very friendly goat. (But please don’t feed him anything, not even grass, since he’s on a special diet.) Also notice the many sheep grazing in the fields beyond the goat pen, which are probably best observed from a distance since they tend to be shy and run away if you try to get too close.
Next, head down the dirt driveway to the gate and let yourself through, closing it behind you. To the right is a beautiful wetland area full of cattails, goldenrod, jewelweed, Joe Pye weed, wild mint, thistles, Queen Anne’s lace, and many other wildflowers in season. It’s also a great place to look for birds and insects. Continue north down the grassy path about 140 paces until you come to the hay maze on the right, and see how long it takes you to get to the center!
Once you’ve found your way out of the maze, head back toward the buildings but this time let yourself through the orange gate toward the west, then turn south toward the new poultry barn. Before entering, be forewarned that geese are the only animals on the farm that will bite, and be sure to keep your fingers to yourself. Also notice the small pen to the left which holds two little white silky bantam chickens. Inside the poultry barn, you’ll see a group of Indian Runner ducks in the first pen on the left, Chinese geese in the first pen on the right, two Pilgrim geese named Yankee and Doodle in the second pen on the left, and many hens and one lucky rooster named Guapo in the last pen on the left. Lift up the wooden egg doors and see if any of the hens have been laying—and be amazed at the variety of egg colors and sizes. And finally, say hello to Silly the Goose and Happy the Duck (and friends) last on the right before you exit the barn.
Straight ahead you’ll see an impressive pile of compost that is used by the community gardeners, and as you tour the abundant gardens you’ll see how well it makes their gardens grow! Enjoy the variety of vegetables and flowers, and look for the scarecrows and bean teepee that were set up by the Jr. Volunteers. As you make your way east through the gardens, you’ll find yourself coming full circle back toward the farmhouse and barn. Notice the old farm equipment, including a wagon, a cultivator, and a hay rake, under the trees on the left, and the open grassy area on the right where folk concerts take place on summer evenings. In that same area is a beautiful specimen of a disease-resistant elm tree, which was planted about 15 years ago. Across the driveway, near the house, look for a very rounded boulder that some say looks like a helmet. Right next to that boulder is a maple tree in which the letterbox (with a stamp designed by a 13-year-old Jr. Volunteer named Isobelle Ouzman) is hidden--good luck! Please close and re-hide the letterbox exactly as you found it when you’re finished.