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First aidSylvan Scholar LbNA #4695

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jul 9, 2003
Location:
City:Canton
County:Norfolk
State:Massachusetts
Boxes:1
Planted by:Cavy Lovers
Found by: Team W-C
Last found:Feb 19, 2023
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Jul 9, 2003
Sylvan Scholar has found a home on the grounds of the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate, 2468B Washington Street (Route 138), Canton, MA
About the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
This property is combination of formal gardens and naturalistic landscape. Features include a brick lattice-walled Italianate garden with perennials, bulbs, and annuals, and naturalistic plantings of rhododendrons, dogwoods and azaleas. Three miles of trails go through the wooded area.
Directions/Map: http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/282_bradley_estate.cfm
Note: If you are local (Stoughton, Canton) and coming on 138 north, I recommend crossing 128 to the Blue Hills side, then turning around at the light and re-crossing over 128 to the Canton side on 138 south. That way you’ll be able to take a right turn into the parking lot for the estate. I found a left hand turn off 138 North too difficult due to cars rushing up off the exit from.

Hours: Daily sunrise to sunset.
Fee: None.
Dogs: Must be on leash
Terrain: nearly level woodland paths
Difficulty: Clues are direct and this will be a walk, not a hike. Allow yourself 60-90 minutes in order to see the gardens. If you are in a hurry though, you could probably find the box and return to your car in 30 minutes.

Sylvan Scholar Letterbox

One of my favorite childhood memories is taking a picnic lunch into the woods with friends then reading our favorite books under the trees. This stamp is a fanciful take on that memory. To find the box:
Park in the lot and walk to the information board. Just to the right of it is a path to the Main House. Take that. You’ll quickly glimpse the large red brick manor home. Walk up to the front. Now make your way to the back of the house where you will find a formal garden surrounded by brick half walls. Enter the garden through one of the openings in the brick wall.
After you have enjoyed the garden, locate a white sign on the south side brick wall for the Rhododendron Walk and Kitchen Gardens. Enter and you will be on a narrow path slightly overgrown with Rhodies. After a short walk, you will come to a clearing with a bench. The Rhodie walk continues on the other side, eastward.

Continue on the Rhodie walk until the path ends in a T and you are facing the Kitchen Gardens. If you have time and interest, take a detour now around this garden, then return to the T intersection.

At the T, turn Right, so you are walking on a path that is next to, but not in the garden. At the corner, take the path leading away from the Kitchen garden at 240 degrees. You will be walking westward. Look on the right side of the path for an area strewn with large rocks. At this area, notice a maple tree with 4 slender living trunks (and another straggly dead one). It is just 4-5 steps off the right side of the path.

The trunks part, 2 to each side. Peek through this parting so you are looking 0 degrees/magnetic north. Notice that about 10 steps in front of you is a Sassafras tree with two trunks that bend away from each other r to form a large Y. Now notice that about 6 steps beyond the Sassafras, some rocks line up to form an upside down V pointing North. (The point of the V is furthest from you, like an arrow-pointing north).

Walk over the point in the V of rocks. On the Right side of rocks, is one near the point that sticks up nearly waist high. It leans southward on a smaller rock. Crouch down and check out the crevice between the Tall and smaller rock. The box was covered lightly with leaves. Please replace them when you leave.

To return to your car, go back to the path and continue walking NW. At the fork, bear Right. This will lead you to a clearing where you’ll see the back of the red brick house to your right. Walk up the lawn to the formal garden, then around the house and back to the parking lot.

I hope you enjoyed your walk!