Lawrence Swamp

Municipal Water, Conservation, and Land Use Amherst, MA

Site Description

Figure 1. Recreationists can access Lawrence Swamp via the Robert Frost Trail from Station Road on its northern edge.

Today, Lawrence Swamp is a mixture of forested wetland, scrub-shrub floodplain, and open meadow. Nearly half of Amherst’s drinking water, including use by University of Massachusetts, comes from the aquifer below Lawrence Swamp. Much of the land in Lawrence Swamp is held in conservation by the town of Amherst with the express purpose of protecting groundwater quality (Map 1).

Lawrence Swamp features an extensive trail system that offers recreational opportunities to hikers, trail runners, horseback riders, and cross-country skiers. The orange-blazed Robert Frost Trail, which connects Holyoke Range State Park to Wendell State Forest via 40 continuous miles, connects Lawrence Swamp to a myriad of other conservation areas in Amherst and surrounding towns (Figure 1) (Map 1). 

However, Lawrence Swamp was not always held in conservation and utilized as a major source of municipal drinking water. This story map depicts how society, policy, and geography have dictated its past and present land uses.

Map of Lawrence Swamp

Natives, Colonists, and Conflict

Before Europeans arrived the Algonquin-speaking river tribes (Norwottuck, Pocumtuck) inhabiting what is now colloquially referred to as the Pioneer Valley lived in seasonal settlements along the Connecticut River. To supplement a primarily agricultural diet, Natives used Lawrence Swamp as a ‘food reservoir’ for fishing, hunting, trapping, and the seasonal gathering of edible plants, nuts, and berries. Thick with vegetation and standing water, the swamp also served as an area for concealment and refuge, and as a corridor for hidden travel during times of conflict (Figure 2). Bay Road, along the south edge of the conservation area, was part of a major overland travel corridor between tribes living along the Connecticut River and tribes (Nipmuck, Quaboag, and others) that lived in the Swift River Valley (inundated in 1939 to form the Quabbin Reservoir, which serves as the water supply the Boston) and further east and south into central Massachusetts (Amherst Conservation Department).

Figure 2. An example of the overgrown and wet terrain in Lawrence Swamp that made it favorable for concealment during conflict, this vernal pool is adjacent to Well #4 and serves as spawning habitat for amphibians and invertebrates. Photo by author.

European Settlement and Native Resistance

As European settlers expanded from their original settlement at Plymouth, Natives and Europeans committed to legal agreements that outlined how they would share land. However, with vastly different notions of property law, colonists and Natives frequently misunderstood each other. While Europeans primarily viewed land as a commodity from which to extract resources, most Natives viewed land within their tribal territory as a commons with certain exclusive use rights reserved for individuals or families (e.g., planting fields) (Cronon, 1983). 

One example of this misunderstanding was a 1636 land purchase by William Pynchon along the Connecticut River, in present-day Springfield. While Natives granted Pynchon the right “for ever to trucke and sel al that ground,” the Natives reserved continued planting rights on existing croplands as well as hunting, fishing, and gathering rights (Cronon, 1983). Considering the incompatibility of the Native's reserved rights and Pynchon's right to sell the land, it is clear that the Natives did not fully understand the European notion of land as a commodity to be bought and sold, and the “sale” was likely intended as an agreement of co-habitation and resource sharing. Once the deed was registered, however, Pynchon’s right to sell land became enforceable under English law. As land purchased from Natives was sold to the next buyer, Natives' reserved rights were often either ignored or legally invalidated and Natives were forced off their lands. 

Figure 3. A map of the Norwottuck territory in 1658, when it was purchased by John Pynchon. The Connecticut River bisects the left half of the map and Lawrence Swamp is just north of the legend. Source: Amherst Preservation Plan

In 1658, John Pynchon of Springfield purchased lands from the Norwottuck tribe that encompassed land “from the mouth of Fort River, and Mount Holyoke, on the south, to the mouth of Mohawk brook and the southern part of Mount Toby, on the north, extending easterly nine miles into the woods,” which included Lawrence Swamp; the Norwottuck reserved hunting and fishing rights (Figure 3) (Amherst Preservation Plan).

Despite the fact that Europeans and New England Natives were ostensibly "part of the same society with their polities interwoven" (Drake, 2000), the fundamental differences in notions of property law discussed above created tension and frustration. This came to a head in 1675 with King Phillip’s War, which would prove disastrous to both Natives and colonists but ultimately lead to colonist control of Southern New England.

As Natives became increasingly dependent on European commodities, the fur trade dwindled, and their lands were forcibly sold without respect to reserved use rights (e.g., agriculture, hunting, fishing, berry picking), Native-European relations deteriorated. Metacomet, known to the English as King Philip, was the sachem of the Wampanoag tribe, whose territory encompassed southeastern Massachusetts. Beginning in June 1675, Metacomet led an intertribal coalition – including the Norwottuck and Pocumtuck tribes of the Pioneer Valley – through a 14-month long attack on the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

A number of conflicts in King Philip's War occurred in the Pioneer Valley. They were led by the Pocumtuck, Norwottuck, and Nipmuck tribes and included the attack on Captain Beers in Northfield (Figure 4), the Attack on Northampton, and the Battle of Great Falls. It is likely that Lawrence Swamp was used as a place of concealment between conflicts.

Figure 4. The Captain Beers ambush on September 4, 1675 in Northfield was one of the major conflicts of King Philip's War in the Pioneer Valley. Source: Pictorial History of King Philip's War.

Ultimately, the chaos of the war left Natives both unable to reliably raise crops and cut off from European supply chains, while colonists were able to rely on continuing imports. After many Native lives were lost to starvation and violence, Metacomet was captured in August 1676, officially ending the war in southern New England (less organized conflict continued in northern New England until 1678).

Both Native tribes and European settlers suffered significant losses, but the conflict left Europeans less damaged than Natives. Although European settlements were decimated - 1,200 homes were burned and 12 out of 90 new settlements were completely destroyed and 800 out of approximately 52,000 New England colonists were killed - Natives suffered more significant losses with about 3,000 out of approximately 20,000 Natives in southern New England killed (Schultz and Tougias, 1999). While European expansion was halted for around 50 years due to the significant infrastructural damage, the outcome consummated colonial control of land use in Southern New England, and the notions of private property that came with it.

Land Use (1700-1930)

Figure 5. Forest cover change, 1600-2000, in the six New England states and region-wide. Source: Harvard Forest.

Although there is little information on the specific land use history of Lawrence Swamp aside from modern landscape indicators (discussed below), we can easily extrapolate from the general land use and forest cover patterns in New England (Figure 5).

Following King Philip's war, European settlers rapidly cleared land to create homestead farms throughout the region in order to mimic their lifestyles in Europe, resulting in a dramatic transformation of the landscape and species composition. This pattern of land clearing reached its peak in the 1800s.

By 1830, deforestation in Massachusetts began to reach its historical low as agriculture reached its peak. Sixty to eighty percent of forests were cleared for pasture, tillage, orchards, and buildings, while remaining woodlands received frequent cuttings for lumber and fuel. Based on 1830 data from Harvard Forest, it is likely that much of Lawrence Swamp was cleared for pasture, with a few remaining woodlots maintained as a source of lumber and fuel (Foster and Motzkin, 2009) (Map 2).

Map 2. Forest cover in in the Lawrence Swamp watershed (dark green) and surrounding areas (light green) in 1830 based on survey maps and tax valuation data. Note the 255 acre parcel in Amherst that suddenly ends on the border with Belchertown. It is likely that mapping protocol was different between the two towns. For more discussion of the limitations of the data, visit  Harvard Forest's Data Archive . Data Sources: Harvard Forest, MassGIS, USGS StreamStats.

Figure 6. Old field white pine on the northern edge of Lawrence Swamp. Photo by author.

By the mid-1800s, the agricultural economy began to move toward the richer soils of Midwest upon completion of the Erie Canal, which created an efficient means of transporting products from the then-remote Midwest to urban centers in the Northeast. For most towns in central Massachusetts, this led tp widespread farm abandonment and rapid regrowth of forests on old fields dominated by Pinus strobus, eastern white pine. A parcel adjacent to Station Road on the north end of the swamp exhibits signs of past tillage or pasture (Figure 6). Due to its adjacency to rich alluvial soils in the Connecticut River floodplain, however, Amherst remained an epicenter for agriculture longer than towns with less favorable soils and topography (Figure 7). By the turn of the 20th century, forest cover in Amherst increased while much of Hadley and other floodplain towns with rich soils remained cleared (Harvard Forest, 1930).

Figure 7. Forest cover percentage change, 1801-2011, Amherst, MA. Many towns reforested significantly earlier than Amherst. Data Sources: Foster & Burke, 2003; Kittredge et al., 2017.

Municipal Water Arrives

By 1941, Amherst's forest cover continued to increase as agriculture declined. That same year, the Town of Amherst purchased the holdings of Amherst Water Company, a private utility company which owned four reservoirs and their upstream acreage in the primarily forested towns of Pelham and Shutesbury . Primarily due to increased enrollment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's population grew from 6,410 to 33,429 residents between 1940 and 1980 (Figure 8), increasing the strain on surface reservoirs (Amherst Conservation Department). In 1958, the town drilled the first two wells to tap the aquifer below Lawrence Swamp, and began to acquire land in order to protect water quality.

Figure 8. Population growth in the Town of Amherst, 1910-2000. Source: Town of Amherst, US Census.

Lawrence Swamp's aquifer is conducive as a water source because, unlike other aquifers (e.g., Ogallala Aquifer) it recharges easily and complements the surface water stored in the Pelham and Atkins reservoir systems. Lawrence Swamp's hydrogeology consists of bedrock, a lower aquifer, a lower confining layer of gravel, sand, silt, and clay, an upper artesian aquifer, an upper confining layer, and a water table aquifer (Figure 9) (Geraghty and Miller, 1978). Because much of the groundwater is more than 100 feet below the surface, vertical turbine pumps are required to extract water from the aquifer. The first vertical turbine pump was manufactured by Byron Jackson in 1901 (Pumps & Systems, 2011), and it created an efficient mechanism for groundwater extraction.

Figure 9. Hydrogeologic cross section of Lawrence Swamp for a 1978 feasibility study depicting bedrock, aquifers, confining units, and test wells. Source: Geraghty and Miller, 1979.

Well #1 was installed in March 1958 and is approved to pump 650,000 gallons per day. Another well was also installed in 1958, but it was replaced in 2008 after the well screen failed. Well #2, installed in 2008, replaced its predecessor; it is approved to pump 559,000 gallon per day and is the only well to use a VFD submersible pump instead of a vertical turbine. Wells #3, #4, and #5 were subsequently installed during Amherst's period of rapid population growth (Tighe & Bond, 2005) (Table 1).

Table 1: Well names, installation dates, dimensions, pump types, and approved withdrawal rates. Data Source: Tighe & Bond, 2005.

Figure 10. Wellhead Protection Zone definitions.

Because there are existing land uses that pose a threat to water quality (e.g., an active railroad right-of-way, 478 homes with septic systems) in proximity of the Lawrence Swamp wellfield, Massachusetts Drinking Water regulations require that the town of Amherst delineate three groundwater recharge zones surrounding the wells (Figure 8) (Map 2). Zone I is a circle surrounding each well with a 400 foot radius; Zone II is the area of an aquifer which contributes water to a public drinking water well under the most severe pumping and recharge condition and is bounded by the groundwater divides which result from pumping the well and by the contact of the aquifer with less permeable materials such as till or bedrock; Zone III is the land area beyond the area of Zone II from which surface water and groundwater drain into Zone II (Figure 8) (Map 2) (Amherst Zoning Bylaw).

Map 3. Watershed Protection Zones in Lawrence Swamp: Zone I (yellow circle with purple outline), Zone II (dark blue with orange outline), and Zone III (cyan with pink outline). Data Sources: Amherst DPW, Amherst Zoning Map, USGS StreamStats.

Conclusion

Like many subprime agricultural lands in southern New England, Lawrence Swamp was fairly pristine before European settlement. Following the outcome of King Philip's War, land not already cleared for agriculture was rapidly converted into pasture, tillage, and orchards. Although Lawrence Swamp proved difficult to drain and till, it was significantly cleared and used as a source of timber and fuel. As the agricultural economy expanded west and farmers moved to cities to find work in factories, Lawrence Swamp and other cleared areas naturally reforested into novel ecosystem structures.

With the rapid population growth that resulted from increased enrollment at the University of Massachusetts and the technological development of turbine pumps, the Town of Amherst took advantage of the aquifer below Lawrence Swamp to fulfill its residents' need for water, which made it subject to Massachusetts Drinking Water policy, restricting development and land uses in the area.

Today, these regulations, in addition to those imposed by the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, the Federal Clean Water Act, and permanent conservation have shifted Lawrence Swamp's ecological structure from a mostly-cleared pastureland in the mid-1800s to a novel version of its original forested wetland structure today. Although species composition has been drastically altered by past land uses, the land still provides recreational opportunities, scenic and open space values, and carbon sequestration, all while fulfilling the need for clean water for a robust population.

Although municipal water provides an excellent opportunity for conservation, it is limited to the demands of a nearby dense population and conducive hydrogeology. However, studying the policy, technology, and laws surrounding this necessary public service can provide an opportunity to educate landowners and community members about the benefits of land protection, and provide opportunities for conservation organizations to build on a large, contiguous parcel of land to meet conservation goals.

References

Amherst Conservation Department. (n.d.). Lawrence Swamp Conservation Area [Interpretive Sign]. Amherst, MA.

Cronon, W. (1983). Chapter 4. In Changes in the Land (pp. 66-67). New York, NY: Hill and Wang.

Drake, J. D. (1999). King Philip's War: Civil war in New England, 1675-1676. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.

Brooks, R. (2020, March 12). History of King Philip's War. Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://historyofmassachusetts.org/what-was-king-philips-war/

Foster D, Hall B, Burk J. 2003. Massachusetts Historical Landcover and Census Data 1640-1999. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF014.

Kittredge, David & Thompson, Jonathan & Morreale, Luca & Short Gianotti, Anne & Hutyra, Lucy. (2017). Three decades of forest harvesting along a suburban–rural continuum. Ecosphere. 8. 10.1002/ecs2.1882.

Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture, LLC. (2005). Amherst Preservation Plan (pp. 5-7, Rep.). Amherst, MA: Town of Amherst Historical Commission.

Strock, D. (1852). Pictorial history of King Philip's War. Hartford, Case, Tiffany &.

Schultz, E. B., & Tougias, M. J. (2017). King philip's war: The history and legacy of america's forgotten conflict. Place of publication not identified: W W Norton.

Landscape History of Central New England. (n.d.). Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/diorama-series/landscape-history-central-new-england

Watershed Protection: Amherst, MA. (n.d.). Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://www.amherstma.gov/1258/Watershed-Protection

Planning Amherst Together (Rep.). (2007). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1627/3_Demographics_070830_SN?bidId=

The History of Pumps: Through the Years. (2011, December 22). Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://www.pumpsandsystems.com/history-pumps-through-years

Wolfers, M. F., McEachern, M. J., & Miller, D. W. (1979). Hydrogeologic Investigation of the Lawrence Swamp Area (Tech.). New York, NY: Geraghty & Miller.

Public Water Supply Protection Plan (Tech.). (2005). Westfield, MA: Tighe & Bond. Retrieved from https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2618/Part-1-Table-of-Contents-etc?bidId=

Amherst Zoning Bylaw (2019). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/50407/FINAL-Zoning-Bylaw-Effective-August-5-2019-rotated

Cronon, W. (1983). Chapter 4. In Changes in the Land (pp. 66-67). New York, NY: Hill and Wang.

Drake, J. D. (1999). King Philip's War: Civil war in New England, 1675-1676. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.

Brooks, R. (2020, March 12). History of King Philip's War. Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://historyofmassachusetts.org/what-was-king-philips-war/

Foster D, Hall B, Burk J. 2003. Massachusetts Historical Landcover and Census Data 1640-1999. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF014.

Kittredge, David & Thompson, Jonathan & Morreale, Luca & Short Gianotti, Anne & Hutyra, Lucy. (2017). Three decades of forest harvesting along a suburban–rural continuum. Ecosphere. 8. 10.1002/ecs2.1882.

Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture, LLC. (2005). Amherst Preservation Plan (pp. 5-7, Rep.). Amherst, MA: Town of Amherst Historical Commission.

Strock, D. (1852). Pictorial history of King Philip's War. Hartford, Case, Tiffany &.

Schultz, E. B., & Tougias, M. J. (2017). King philip's war: The history and legacy of america's forgotten conflict. Place of publication not identified: W W Norton.

Landscape History of Central New England. (n.d.). Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/diorama-series/landscape-history-central-new-england

Watershed Protection: Amherst, MA. (n.d.). Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://www.amherstma.gov/1258/Watershed-Protection

Planning Amherst Together (Rep.). (2007). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1627/3_Demographics_070830_SN?bidId=

The History of Pumps: Through the Years. (2011, December 22). Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://www.pumpsandsystems.com/history-pumps-through-years

Wolfers, M. F., McEachern, M. J., & Miller, D. W. (1979). Hydrogeologic Investigation of the Lawrence Swamp Area (Tech.). New York, NY: Geraghty & Miller.

Public Water Supply Protection Plan (Tech.). (2005). Westfield, MA: Tighe & Bond. Retrieved from https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2618/Part-1-Table-of-Contents-etc?bidId=

Amherst Zoning Bylaw (2019). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/50407/FINAL-Zoning-Bylaw-Effective-August-5-2019-rotated

Figure 1. Recreationists can access Lawrence Swamp via the Robert Frost Trail from Station Road on its northern edge.

Figure 2. An example of the overgrown and wet terrain in Lawrence Swamp that made it favorable for concealment during conflict, this vernal pool is adjacent to Well #4 and serves as spawning habitat for amphibians and invertebrates. Photo by author.

Figure 3. A map of the Norwottuck territory in 1658, when it was purchased by John Pynchon. The Connecticut River bisects the left half of the map and Lawrence Swamp is just north of the legend. Source: Amherst Preservation Plan

Figure 4. The Captain Beers ambush on September 4, 1675 in Northfield was one of the major conflicts of King Philip's War in the Pioneer Valley. Source: Pictorial History of King Philip's War.

Figure 5. Forest cover change, 1600-2000, in the six New England states and region-wide. Source: Harvard Forest.

Figure 6. Old field white pine on the northern edge of Lawrence Swamp. Photo by author.

Figure 7. Forest cover percentage change, 1801-2011, Amherst, MA. Many towns reforested significantly earlier than Amherst. Data Sources: Foster & Burke, 2003; Kittredge et al., 2017.

Figure 8. Population growth in the Town of Amherst, 1910-2000. Source: Town of Amherst, US Census.

Figure 9. Hydrogeologic cross section of Lawrence Swamp for a 1978 feasibility study depicting bedrock, aquifers, confining units, and test wells. Source: Geraghty and Miller, 1979.

Table 1: Well names, installation dates, dimensions, pump types, and approved withdrawal rates. Data Source: Tighe & Bond, 2005.

Figure 10. Wellhead Protection Zone definitions.