_______________________________________________________________________

Susan Lee Memorial Sanctuary and the Hely Property

Wellesley Conservation Council
Walking Time:  30 minutes

________________________________________________________________________

Susan Lee Memorial Sanctuary and the adjoining Heyl property border Livingston Road . Combined, these parcels preserve a natural corridor for wildlife and plants between lands bordering the Charles River and nearby Guernsey Sanctuary.

The land on the corner of Ridge Hill Farm Road was given to the Wellesley Conservation Council by Prof. Bernard Heyl in 1965. The adjacent property continuing to the sewer easement was given to the council by Mrs. Allen N. Bennett, Jr. in honor of her mother in 1964. Susan Lee Memorial Sanctuary includes an area on the west side of Livingston Road spanning the sewer easements and adjoining the Charles River.

Access
Paths are cleared and begin near large granite blocks and wooden fences on both sides of Livingston Road .

The sanctuary on the west side of Livingston Road includes marshy areas, a pine grove and a stream. Marsh marigolds bloom near the brook in spring, and cardinal flowers can be seen along the banks in August. You may continue on this path along the Charles River to Waban Arches and the Sudbury Aqueduct. Along this trail you can observe a variety of ferns and mosses. In several places there are fine views of the Charles River and an occasional great blue heron.

Returning to Livingston Road , you may explore the easterly section of the sanctuary. The club mosses, creeping evergreen, partridgeberry and wintergreen create a dense ground cover. Pink lady's slipper and Canada mayflowers bloom here in spring. Pitch pine occurs throughout the forest. Its bark is less smooth than the white pine and groups of needles sprout along the trunk. Native to the Northeast, this three-needled species was valued for its resin in colonial times.

Guernsey Sanctuary is a short walk away. Follow the sewer easement and a flowing brook easterly from Livingston Road . The path is open with high trees on both sides and is regularly maintained. In the summer the break in the canopy overhead promotes the growth of many wildflowers below. Virginia meadow beauty, St. Johnswort, boneset, meadowsweet and steeplebush grow along the path. Migrant birds can be seen flitting between the sanctuaries in spring and fall. Rectangular holes carved in dead trees or the sound of hammer-like drumming indicate the presence of pileated woodpeckers.

The History of the Susan Lee Memorial Sanctuary

The Susan Lee Memorial Sanctuary located on the western end of Livingston Road was given to the Wellesley Conservation Council in 1964 by Lucy Lee Bennett in honor of her mother, Susan Welles Lee. Uncovering the lineage of the Lee family is a fascinating lesson in Wellesley history. Susan Lee's mother was Isabella Pratt Hunnewell, daughter of Isabella Pratt Welles and her husband Horatio Hollis Hunnewell (HHH). In 1872, Isabella Welles' father John settled in Wellesley , then called West Needham , and bought back the family farm, “Morrill House,” at the corner of Washington Street and Pond Road that is still in existence today. Samuel Welles, Isabella's great grandfather, had originally bought the house and farm in 1763. HHH and Isabella built their beautiful estate with elaborate gardens on the shores of Lake Waban in 1852 and named it “ Wellesley ” in honor of Isabella's family. The Town of Wellesley , incorporated in 1881, was named in honor of the Hunnewells to recognize their generosity to the people of the town.

Isabella Pratt Hunnewell Shaw

In 1875, Isabella Pratt Hunnewell married Robert Gould Shaw, first cousin of Robert Gould Shaw, the Civil War commander of the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Regiment. In 1907 and 1914, she purchased the property owned by Arthur Pope along the Charles River that included the present Livingston, Ridge Hill Farm and Winding River Roads and part of the 755 acre Ridge Hill Farm (the Baker Estate). This land was added to 68 acres previously purchased in 1897 and 1903. In 1919, Isabella divided this land around Sabrina Lake among her children, Susan, Arthur and Theodore. In the same year, she built a house at 151 Dover Road next to her daughter Susan's house which was built in 1914 at 261 Grove Street . Isabella Pratt Hunnewell died in 1934.

Susan Lee

Susan Lee began wintering in Winter Park , Florida in the 1940's and parcels of the land along the newly established Livingston Road were sold for homes. This road was named for David Livingston, husband of Isabella Hunnewell Lee, eldest daughter of Susan Lee. In 1949, Janet and Bill Guernsey bought Mrs. Lee's house on Sabrina Lake and subsequently established the 20 acre Guernsey Sanctuary with part of their estate. Mrs. Lee died in 1951 and her second daughter, Lucy Lee Bennett inherited much of the land at the end of Livingston Road .In 1964, Lucy Lee Bennett donated the two parcels that make up the 7.7 acre Susan Lee Memorial Sanctuary to the WCC.

Lucy Lee Bennett

David Livingston with Pam Kaplan