Camp Wing Conservation Area protects a 450 acre, two mile stretch of stream habitat along the South River in Duxbury. Several rare or uncommon species of plants and animals are known to occur on the property. At Camp Wing, walkers, joggers, bicyclists, equestrians, cross-country skiers, and nature lovers will all discover a place to indulge their passions. Some of the trails follow old logging trails created years ago. They follow an old stone wall that used to edge pasture land and serve as a property line. This all comes to a terminus at an observation deck looking out over the abandoned cranberry bog on the eastern loop.
Historical Land Use
In the early 1600s, not long after the 54 original land holders settled in Duxbury, the Camp Wing Conservation Area and much of present day Pembroke were designated as common land. This land was used for woodcutting, hunting, and fishing by the community. The current site of the dam, off the west side of River Street, is thought to be the site of an old mill. Judging from a few remaining cedar trees and many standing stumps, the mill pond created by the dam had earlier been a cedar swamp. The icehouse located off River Street, known as Simon’s Tomb, probably provided a winter income to the owner of the mill when the water froze. Old stone walls and soil types indicate that the farming of livestock probably occurred on the uplands portions of the property. The Consolidated Cape Cod Cranberry Company (CCCC) operated the now abandoned cranberry bogs from the early 1900s into the late 1960s when Route 3 was constructed.
description and text from the Town of Duxbury provided map
