Great Brewster Woods, consisting of approximately 18.16 acres of woodland, was given to the Trust in 1985 by the Great Brewster Corporation, whose owners, Edgar Hill, Walter Railsback, Raymond Remick, and George McLaughlin were all Cohasset residents.
The name ‘Great Brewster’ derives from the Boston Harbor Island by that name, where Edgar Hill had a gravel mining venture.
Located behind Cohasset Town Hall, this woodland with significant ledge outcroppings, together with Dean’s Meadow, protects 25 acres of open space in the heart of Cohasset Village.
A Trust sign marks the entrance on Great Brewster Trail, off Highland Avenue between the Town Hall and St. Stephen’s Church. The walking path, clearly marked with yellow trail markers, makes a roughly one-mile loop through a woodland ecosystem containing many plants and features typical of southern New England. Hikers tread paths through dense woods and around marshes and granite ledges.
Points of interest include old stone walls, large ledge outcroppings, pudding stone, and streams. Great Brewster contains a variety of trees, including white and red oaks, black tupelos, witchhazel, American beech, junipers, mockernut hickory, holly, white birch and hophornbeam as well as club mosses, blueberry, wintergreen, lichen (rock tripe), sweet pepperbush, and sassafras.