Noyes Family Open Space

The Noyes Family Open Space was distinguished from and re-named in 2023 from a parcel previously included within the Deborah & Edward Ames Open Space.

In 2002, the Noyes family sold 24+ acres of land to the Town of Old Lyme in a bargain sale for a price that was a fraction of its appraised value. The family’s generosity and the land’s history led the Open Space Commission to delineate the acreage as a distinct open space property.

History

When Lyme was established in 1667, the new town distributed land to early colonial settlers. Rev. Moses Noyes (1643-1729), Lyme’s first minister, received swamp land and later, in 1688, adjoining upland at “bogge holle.”

Succeeding generations of the Noyes family continued to own land in the Boggy Hole area. Old stone walls are still visible along the northerly and easterly boundaries of the Noyes property marking what likely was once a sheep pasture. The family used the land for hunting, trapping, and gathering wood into the early decades of the 20th century.

Today

A wetland forms the Noyes Open Space frontage on Boggy Hole Road, but access is available via the trailhead shared at Evergreen Trail with the adjacent Ames Open Space. On-street parking is available at the cul-de-sac.

The two adjoining open space properties are managed as one unit. They serve as a greenway for wildlife with shared hiking trails available for public enjoyment.