John Hay Estate at The Fells — Attraction in Newbury

Being a Local who lives near the Hays, I was reading the Executive Directors response to Local man and I am flabbergasted They have done nothing but turn this into there own little place they can profit off of, please don't try and tell us your going to use the dock for educational purposes. You also seem very defensive when he put out very valid points. Paige (the Executive Director) states the dock will be used for educational purposes which is a complete lie. They say they organize wedding events to not hurt the wildlife or the land, well thats a load of BS, Why do I hear bass and loud music almost 1/4-1/2 mile away on the weekends till past 10pm at times? Oh, and what about the Cottage that has been left to fall apart thats covered with a Tarp and in turn turning it into a Mold Pit. No Boat dock is going to be for educational purposes, Your Board wants to drive their boat into work plain and simple. ( I know a lot of you transplants think were stupid hill billy's but you're very wrong) and on top of that its going to end up disturb a protected shoreline being placed where it is. Boats haven't been parked and used religiously for probably over 50 years, which means no gas or oil contaminants have been around and also there is a loon nest very close and the boat traffic will impact them 100%. Trying to Say you want a Dock because the owner of the property used to have one is a Joke, that was when it was a private piece of property and not a Non-profit. So trying to use that is a complete Moot point. Oh also, there have been many complaints about how staff and volunteers have been treated by The Board.

As a Local I will stand strong to protect our area from over development by wealthy out of towners who don't even reside here full-time, And full-time does not mean just because you come up every weekend. Oh yes and also lets talk about the acres and acres of trees you took down for supposed drainage? Taking trees down will make that even worse (If you didn't know trees absorb lots of water)on top of it being a complete lie to the town, it was done so that you could clear a path down to where you are proposing to put the new Dock. Im sure your going to respond with how your maintaining the area like its suppose to be, but unfortunately the word is out about the fells and how they are operating. Another Funny Fact , the head of the Board is a Former Real Estate developer hmm...

All in all amusement part it may not be but you for sure are changing for the worse not better and I bet the wildlife would...

Visited last Sunday on a chilly windy day in June - perfect weather to keep the bugs away! It was warm enough when the sun came out. Anyway, the estate is really beautiful. I did the John Hay Ecology Trail from the parking lot near the road and also the Lake Trail. As an experienced hiker they were no problem for me, but be warned that the trail can be rough in places, muddy (understandable after all the rain we've had this spring!), and a little steep. It's not an easy walk in the woods. I walked back to my car via the Wildflower Trail and that was a much smoother, less muddy trail, good for little kids (I should think). You can also walk down the dirt road if you want a little walk and a smooth footbed. And of course there is parking near the house if you just want to see that and can't/don't want to walk very far. Loved seeing the loon nesting on the lake!

The house is really neat. It's great that you can just wander through it and don't have to wait for a tour if you don't have time (I would have liked to take a tour but it didn't work with my schedule). And the grounds around the house are gorgeous. Highly recommend checking out the "old garden" and its really cool stone walls.

Highly recommend visiting this property! It was the perfect option for me, as I had a performance nearby later in the day and wanted a short hike and I always love wandering through old houses and beautiful gardens. I was a little too early for the peonies and irises but they were all about to pop - I'd say visit sometime in the next week or two to see the peonies and irises. And the azaleas smelled...

The Fells is supposed to be a historical conservation area and it was for the past 70+ years until recently many out of staters have come in and have been put on the board. Since then they have clear-cut land, refused to fix the historical buildings and structures due to cost and now have the audacity to try and install a 500 square ft dock on protected conservation shoreline. Instead of worrying about a dock, maybe focus on the buildings that need work especially when you get grants for that, instead they put up a big ole outdoor pavilion to host weddings and on the weekends with music so loud the whole conservation area goes out the window. Not sure what their end goal is, but it sure seems like they're trying to turn this into a amusement park the way they're going. The dock will not be used for the hays and in no way helps a conservation area. it's going to be used for personal gains by the board and the head of the board owns lakefront property 🤔. In 2008 it was handed over to a non-profit sector that was supposed to protect the land and wildlife, but hosting extremely loud weddings and now attempting to put in a 500 sq foot dock leads me to believe that they're just using the non-profit organization to avoid paying taxes and they have no intention of truly protecting and keeping this land how it should be kept. I'm hoping this message gets through the board a little bit so they understand what they're actually doing and that the local (full time residents) are not on board with developing the fells...