Lead Mills Conservation Area

Lead Mills Conservation Area. . , A Cooperative Project Between the City of Salem, the Town of Marblehead, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts PARC Grant Program, Conserved 2013, This 4.23-acre public green space lies on the Salem-Marblehead boundary at the mouth of the Forest River. With frontage on Salem Harbor, the Lead Mills Conservation Area connects Marblehead's Wyman Woods to Salem and Marblehead's Forest River conservation areas. The Salem bike trail and Marblehead Path traverse the property, creating a continuous greenway from Lead Mills to Swampscott, downtown Marblehead, and Salem State University., The Lead Mills Conservation Area site plays an important role in the region's history and ecology. A 2006 archaeological investigation confirmed pre-Columbian human presence on the site. In 1732 a gristmill was located there and a lead mill started operations in 1831. The last building on the property was destroyed by fire in 1968., Lead Mills Industrial Buildings, circa 1880 A view of the buildings heading north on Lafayette Street toward Salem Photo courtesy of Dennis Curtin www.shortcourses.com, Collaborative Effort , The acquisition and permanent protection of the Lead Mills Conservation Area was the result of a collaborative effort involving the City of Salem, the Town of Marblehead, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts PARC Grant Program, the Marblehead Conservancy, and Essex County Greenbelt. The project was completed with generous contributions from private donors, the Towards Sustainability Foundation, and the citizens of Marblehead.