Overmountain

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Overmountain is home to a variety of animals, depending upon which parts of the property you visit!

The spectacular meadows and fields are not only full of great views, but are also a fantastic place to look for pollinators. Attracted to the rich summer blooms, many species of insects can be found in the meadows, including the Monarch Butterfly and Spicebush Swallowtail.

The open space also makes these meadows ideal for spotting and hearing regionally-rare grassland birds like the Bobolink, Meadowlark, and Horned Lark. The Horned Lark, also known as “laawahkiihaakan” or ‘middle of the field’ in the Munsee language, has declined in population due to changes in land management. Whereas local native people would have burned land, current brushhogging and haying practices have limited where these birds can nest, making the fields of Overmountain critically important to their survival.

The forests here are part of a large forest block that connects the Appalachian Mountain Range to Canada, which provides habitat for many types of animals. One of the many year-round residents of this forest is the Ruffed Grouse, called “pahpahko” in the Mohican and Munsee langauges for its characteristic drumming calls that can be heard in the springtime.

Other times of the year, these forests are home to migratory animals like the Bobcat, Black Bear, Moose, and Mountain Lion and provide private, quiet, forest pathways through which they can travel easily. While it is unlikely you will see these creatures on the trail, we encourage you to search for animal signs, like paw prints in mud or snow and scat (animal waste) left behind.

Throughout Overmountain, there are a variety of landscapes to behold from fields and meadows to forests and fens.

Within the fields and meadows, native plants are abundant! Wild Bergamot, Common Milkweed, Grass-leaved Goldenrod, Wrinkle-leaved Goldenrod, Joe Pye Weed, and the rare Bue-Eyed Grass are just some of the gorgeous plants that grow here. At Overmountain, there are also pockets of wet meadows called fens. These contain plants like Sensitive Fern and species of Sedge that make these areas an ideal habitat for many species of amphibians and reptiles. 

These forests are part of a large block that connects the Appalachian Mountain Range to Canada. Within these wooded sections, there are areas of both young and ancient forests. The young forests include Ash and Maple trees as well as non-native, invasive plants such as Multifora Rose, Privet, Oriental Bittersweet, and Eurasian Honeysuckle. The ancient forests consist of more intact communities of native plants and areas of older, more mature trees including Hemlocks, Chestnut, Boxelder, and several types of Oak (Black, Red, and Chestnut).

Overmountain is situated between regions of importance for the Mohican People: the lake region of northwestern Connecticut and the upper reaches of the Webatuck-Tenmile River, a tributary of the Housatonic River. The migration of animals, such the spiritually-significant Black Bear or “maxkw” through this region, make this site an important place for hunting and sourcing their meat, oils, and furs.

By the first half of the 18th century, the Livingston family claimed much of the area as their Livingston Manor. The tract of land they claimed was large, twenty miles wide from the Hudson River to the Massachusetts border on the east. They, and other Dutch patroons, relied on the labor of indentured people and enslaved Africans to manage these large tracts of land. Ships from the West India Company used the Hudson River as a way to transport enslaved peoples. Once manumitted, those original Black families continued to live, work, and create a vibrant community that survives to this day.

The Livingston land claim was hotly contested by the nearby Mohican descendants of the original sellers. They rightfully believed that the boundaries had been grossly exaggerated. The Mohican people were subject to genocide, coerced into assimilation, and forcibly removed from their homelands to what is now known as Wisconsin. They continue to retain their unbroken status as a Sovereign Native Nation. Despite removal, they continue to hold relationships with their homelands and settler communities.

By the mid-nineteenth century, nearly eighty percent of the area near Overmountain was farmland. While the types of farms in the region changed through time, sheep and dairy were the most prevalent. Entering the 20th century, Overmountain was used for charcoal production, likely to meet the demand for charcoal-iron industries growing in Ancram. The process involved deforestation of small areas and then burning logs over a flat, round base. While the charcoal mounds are gone, the circular flats, some up to 35 feet in diameter, can still be seen.

Columbia Land Conservancy first acquired the land near Round Ball Mountain in 2008, followed by the donation of over 1,400 acres of land by Elizabeth Gilmore in 2015. Overmountain officially opened to the public in November 2018.