Plainfield

Rainville Preserve

At the beginning of 2014, Lawrence “Larry” Rainville donated a 29- acre parcel of land in Plainfield to the land trust. Larry’s grandfather farmed the land back in the early 1900s, and Larry has fond memories of the family farm.

“I remember when we had a couple of acres of cucumbers and potatoes on the land, and we’ve always cut hay”, remembers Larry. “At one time my family had 30 head of beef cattle, three milking cows, and a couple of hogs. It’s nice habitat and a great place for animals. I didn’t want to see it turned into houses or a gravel pit.”

“It’s a historic part of town,” said Ruth Bergeron , President of the Plainfield Historic Society and a land trust member. “The land is close to the rail spur to the Wauregan Mill Company’s freight building that was used to delivered raw cotton to the mill and to ship out finished goods. Protecting this land will help to preserve the rural character of town.”

The property is bordered by a Tilcon quarry to the northeast and by the Providence and Worcester railroad and the silos of the Wauregan Grain Company to the west. The land serves as an ecological buffer, and its mixture of open hay fields and woodland makes it a natural oasis for wildlife.