Find peace on a hike at Cumberland preserve once owned by Sisters of Mercy: Walking RI

CUMBERLAND — An altar at the top of five stone-walled terraces served as an early sign that this was not going to be a typical walk in the woods.

The outdoor sanctuary is on grounds that were owned for more than a hundred years by the Sisters of Mercy, a religious order of Catholic women. The land became their place of prayer, education and pastoral work, and the sisters walked the paths in quiet contemplation of their vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and service to people in need.

In 2018, the sisters sold 243 acres of their land to the Town of Cumberland, which opened the Mercy Woods Preserve. A network of public, well-marked trails run up and down hills and ridges, along the banks of the Diamond Hill Reservoir and through thick woods where the sisters once walked. Occasionally, hikers will see white-marble statues and other religious sculptures.

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During my walk there, I found a restful place that encourages reflection, and I spent some time thinking about the twists and turns of the past year.

I drove to Mercy Woods, tucked in the northeast corner of the state, by taking Diamond Hill Road north to Route 121. The route then passed by Miscoe Lake on the left and the entrance to Mercymount Country Day School on the right through an area called Grants Mills, named for the gristmill and sawmill run by Joseph Grant in the 1800s.

I parked in a small lot off Sumner Brown Road and set out for a solo hike by heading north on the yellow-blazed Mercy Loop through fields that were once covered with orchards.

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Remnants of former sanctuary are built into hillside

Just 50 yards ahead on the right are the steps to the sanctuary built into a hillside. There’s a large fieldstone landing where worshipers must have once stood or sat among small patches of soil where flowers likely blossomed. The steps lead up through five terraced stone walls to an altar, with a stone cross on its face and granite slabs on top.

I sat there for a few minutes and wondered about the services held there and the people they once attracted.

Continuing on the yellow-blazed trail under pine trees, I crossed a road, a barred gate and a white building on the right before walking along a ridgeline. At a junction, the yellow-blazed trail went right, toward an outcropping and a 5-foot stone cairn, before continuing on a 2.3-mile loop.

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I decided to turn left on the blue-blazed Ridge Trail that follows the perimeter of the preserve and in many places follows a stone wall. The trail bent north and then east up a hillside before turning south and up and down small ridges. Some sections are pretty steep. At one high point, the trail looked down into a valley with a stream running through the bottom. There’s also lines of stone walls that mark fields and property lines for what was once farmland.

Picturesque views of the beautiful Diamond Hill Reservoir

As I walked south after crossing Sumner Brown Road, the only sound I heard was the crunch of my boots on several inches of oak and maple leaves that covered the trail. To the left and down a long slope, I could see the shimmering Diamond Hill Reservoir through the trees.

I stayed on the Ridge Trail until I found a break in the stone wall that lined the path and took a side spur down to the reservoir, a huge, 390-acre body of water owned by Pawtucket’s Water Supply Board.

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It was originally built in 1887 and over the years has been expanded and upgraded with new earthen dams. I walked along the rocky shore and noted that the water level seemed down by several feet.

After resting for a few minutes, I continued along the edge of the reservoir on the trail marked with white disks for the 30-mile Warner Trail that stretches from Cumberland to Sharon, Massachusetts.

After a few hundred yards, I turned right on an unmarked path that led back to the blue-blazed Ridge Trail and followed that to the southern end of the preserve. Along the way, red-blazed side trails that were once cart paths opened on the right.

The Ridge Trail intersected with the Mercy Loop, and I took the yellow-blazed trail west. I then turned north and took a side trail that opened to Highland View Road and passed a driveway lined with religious statuary to Mount St. Rita Health Center. Just up the road is the Sisters of Mercy Administration Building, which the order retained after the sale to the town.

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How the Sisters of Mercy came to settle in Rhode Island

The Sisters of Mercy interested me, and I learned later that the order was founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin in 1831, and the first sisters arrived in the U.S. in 1843, settling in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities. The order expanded and set up schools and hospitals across the country.

In 1851, Mother Frances Warde and four sisters arrived in Providence from Pittsburgh, establishing the first permanent convent in New England. The order bought its first tract in Cumberland in 1913 and trained sisters there to be sent across the United States and foreign lands to assist those in need, especially women and children.

When the order decided to divest some of its property, the sale of the land to the town for $1.5 million included the agreement that 229 acres were to be preserved in its natural state for hiking, birdwatching, cross-country skiing and other passive recreation while 17.5 acres could be turned into community ball fields.

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I continued my walk down Highland View Road and spotted under the trees a small statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, surrounded by flowers. There was a poem, "Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue," about Mary teaching and caring for her little boy.

I returned to the road and in about 50 yards, I picked up the yellow-blazed Mercy Loop on the right and followed it back under pine trees to where I'd parked.

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In all, I walked about 4 miles over two hours.

I’ve hiked in a lot of places in Rhode Island, and all of them have something interesting to see and write about. But Mercy Woods felt different and is well worth a walk in the woods, even if just to take a short break to think about where you’ve been and where you’re headed.

Trail Tip

The Cumberland Land Trust, which manages Mercy Woods Preserve, advises walkers to stay on the marked trails. Bicycles, motorcycles and ATVS are not allowed. No hunting is permitted on the property.

John Kostrzewa, a former assistant managing editor/business at The Providence Journal, welcomes email at johnekostrzewa@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Find peace hiking on nuns' former land in Cumberland: Walking RI