Situated on 195 acres in the towns of Sherborn and Millis in the heart of the Charles River Valley lies the Trustees’ latest property to be protected, revitalized, and opened for the public to enjoy. Rich in agricultural history and ecological variety, Millborn Farm is an idyllic reminder of life before development and suburban sprawl.

The first new Trustees property in the Charles River Valley in 22 years, Millborn Farm is an expansive open landscape of stonewall-lined hay fields, forestland, farm lanes, and more than a mile of waterfront along the Charles River, Bogastow Brook, and South End Pond. Trails meander through fields, woodlands, and around floodplain habitat along the water’s edge.

Visitors can take in the stunning landscape features and beautiful views, iconic farm buildings, and the mesmerizing birdsongs of Millborn Farm. The property is the perfect place to engage in self-guided exploration and passive recreation, including hiking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. Birdwatchers will have a field day here—more than 130 species of birds have been identified on the Farm and ornithologists estimate there may be as many as 50 more species yet to be recorded.

Two-and-a-half miles of trails traverse the property, including newly named and mapped Woodland, Meadow, and Pond Trails. Interpretive signage along the Discovery Loop shares the fascinating ecological, cultural, and Indigenous history of the property. Millborn Farm also features the first accessible trail in Sherborn, along with accessible benches and picnic tables, furthering the Trustees’ commitment to make its properties welcoming for all.

A LEGACY OF STEWARDSHIP

For more than ten thousand years, the Nipmuc people coexisted with this land, cultivating food, managing forests, and maintaining relationships with water and wildlife. Many Nipmuc were forcibly displaced from the Sherborn and Millis area by settler colonialism after the arrival of the English. By the mid-1600s, settler families established large farms, living and working across what are now Millborn’s fields while raising livestock, growing hay, and adapting to changing agricultural needs. Many of the stone walls that remain on the property today defined the crop and livestock fields of those early farms.

Throughout much of the 20th century, the Cunningham and Constable families supported hay production, dairy cows, and later beef cattle on the farm. Although Millborn gradually took on a more refined character as a country retreat, it remained a working farm, intact and undeveloped into the modern era. Today, while active farming has ended, the working character of the land remains clearly written on the landscape.

BECOMING A TRUSTEES SPECIAL PLACE

The story of Millborn Farm becoming a Trustees property has been nearly a decade in the making. Trustees staff first met with the Constable family, then owners of Millborn Farm, in 2019. The property had long been a conservation priority due to its significance as open space and its more than one mile of water frontage. By 2022, when the Constables were ready to move on from the property, they provided The Trustees with an opportunity to purchase the farm before it was offered on the open market. The family and The Trustees negotiated an agreement to conserve Millborn Farm in early 2023.

Within ten months, the largest single-property fundraising campaign in the organization’s history brought in enough funds to cover the acquisition, activation costs, and an endowment for long-term care of the farm. Isabel Constable said, in Hometown Weekly at the time of the acquisition, “We are very excited to be turning over stewardship of Millborn Farm to the capable and creative team at The Trustees, whose mission will allow the public to enjoy the property as much as we have.”

By the spring of 2024, work began to create a unique, safe, and welcoming Trustees property. Staff from across the organization collaborated to research the cultural history of the property, map and inventory ecological features, begin the work of assessing, renovating, and reconditioning buildings, establishing trails and water access, removing invasive species from stone walls, paths, and viewsheds, and developing visitor amenities.

With the help of more than 150 professional arborists who came together as part of the Massachusetts Arborists Association (MAA) Arbor Day of Service in 2025, the property really began to take shape. The arborists donated their energy and equipment to care for the trees on site, pruning and reviving hundreds of trees, removing others that were dead, sickly, or unsafe, and planting replacement trees throughout the property’s planned trail system and landscape.

On June 20, 2026, Millborn Farm was ready to welcome visitors; the excitement was palpable. An estimated 800-1,000 people visited on opening day to celebrate the grand achievement of saving the historic property for the public to enjoy. “We are deeply grateful to the Constable family, who have owned this property since 1920 and are direct descendants of our founder, Charles Eliot,” said Trustees President & CEO Katie Theoharides at the opening celebration. “They chose to have Millborn Farm conserved for everyone, forever, and we are indebted to them for working with us to achieve the permanent protection of this land.”

VISIT BY PADDLE POWER

As Millborn Farm joins the more than 120 Trustees special places, it links seven of them via a new “water trail” along the Charles River, Bogastow Brook, and South End Pond. Canoe and kayak enthusiasts can paddle The Trustees Charles River Water Trail, connecting Millborn Farm to Bridge Island Meadows to the east across South End Pond; Cedariver in Millis and Shattuck Reservation in Medfield to the south; and Rocky Narrows in Sherborn, Peters Reservation in Dover, and Charles River Peninsula in Needham to the north.

A map of the Water Trail is available on the property and on the Trustees website at TheTrustees.org/WaterTrail. While boats cannot be launched from Trustees properties, the map highlights the many public launch points along the route.

A LIVING LABORATORY

A ground-breaking partnership between The Trustees and the Massachusetts Arborists Association (MAA) provides experiential learning opportunities for professional arborists and Trustees stewardship staff, through a new Arboriculture Learning Hub at Millborn Farm. A first of its kind in the Commonwealth, the Hub will specialize in hands-on arboriculture education, training, field research, professional growth, and community engagement.

Funds are currently being raised to complete renovation of the farm’s Carriage Barn for the Hub, providing a four-season space to advance professional education, inspire environmental stewardship, and highlight the beneficial role trees play in carbon sequestration and climate resilience. To contribute to the effort, donors can contact the Trustees development department or the MAA.

“On behalf of the more than 700 tree care professionals who make up the Massachusetts Arborists Association, I would like to thank The Trustees for the opportunity to partner in restoring and preserving this spectacular landscape,” said Russell Holman, MAA President. “Together, we are helping to create a place for conservation, learning, connection, and best practices in arboriculture, that will serve and inspire people for years to come.”

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

In an extraordinary, multi-dimensional community effort, local residents, land trusts, foundations, clubs and government representatives from the towns of Millis and Sherborn collaborated with the Trustees to save Millborn Farm from development and provide a beautiful natural resource for all to enjoy.

“It truly took a very special village to get us from purchase to opening day,” said D.A. Hayden, Trustees Regional Vice President-MetroWest. “We are incredibly thankful for the enthusiasm, generosity, and support we’ve received from donors, partners, neighbors, town government officials, conservationists, consultants, contractors, volunteers, and friends. Everyone who touches Millborn Farm is captivated by its beauty and immediately understands the importance of protecting this special place for everyone, forever.”