CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Father Tom Appalachian Trail campsite is coming along with a new fence slated to be installed in the coming weeks

 

"There might be one other campsite like this in a town between Georgia and Maine on the whole AT so this is a unique campsite in a town like this is rare," said Eileen Quinn, head of the Appalachian Trail Committee. "Cheshire is definitely getting on the map."

 

The town, which is now an Appalachian Trail Community, established the campsite last year near the town garage. The site, named after former pastor of St. Mary's Church, the Rev. Thomas Begley, has electricity and USB ports for charging phones and devices, water, a picnic table, portable toilet, and bicycles

 

On the site, there was a dilapidated structure formally used by the Water Department. Recently resident Gary Trudeau helped demolish the structure with his excavator.

 

"It is all clear, there is topsoil and grass," Quinn said. "It looks a lot better."

 

Now with that done, the committee plans to install a privacy fence to better isolate the campsite.

 

"It was obvious that we needed some sort of privacy fencing for people. There is a lot of traffic there along the trail and we don't really want to attract passers-bys," she said. "Or anybody there to have a picnic, party, or even use the bathrooms. We want to keep it for the hikers."

 

With the pandemic, the town had an unspent 2020 recreation budget and was able to provide funds to purchase the materials to build the fence.

 

Quinn said last week her core group of volunteers got to work.

 

"We are building it. It is not like a prefab thing," she said. "We had it all apart out on sawhorses; we had to paint 130 6 foot boards. We had another crew installing posts ... someone brought music. It was just an amazing community event, especially after COVID."

 

She thanked Appalachian Trail volunteer Cosmo Catalano Jr. who has been the "engine" behind the project and helped design the site. She also thanked the various town departments for helping along the way.

 

Quinn said the results speak for themselves.

 

"I am down there a lot, and I see hikers there all the time. There were six or seven tents," she said. "They are using the bikes and the the electrical ports."

 

The fence will close out planned projects for the year. Quinn said they may install some sort of pavilion or cover in the future.