In these woods and along nearby forest edges one can find species of trees – butternut, beech, hickory, and the shrub choke cherry – that have populated central Massachusetts since the end of the most recent ice age. Fossils of the seeds and nuts of these trees are on display in the Modern Connecticut River exhibit at the Amherst College Beneski Museum of Natural History demonstrating the presence of these species for at least 5,000 years. Most of this region, along with 90% of Massachusetts, was cleared for pasture during the early and mid-1800’s, but these forest species have reestablished themselves with more recent change in land use.