Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary

The Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary is a 450 acre nature preserve located just outside downtown Lewiston. It is owned and maintained by the Stanton Bird Club and has been open to the public since 1921. It features a number of trails, stone benches, and a large meadow, and is used for hiking, cross-country skiing, and birdwatching. You can even see Mt. Washington from the crag. No bikes, no fires, no toilets. They had to ban dogs in 2010.

Trails

Thorncrag features about 3.5 miles of trails, named simply by color (yellow, blue, red, white, orange and green). Most people park at the large lot off Montello Street and begin there (there is a 2nd trail head off East Ave). There is a large sign with information and maps and a covered gazebo/shelter. From there, choose a route and loop back to the parking lot. The trails are well-maintained and easy to follow.

The yellow trail from the parking lot to the fireplace is very wide and a popular route. From there, you can either continue on the green trail for a longer visit or loop left or right.

The club runs weekly bird walks at the sanctuary and other nearby places on Wednesday mornings from from May through July.

Urban Oasis

If you’re walking near the edge of the property, you may catch a glimpse of a neighboring house or two through the trees, but for the most part, you’ll feel like you’re far away from the city. The trails rise in the middle of the property to the 510 feet, the highest point in Lewiston.

There are some small streams and pools on the property. The pools were dug by the club for wildlife and to hold water in case of fire.

Mt. Washington

If you go, make sure you look for Mt. Washington. The bird club cut a viewing corridor just so you can actually see Mt. Washington 60 miles to the Northwest.

A Big Fireplace

In the middle of the property, you’ll find the Anthony Fireplace. It’s a rather large outdoor fireplace with large curved stone benches forming a circle. The structures are a memorial to Kate J. Anthony donated by her brother Alfred in 1932 (they were the original benefactors). There is a 2nd fireplace nearby which is a memorial to the club’s first treasurer, Carrie Miller.

History

In 1919, The Stanton Bird Club was founded in Lewiston to honor Jonathan Young Stanton, a beloved, bearded, Greek and Latin professor at Bates College who was also renowned for teaching a popular ornithology class. Professor Stanton, known on campus as “Uncle Johnny,” would often take classes on bird walks around Lewiston. A Maine native and Bowdoin graduate, he taught at Bates from 1863 until his death in 1918 and the bird club bearing his name was created a year later.

The Start of the Sanctuary

In 1921, newly retired Bates professor Alfred Williams Anthony, his wife Gertrude, and sister Kate donated a 45-acre parcel (Thorne’s Hill) to the Stanton Bird Club with the stipulation it be maintained as a bird and wildlife sanctuary. Anthony is credited with creating the name “Thorncrag” by magically combining Thorne and Crag.

The Sanctuary Grows

The club has acquired land over the years from adjoining landowners – about 14 different parcels. In the early 1900s, brother and sisters Ossie and Mabel Wood operated a dairy farm called the H.O. Wood dairy farm. First, they allowed the club to use the so-called “Height-of-land” and then donated that 3 acre section to the club in 1943 when she sold the land. In 1994, the club was able to save the land from development by purchasing the 80 acre farm which contained the large meadow. Part of the farm’s foundation is visible as you exit the meadow.

Cattle, Bottling, and Tuberculosis

Before it became a sanctuary, the land served many purposes. Parts were farmed, and sheep and cattle grazed in meadows. The Highland Spring Bottling Company even operated a plant where they bottled spring water and “soda pop.” Part of a stone foundation with a sign mentions that plant near the main entrance.

Much of the land was owned and farmed by the Thorne Family. A reclusive Baptist preacher named Elder Benjamin Thorne homesteaded on the land. The rocky granite outcroppings gave it the nickname the “Crag.”

There was also a tuberculosis sanitorium on the property, though I was unable to find any information on it. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death and until they figured out that antibiotics were the answer, the standard “treatment” was to create sanitoriums where the sick could be quarantined, get lots of bed rest, good food, and plenty of cold, fresh air – ideally at altitude. So with Thorncrag being the highest point in Lewiston, I guess it made sense to open one there.

From what little I could find, it sounds like the sanitorium at Thorncrag was more of a camp-style facility, with open canvas tents and small cottages. The stricken were likely forced to sleep outside in the cold or in chairs on screened-in porches.

Beware the Tick

Halfway through a May 2026 walk at Thorncrag, I saw a sign exiting the meadow saying that ticks were common in the meadow. They weren’t kidding. The four of us on the hike found 7 total ticks later, so be advised.