GLOCESTER — The Steere, Hawkins and Phillips families raised livestock and tended orchards on the gently sloping hills here for generations, until the farming economy faded and daughters and sons left for a different way of life.

The pastures, cart paths, streams and vestiges of farm living could have been lost forever but for conservationists such as Tateos “Teddy” Heditsian.

Heditsian (1888-1966) was an Armenian immigrant, a World War I hero and, later, a tailor who developed an appreciation of rural Rhode Island’s natural beauty and bought a tract of land on Putnam Pike.  After he died, his family preserved the land in his honor and deeded it to the Glocester Land Trust, which acquired several abutting parcels to create the 447-acre Steere Hill Farm Conservation Area.

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To better understand the land that had been saved, a hiking buddy and I set out from a dirt lot where Stephen Hawkins built a barn and two silos in the 1800s. Those structures are long gone, but just a short distance away, the remains of short telegraph poles poke up from the brush. They once supported a corn crib where wagons unloaded after pulling under the covered wooden shelter. Nearby, the Hawkins family tended an orchard with 30 apple trees.

We passed the trailhead and a kiosk with a map of the preserve and walked south on the red-blazed Steere Hill Trail. The farm lane is named for the family that in the early 20th century managed 208 acres of orchards, woodlots, hayfields and pastures. The path runs under oak and beech trees and around vernal pools. Embedded in some of the trees are pieces of barbed wire, all that remains of a fence to keep cattle out of the fruit trees.

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The old farm lane climbs an easy slope to a large meadow on Steere Hill. The apple, peach and pear trees that once grew on the high ground have disappeared. There’s a large oak that shades a bench that offers a sweeping view to the west and a cement foundation with a picnic table. There’s also an old cemetery with unmarked graves on the hilltop, as well as a view through a tree line at the Melody Hills Golf Course to the east. The grass in the meadow is left unmowed in the summer to shelter nesting birds

The path then winds down the hill to a large stone slab with a red marker directing hikers to a trail into the woods and by several tall, open-ended stone foundations that may have been barns or storage structures. We also noted that some of the stone walls are higher and wider than others in the area and maybe were built stronger to herd the cattle. A few pieces of rusted farm equipment are partially hidden in the weeds.

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The trail reached a junction and we turned northwest on the Heritage Steere Trail, crossing a wooden bridge over Hunt Brook. Just to the right is a small, stone dam that was built to control the water levels and form a cranberry bog in the wetlands.  A concrete block on top of the dam is grooved to hold boards that could be inserted or removed to manage the water flow.

We continued to the blue-blazed Outer Loop Trail, which passed the 57-acre LePlat Woodland to the west and crossed a bridge over tumbling Peeptoad Brook. The loop, through a 115-acre area known as Heritage Park, passed a parking lot on the left, some houses visible through the trees on Chestnut Oak Road and a small playground in the woods.

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The wide, flat path circles back to the Heritage Steere Trail and we retraced our steps, this time southeast, and walked to the Beech Trail on the left. We followed it to the Ridge Trail, a rocky, ledgy section of the forest that led to the Stone Dam Trail. Taking it north, we found a long, earth and stone slab bridge and dam that was probably built to hold back a stream and create a pond to water livestock. A trickle still runs through the base of the dam.

The stone structure is sturdy and wide enough for farm wagons to cross. Looking from the top of the dam, we spotted lowlands to the west that must have been the bottom of the farm pond.

We followed the trail over the bridge and back to the main Steere Hill Trail. We decided we had enough time to walk several short loops trails to the east, including the Field Trail, which led to the Cutler Trail. Before the 1920s, the property was known as the Cutler Farm and was the site of the historic Cutler Inn and tollbooth.

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Later, the 68-acre property was farmed by the Phillips family and included an orchard that was later converted to a dairy farm. You can still find remnants of farm machinery and rusted milk cans along the trails.

The Phillips Trail took us under a canopy of American beech trees, by ferns growing near wetlands and through quite a bit of second tree growth. There also was a small thicket of witch hazel, which was used as a natural remedy for itches from insect bites and rashes.

We skirted the edges of several pastures with tall native grass, which are left unmowed from April to October to protect ground-nesting birds such as woodcocks, bobolinks and meadowlarks. The paths crossed two brooks to reach the eastern edge of the property, within sight of Harmony Mill & Storage.

Heading back, we spotted a cemetery with eight small, unmarked headstones at the top of a rise. After some exploration, we returned on the Steere Hill Trail and to where we started. In all, we walked about 6 miles over three hours.

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Before heading home, I stopped at the trailhead to read a plaque with information about Heditsian. He came to the United States at age 19, won the Silver Star during World War I and later designed and hand-sewed uniforms for the Rhode Island State Police, which became known as the best in the country.

That’s pretty impressive. But I’ll also remember his understanding of the value of nature.

“Tateos, a true visionary, was drawn to the beauty of northwestern Rhode Island and saw majesty in the local farms and rural landscapes,” the plaque reads. “This land will remain a nature preserve forever appreciated and enjoyed by all who visit.”

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