Trails Committee Names Path For John Schuler, Father of Wellesley’s Trail System

Wellesley has named a walking trail in Lower Falls after John G. Schuler, who spent nearly 50 years planning, mapping and building the network of wooded trails that now defines Wellesley’s open space.

Schuler was the chairman of the town’s bicentennial celebrations committee, which included the creating of Centennial Reservation. Over the next 50 years, he advocated for connecting the town’s open space with a network of trails, including the Fuller Brook Path, Crosstown Trail, and Charles River Path.

The new dedicated John G. Schuler Trail runs along the Charles River Path starting at Washington Street near the bridge of flowers behind Waterstone at Wellesley, 27 Washington St. The start is marked by a rock with a memorial plaque that reads: In appreciation of John G. Schuler, the visionary behind Wellesley’s expansive network of wooded trails. His work began in 1975 and continued for almost half a century, supporting public access to open space across town.

“The Trails Committee wanted to remember all of John’s contributions to the founding, planning, and building of today’s trails network. We thought it fitting to have a path named after John that he enjoyed walking behind Waterstone and along the Charles River. So today we are dedicating this trail as the John G Schuler Path,” said Trails Committee member Denny Nackoney, who worked with Schuler on trails for more than 20 years.

Schuler, who died in February at age 92, was a lifelong resident of Wellesley. He was born in Wellesley, graduated from the public school system and later taught at Dana Hall School. He served on Town Meeting from 1953 until fall 2023.

Schuler’s work with trails likely was sparked while he was chairman of the Wellesley Bicentennial Celebrations Committee in 1975. One of the projects conceived and promoted by the committee was a biking and pedestrian trails system in Wellesley. A decade later the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) established the Bikeways and Walkways Study Committee with Schuler as chairman.

In 1996, the Wellesley Trails Committee was formed as a subcommittee of the NRC. As chairman, Schuler helped develop the Crosstown Trail to provide east-west connectivity along the Cochituate Aqueduct. A demonstration trail between Woodlawn Avenue and the Schofield School was constructed in 1997.  This was met with enthusiastic public support for completion of the Crosstown Trail and set the stage for development of a town-wide trails network.

“John was the visionary and founder of the Wellesley Trails Committee. His work started in 1975 and continued for half a century, culminating in Wellesley’s present day elaborate system of marked, wooded trails,” said Joan Gaughan, who also worked with Schuler as a Trails Committee member for nearly 20 years.

The new John G. Schuler Path is in the same neighborhood of Lower Falls where Schuler grew up exploring Wellesley’s open space. He spoke fondly of his escapades in the Town Forest.

Schuler was central to clearing the path that has now been named after him. Before Schuler and the Trails Committee arrived, Nackoney remembers, “that section along Boulevard Road was overgrown, and it was full of litter, tree limbs and dumping debris. Trail Committee members cleaned out the section, loaded it into his little red truck, and John took it to a dumpster provided by the DPW.”

The Wellesley Trails Committee will lead a guided trail walk of the John G. Schuler Trail during Wellesley Wonderful Weekend on May 17, 2025, at 10 a.m.

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