Governor Hutchinson's Field is a nature reserve located in Milton, Massachusetts. The field is owned by The Trustees of Reservations. [1] The property is the only means of public access to another Trustees property, the otherwise inaccessible Pierce Reservation. [2]
In 1734, Thomas Hutchinson, last civilian royal governor of Massachusetts, built a country estate on the property. The two remaining parts of the estate are the field, which affords sweeping views of Boston and Quincy and a ha-ha which is now on the property of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, a block away from the field. (A ha-ha is a sunken wall which permits unblocked views, while still serving functions of a wall such as delineating a border and preventing livestock from crossing.)
The field was an orchard during Hutchinson's time, but became open land during the 19th century. The Trustees of Reservations acquired the field in 1898, and it is open to the public for passive recreational purposes. The adjacent Pierce Reservation land was given to the Trustees in 1957.
The field, with its view of Boston, is on Adams Street at the top of Milton Hill, opposite the Capt. Robert B. Forbes House and the Dr. Amos Holbrook House, both of which are also on the National Register of Historic Places. The field is a contributing property to the Milton Hill Historic District.
Thomas Hutchinson was a businessman, historian, and a prominent Loyalist politician of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the years before the American Revolution. He has been referred to as "the most important figure on the loyalist side in pre-Revolutionary Massachusetts". He was a successful merchant and politician, and was active at high levels of the Massachusetts government for many years, serving as lieutenant governor and then governor from 1758 to 1774. He was a politically polarizing figure who came to be identified by John Adams and Samuel Adams as a proponent of hated British taxes, despite his initial opposition to Parliamentary tax laws directed at the colonies. He was blamed by Lord North for being a significant contributor to the tensions that led to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton was ranked by Money as the 2nd, 7th, 8th, and 17th best place to live in the United States in 2011, 2009, 2019, 2021, and 2022 respectively.
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit organization of its kind in the world and has 100,000 member households as of 2021. In addition to land stewardship, the organization is also active in conservation partnerships, community supported agriculture (CSA), environmental and conservation education, community preservation and development, and green building. The Trustees owns title to 120 properties on 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) in Massachusetts, all of which are open to the public. In addition, it holds 393 conservation restrictions to protect an additional 20,000 acres (8,100 ha). Properties include historic mansions, estates, and gardens; woodland preserves; waterfalls; mountain peaks; wetlands and riverways; coastal bluffs, beaches, and barrier islands; farmland and CSA projects; and archaeological sites.
Blue Hills Reservation is a 7,000-acre (2,800 ha) state park in Norfolk County, Massachusetts in the United States. Managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, it covers parts of Milton, Quincy, Braintree, Canton, Randolph, and Dedham. Located approximately ten miles south of downtown Boston, the reservation is one of the largest parcels of undeveloped conservation land within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The park's varied terrain and scenic views make it a popular destination for hikers from the Boston area.
The Mission House is an historic house located at 19 Main Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was built between 1741 and 1742 by a Christian missionary to the local Mahicans. It is a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1968 as a rare surviving example of a colonial mission house. It is now owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations.
Castle Hill is a 56,881 sq ft (5,284.4 m2) Tudor Revival mansion in Ipswich, Massachusetts built 1926-1928 as a summer home for Mr. and Mrs. Richard Teller Crane, Jr. It is also the name of the 165-acre (67 ha) drumlin surrounded by sea and salt marsh the home was built atop. Both are part of the 2,100-acre (850 ha) Crane Estate located on Argilla Road. The estate includes a historic mansion, 21 outbuildings, and landscapes overlooking Ipswich Bay, on the seacoast off Route 1, north of Boston. Its name derives from a promontory in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, from which many early Massachusetts Bay Colony settlers immigrated.
The Charles W. Ward Reservation is a 704-acre (285 ha) open space reserve located in Andover and North Andover, Massachusetts, 20 miles (32 km) north of Boston. The reserve, managed by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations, is notable for its open drumlin hilltops and vistas encompassing Boston and Salem. The Ward Reservation offers 13 miles (21 km) of trails and former woods roads available for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and cross country skiing; it is also a link in the 200-mile (320 km) Bay Circuit Trail system.
The Brooks Woodland Preserve is a 558-acre (226 ha) open space preserve located in Petersham, Massachusetts. The property, named after industrialist and diplomat James Wilson Brooks, is managed by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations and offers 13 miles (21 km) of trails and primitive woods roads available for hiking, horseback riding, and cross country skiing. Second growth forest, overgrown farm fields, granite ledges, historic stone walls, creeks, and rolling hills characterize the preserve.
Tyringham Cobble is a 206-acre (83 ha) open space reservation located in Tyringham, Massachusetts on 411 m (1,348 ft) Cobble Hill in The Berkshires. It is managed by The Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit conservation organization, and is notable for its scenic views over the rural landscape of Tyringham Valley from rocky ledges and open fields. The reservation consists of the hill and surrounding agricultural and pasture land. In 2008, part of the 2,175 mile (3,500 km) Appalachian Trail was routed over the summit ledges.
The Milton Hill Historic District is a historic district in Milton, Massachusetts. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Westport Town Farm is a 40-acre (16 ha) open space preserve and historic farm complex located in Westport, Massachusetts along the bracken East Branch of the Westport River. The property, owned by the town of Westport and managed by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations through contract since 2007, was once the town's poor farm and local infirmary.
Moose Hill Farm is a 347-acre (140 ha) open space preserve and historic farm complex located in Sharon, Massachusetts near the 450 feet (140 m) summit of Moose Hill. The property, acquired in 2005 by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations, includes farmland, woodlots, 21 farm buildings, hiking trails, stands of mature American Chestnuts, and scenic vistas of the Boston skyline. Moose Hill Farm is part of a larger area of protected open space including state land and the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.
Questing is a 438-acre (177 ha) open space preserve and colonial era historic site located in New Marlborough, Massachusetts within The Berkshires. The property, acquired in 1996 by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations, is named for a mythical beast from Arthurian Mythology called the Questing Beast.
Noon Hill and Shattuck Reservation are adjacent open space preserves located in Medfield, Massachusetts. They are managed by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations. The 200-mile (320 km) Bay Circuit Trail passes through both properties. The Town of Medfield owns conservation land adjacent to the properties.
Signal Hill is a 150-acre (61 ha) open space preserve located in Canton, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts; it is centered on a 188-foot (57 m) rocky knoll by the same name. The property, acquired in 2005 by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations, offers frontage on the Neponset River and views of Great Blue Hill and Downtown Boston from open ledges. The Signal Hill preserve also includes wetlands, open fields, and a car-top boating access point.
Notchview is a 3,100-acre (13 km2) conservation property located on Massachusetts Route 9 in Windsor, Massachusetts in eastern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned and managed by the Trustees of Reservations.
Gov. Thomas Hutchinson's Ha-ha is a historic ha-ha at 100–122 Randolph Avenue in Milton, Massachusetts, United States.
Wilson Mountain Reservation is a state-owned, public recreation area and protected woodland park in Dedham, Massachusetts, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. It features hiking trails, open space and a summit view of the Boston skyline, and is an important wildlife preserve. At 215 acres (87 ha), it is the largest remaining open space in Dedham. The reservation is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.
The Eustis Estate is a historic family estate on Canton Avenue in Milton, Massachusetts. Its centerpiece is the mansion house of William Ellery Channing Eustis, an eclectic Late Victorian stone building designed by preeminent architect William Ralph Emerson and constructed in 1878. The estate also includes several other houses associated with the Eustis family, and a gatehouse and stable historically associated with the main estate. The estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 2016. Most of the original estate is owned by Historic New England, and was opened to the public as a museum property in 2017.
The Doyle Community Park & Center, located in the city of Leominster, Massachusetts, is a 170-acre (69 ha) landscaped urban park and open space reservation managed by The Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit conservation organization. It is also the location of the Doyle Center: a conservation education center, regional office, and green building initiative. The property consists of three main areas: Pierce Meadow, a landscaped urban park and former estate of Harry W. Pierce; the Doyle Center grounds, buildings, and adjoining woodlots; and a hay field and adjoining wetland.
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