The Parklands road on the west side of the pond. The G&U Railroad tracks are just to the left of the photo.
A photo of the rock called “Texas” taken during the Manning work in the Parklands more than a century ago.
Warren Henry Manning – the landscape architect who designed the Hopedale Town Park and the Parklands.
How Hopedale Parklands Evolved
By Gordon E. Hopper
According to the first annual report of the Hopedale Park Commissioners, Frank Dutcher, Charles Roper and George O. Draper, in 1889, the inhabitants of the town had been interested in the subject of a park since the incorporation of the town. Details prior to this year are meager, but it is known that attempts by town meeting action to purchase land from Adin Ballou in 1888 and 1889 had failed. The Ballou property was purchased later by the Draper Company, (Ballou died in 1890) and continuations of Prospect and Peace streets now run through it. The chapel of the Union Evangelical society is located on the southerly part of the original Ballou property.
Although a committee had been appointed in 1890 to report on a suitable tract of land for use as a town park, nothing definite had developed by 1893. Committee members were Edward S. Stimson, Charles M. Day and George A. Draper. They secured the services of Warren Henry Manning, who, in 1891, recommended the taking of about 40 acres of land located between Freedom and Adin streets and about 20 acres in the vicinity of Hopedale Pond. (Manning was probably the second most famous landscape architect of that era, and he had worked with the No. 1 man in that business, Frederick Law Olmstead. To this day, much of what we see in the layout of the Town Park and Parklands is the result of Manning’s design.) No action was taken because the value of the land was such as to prevent consideration of its acquisition by the town. An informal committee, consisting of Edward Stimson and George O. Draper recommended the taking of a few acres from the original tract recommended by Manning. Upon learning that some of the property owners involved were not favorable to the plan, this matter was dropped.
By the passage of an article in the Nov. 8, 1898 warrant, the town was ready to acquire land for park purposes. The March 6, 1899 town meeting chose three park commissioners, who employed Manning as advisor and Gordon H. Taylor as surveyor. At a special town meeting held on July 21, 1889, the commissioners recommended that 187 acres of land starting at a point opposite Cole’s boarding house at the (southeast) corner of Freedom and Dutcher streets and extending northerly on both sides of Hopedale Pond to Hazel Street be taken for park purposes. (It seems as though 1889 must be a typo. 1899 would make more sense in the context of this paragraph)
Land damages of $9,000 were allowed and appropriated for properties owned by Henry Patrick, Draper Company, George A. Draper, J.C. Henry, John S. Mead, E.B. Taft, heirs of Carra V. Sadler, J.B. Bancroft, W.F. Draper and Town of Hopedale. An additional $3,000 was appropriated to defray the surveying costs and to grade and drain the ball ground section. The six acres of land opposite the Cole boarding house was developed into today’s town park, the rest, mostly near the pond, is now known as the Hopedale Parklands. The larger tract was selected with reference to the future growth of the town, it being back land not fitted for building purposes. Proper stone bounds were erected at the corners where the line changed. Although access to the area, which contained patches of pine timber and groves of other varieties, was difficult, the area was known to have a natural scenic beauty.
The park commissioners stated in their report for 1899 that Hopedale should congratulate itself on the ownership of lands more extensive than are held by many cities and including natural features that many more elaborate reservations fail to realize.
During 1900, the Draper Company drained the pond and workmen removed the unsightly projecting snags and tree limbs and blasted out several large boulders that were dangerous to boating activities.
A rustic bridge (eventually called the Rustic Bridge) was constructed at the so-called Second Bridge, allowing foot or team passage to the western side of Mill River. In 1901, the bridge was raised enough to allow boat clearance beneath it, and Maroney’s Grove, a tract of pine timber, was cleaned up in order to be used by picnic parties. A roadway was built starting at Hazel Street, passing over the new rustic bridge and through the woods as far as the Grafton and Upton Railroad line where trolley cars ran to Grafton and Upton. There were several springs nearby.
At this time it was decided to post the Parklands from shooting and trapping and to make the river land a wild animal refuge. During 1902, Fred A. Smith, working superintendent, thinned out trees at the northern end of the Parkland. In 1903, land was given to the town and additional land, including a spring, was acquired near the northern end of the Parklands. Jack Gardner replaced Smith as superintendent in 1904, followed later that year by Walter F. Durgin, brother of Herbert Durgin’s grandfather.
By this time, the upper section of the Parklands had been cleared and made available for picnic parties, access being gained by way of Hazel Street. In addition to this, the electric cars would stop upon request at the Park Station shelter. The entire area was available by boats and a boat landing was built near the bridge.
Plans were made to utilize the lumber from an old ice house being dismantled for a bath house until the old building caught fire and was destroyed. However, the bath house was built at a higher cost than first anticipated. (The ice house was owned by Henry Patrick and was located just about where the bath house is now. The much larger Hopedale Coal and Ice Company ice house on the opposite shore was torn down in the 1940s.)
During 1905, a system of pathways was made on the eastern side of the pond from the bath house to the “second bridge,” so called, with a branch from Dutcher Street and connecting side path loops. Dry footing was provided for through the swamps and brooks and the whole region was available for hikers. Tree thinning continued and the wood was sold as it came available. Scores of people were now visiting the Parklands and the woods were filled with game birds and squirrels. Several deer had been sighted in 1905. Hundreds of skunks, foxes, muskrats and snakes were destroyed during the same year.
In 1907, the bridge was replanked and the footpath system was extended to provide another entrance at Freedom Street and Salt Box Road. A new pathway to the top of Darling Hill was opened, as was another path through the park property near the Old Cutler Ridge. Several permits were issued for the erection of boat houses on park property. (I think “Old Cutler Ridge” may be a typo. The 1913 Manning map shows “Site of Cutler Bridge” about midway up the pond, but I’ve never seen a reference to “Cutler Bridge” anywhere else. As to Cutler Bridge, I presume that would have been the “First Bridge.”)
A shelter and seats were built on Park property at the summit of Darling Hill in 1908. More than three miles of foot paths connect the bath house, the Park Shelter, Rawson’s Bridge and the street railway station. A good spring was located at the foot of a slope in the pine grove on the eastern side of the pond, and two more were found on the western side.
A large number of bird houses was provided and put up during 1911. In 1912, a large section of Darling Hill became accessible after trees had been thinned, underbrush cut, and new roads and footpaths put in. There were now six miles of roads and paths in the Parklands. The territory around the upper end of the pond and along the side of Darling Hill were being used more as people began to appreciate its beauties. New paths connecting “Rawson’s Bridge” with “Maroney’s Grove” and the big boulder in the “Texas” district with the “White Oak Spring” path were opened in 1914. Some of the older trails were widened, old culverts and water courses replaced, and some paths resurfaced and a number of seats were placed along the easterly side of the pond in 1915.
During 1916, the building of a 50-foot wide roadway from Freedom Street to the height of land on Darling Hill was started. Also, during this same year, a piece of land west of the “Lookout” was purchased. This gave the Parklands the “high point” of land in Hopedale.
Commissioner C.F. Roper passed away in 1916, and was replaced by F.E. Douglas. By 1917, more than 1800 feet of the road between Freedom Street and the top of Darling Hill had been constructed. Due to a blight, the chestnut trees had to be removed throughout the entire Parklands. Pine, spruce and hemlock seedlings 12 to 18 inches high were set out during 1916 in part of the cut-over portion of Parklands property. By 1920, the white spruce trees were about six feet high.
During 1923, the shelter on Darling Hill was repaired, 1500 Scotch pines were planted, two culverts were built and stone shelters with fireplaces were built on “Fisherman’s Island” and in “Maroney’s Grove.” During 1925, 10,000 red pines were planted.
As the years went by, the automobile cut into the activities of the Parklands. Attendance dropped to a very low number, and today only a few people avail themselves of the park.
A recent examination shows scenic roads are still passable, numerous trails and paths are still accessible and the Rustic Bridge, large fireplace and shelter are still in excellent condition.
Picnic benches have been placed throughout the area. Important trees are recognized and several brooks are seen emptying into Hopedale Pond. Milford Daily News, August 29, 1980. Comments in italics by Dan Malloy
The paragraphs below are from a Wikipedia article on Warren Henry Manning.
Early on in his career, Manning went against the then popular formalistic approach to landscape design and emphasized a more naturalistic approach of native plants and naturalistic groupings. The formal gardens of the late nineteenth century relied heavily on a more symmetrical design and an extensive use of ornament. Manning describes his wild gardening as “that form of floriculture which is concerned with planting in a nature-like manner colonies of hardy plants that require a minimum of care” (Karson, 2001). In his early, unpublished essay “The Nature Garden,” Manning writes:
“I would have you give your thoughts to a new type of gardening wherein the Landscaper recognizes, first, the beauty of existing conditions and develops this beauty to the minutest detail by the elimination of material that is out of place in a development scheme by selective thinning, grubbing, and trimming, instead of by destroying all natural ground cover vegetation or modifying the contour, character, and water context of existing soil.”
This idea of selective thinning and pruning was at the core of Manning’s landscape theory. He celebrated the smallest details in the landscape, emphasizing lichens and fungi in his design, which was contrary to his counterparts and unusual for this time in landscape design.
Slideshow of Pond and Parklands pictures, old and new, on YouTube
The timeline mentions a new bath house and a new stone bridge in 1930. Both are pictured in the town report for that year. The bridge is the Rustic Bridge. The 1928 report shows that $1300 was budgeted for it.
What was meant by a “new bath house is a bit of a mystery. There are plenty of pictures of it in earlier years and it looks pretty much the same as the 1930 and later pictures. Also it cost $1048.09 to build in 1904. The 1929 report lists $348.46 for “preliminary work on new bath house.” The 1930 report shows $562.66 was spent for “Bath House, labor and upkeep.” The report narrative doesn’t say a thing about the building of a new bath house. The one difference that I can see in comparing pictures is that the distance from the doors to the ends is greater in the 1930 picture than it is in the earlier ones. It appears that a few feet was added to each end.
The pictures of the bath house and the Rustic Bridge below are from the 1930 Town Report. The Park Commissioners’ report says, “The illustrations in this report are of the New Bath House and the New Bridge near ‘Maroney’s Grove.'”
