Neha Patil (Editor)

Borderland State Park

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NRHP Reference #
  
97000497

Year built
  
1910

Phone
  
+1 508-238-6566

Added to NRHP
  
16 June 1997

Borderland State Park

Nearest city
  
Easton and Sharon, Massachusetts

Architect
  
Ames, Blanche Ames; Ames, Oakes

Architectural style
  
Late Gothic Revival, Georgian, Colonial Revival

Address
  
259 Massapoag Ave, North Easton, MA 02356, USA

Hours
  
Closed now Monday8AM–4PMTuesday8AM–4PMWednesday8AM–4PMThursday8AM–4PMFriday8AM–4PMSaturday8AM–4PMSunday8AM–4PM

Similar
  
Ames Nowell State Park, F Gilbert Hills State Forest, Massasoit State Park, Ashland State Park, Hopkinton State Park

Borderland is a Massachusetts state park located in the towns of Easton and Sharon. The 1,782-acre (721 ha) park is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. An appointed Advisory Council participates in policy decision-making. The area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Borderland Historic District in 1997.

Contents

HistoryEdit

In 1906, Oakes Ames, a Harvard botanist (son of Massachusetts governor Oliver Ames and grandson of U.S. Representative Oakes Ames), and his wife Blanche Ames Ames (daughter of Mississippi governor Adelbert Ames, but not related to Oakes Ames), an artist and feminist, purchased land on the border of Sharon and Easton. There they built a mansion which still stands and created a nature preserve with woodland paths and roadways and man-made ponds.

After remaining in the family for sixty-five years, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired the Borderland estate in 1971, two years after the death of Blanche Ames, and opened it as a state park.

Activities and amenitiesEdit

  • Mansion: The family’s home, a three-story, 20-room stone mansion constructed in 1910, was built largely at the direction of Blanche Ames. Her paintings still hang on the walls and much of the original furnishings are still intact. Tours are offered on the third Sunday of the month from April to November between 1 pm and 3 pm ($3 per person as of 2013).
  • Visitors Center: The main entrance and visitor center are located in Easton. Trail maps and information are available.
  • Trails: The park has more than 20 miles (32 km) of wooded trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Trails include a portion of the Bay Circuit Trail and the Quarry Loop to Moyles Quarry (a.k.a. Canton Viaduct Quarry) which supplied the facing stone for the Canton Viaduct in 1835.
  • Photography: The mansion and other structures, ponds, woods and wildlife offer many opportunities for photographers.
  • The park also offers fishing and canoeing in the ponds, winter ice skating and sledding, and a disc golf course.

    • Park hours are 8am to posted closing time.

    In recent years, Borderland has served as the home for Oliver Ames High School cross country running, representing the school's home course. It is also utilized by the Old Colony League for its annual cross country meet. The park also hosts the Hockomock League Championship meet and various invitational meets on the 3.1-mile-loop (5.0 km) course. In 1996, the World Masters Flying Disc Championships were held at Borderland.

    Scenes from the Martin Scorsese movie Shutter Island were shot at the stone lodge next to Leach Pond in 2008. The park has also seen filming for a commercial, a documentary, and the film Mermaids.

    In 2016, the Ames Mansion interiors were used as a filming location for Ghostbusters

    References

    Borderland State Park Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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