Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Life on the “old Homestead”

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Well one of the comments from the “Borderland” post asked for more of the history of the area. So I have begun to do a little research. I will share what I’ve learned so far. I concentrated on the Ames Family History although eventually I’d like to look into the Native American History of the site if it’s available. Most of this information can be found in the brochures provided by the park if you ever visit. The brochures have some vintage photos that are pretty interesting too.

The land was first developed for farming and industry in the early 1700’s. One of the first locations to be developed was just over the line in Sharon where a dam and sawmill were situated on a brook that is a pond today. That same brook powered  a nail factory and two mills that made cotton twine and batting.

Further along the brook bog-iron ore was mined from the exposed swamp. In 1825 General Shepherd Leach built a pond (the one we saw on our visit)  to ensure a steady water supply for his iron works. According to the brochure that iron works is still in operation today. That’s something I need to look into  further.

Throughout the 19th century the main activity at Borderland was farming. Stone walls divided cleared fields, homesteads were established and then in 1810 a 2nd house was built. All that remains of that home is the foundation But stone walls can be seen winding through the new growth forests and fields.

Oaks and Blanche Ames started acquiring the land in the area around 1900. The small farms in the area were no longer prospering allowing the Ameses to purchase the properties and consolidate them. The Ameses continued to farm part of the estate but created a wildlife preserve with the rest. In order to create a better environment they built dams to turn swamps into ponds that could be used for wildlife and recreation.

The Ameses weren’t just wealthy landowners who sat back and watched their employees do all the work. Both Oakes and Blanche took an active role in the clearing of fields , cutting wood for the fires, gardening and raising turkeys. From the beginning they partnered with foresters to develop the land as a sanctuary and preserve, a policy the state continues today.

Politics was another past time as seems to be the habit of wealthy families in Massachusetts. If in doubt just look at the Kennedy clan, one of Massachusetts most well-known political families.

I’m sure I have much more to uncover about this family and this area of Sharon/ Easton. As  more of the history comes to light I will pass it on to you.

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In the Borderland

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Borderland. The name brings to mind many of the period romance novels I’ve read over the years. The militant hoards descend from the “borderlands” or the retreating army makes a run for the “borderlands”. Of course in today’s news are the “borderlands” along the Mexican border which cause so much concern over illegal immigration. So it was with some curiosity that I headed off to visit Borderland State Park with a friend of mine.

Nancy had run across this hidden gem of a State Park one day while she was looking for a place to amuse her children while repairmen worked in her house. She figured it would be easier for everyone with the children occupied elsewhere. What she found was a lovely park with trails, fields, brooks and ponds…and a mansion. It was a hit with the kids that day and now she was going to introduce me to it as well.

Borderland State Park is located , where else, on the border of the towns of Sharon and Easton. Oakes Ames, a Harvard botanist and his wife Blanche, an artist named their estate “Borderland”. The property remained in their  family for 65 years before passing into the possession of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1971.

The Park is approximately 1,772 acres. When you arrive there is an automated parking kiosk. The cost to park is a mere $2.00 and the parking lot is nicely maintained. The park is open until 7:30pm. Perfect timing for nice sunset pictures.

The State has kept the grounds much as they were when the Ameses resided here. The family home, a “modest” 3 story, 20 room stone mansion has been retained with the same furnishing; many of Blanche’s paintings adorn the walls. The mansion is impressive when you first view it across a large open area from the parking lot. On our visit the building was not open but we followed the paths around to the side and found a nice little fountain, a grape arbor and flowers.The mansion is open for tours from April to November  on a limited basis. The best bet so you are not disappointed is to call the park for tour schedules and hours.

But back at the Visitor Center we found maps and literature as well as many local events on the schedule. It is clear that this little park is very active in the communities it borders.

A great deal of the beauty of “Borderlands” is actually due to human intervention. It may all look natural but if it were not maintained it would soon really revert to its natural state. The fields would become forests and the ponds would slowly fill becoming marshes and swamps.

Digging into a bit more of the history I learned that the earliest inhabitants were Native Americans. The land was actually a territorial boundary between the Massachusetts and Wampanoag tribes. It would appear that there is a long tradition of this area acting as a “border”.

We did not have the time on this first visit to explore all of the trails that meander through the park so we started with the Leach Pond trail. This is a short , easy trail that opens onto a beautiful pond.

There is a “babbling” brook that runs out of the pond and under a picturesque wooden bridge. Even this early in the spring there were others enjoying the beautiful day. We spotted a black dog that was obviously enjoying a swim in the pond. Working our way over the owner very graciously allowed me to take pictures of her dog as she enjoyed the water.

Nearby was a rustic cabin of some kind. The was a fireplace inside and stumps were gathered around obviously being used for seats. The smell of wood smoke attested to recent or current use of this building. As abandoned as it might appear, it was clear by the freshness of the lingering scent of smoke that this was not truly abandoned. Although we didn’t know at the time, the map seems to have the building identified as the “farm-house”.

As we strolled the trail we spotted robins and  nuthatches. All together there are 6 ponds within the park and a rich mix of habitats. I’m told that the area supports rabbits, squirrels, geese, an occasional otter, and deer. Sometimes a great blue heron stops by.

All too soon we had to wrap up our visit and return to the “real world” of errands and housework, laundry and shopping. With such a lovely park so close to home I am sure I will be returning often.

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Day Trip to Deerfield

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It’s not every week that I get a Friday off so I wanted to take advantage of having a day that was almost the weekend. As I was going through my notes of “Places to go and things to do” I ran across some discount coupons for Magic Wings in Deerfield Ma. Magic Wings is a Butterfly Conservatory. I’ve been to similar ones before. There’s Butterfly World in Florida, and The Butterfly Place in Westford, Ma. but Magic Wings was a new one.

I met the folks from Magic Wings at the AAA Travel Show. I was impressed by their enthusiasm and was anxious to see how this compared with the places I’d been before.

Magic Wings sounded really nice in the publicity material. It said it features an 8,000 square ft tropical conservatory which is home to nearly 4,000 exotic and domestic butterflies. There is even a restaurant called the “Monarch”.

The only draw back was that it is quite a hike from Taunton to Deerfield. Mapquest puts the distance at just under 130 miles and 2.5 hours. I was planning to spend some time with my friend Nancy and her 2 children but I was concerned that the drive would be too much for the kids who are only 5 & 7 but Nancy said no, they would be fine. So with that assurance I filled the tank with gas ($3.77/ gal.) loaded up the camera and headed off to pick them up for the road trip.

We got on the road a few minutes after 10 AM. The kids did great for such a long drive. As we got farther out toward western Ma. we got into much more rural areas. The kids had a great time looking for cows and goats and horses. Horses were a big hit. They also liked watching for hawks soaring over the highway. If they started to get too restless we sang songs like 3 Blind Mice and Old MacDonald had a farm. We made one stop quick stop for bathroom breaks and leg stretches and then it was back on the Mass Pike. I actually think the kids handled the ride better than us grown ups. By the time we got to Magic Wings we adults were fading fast and wanted lunch. The kids wanted to get right to the butterflies.:)

This was one time when the adults won. The Monarch Restaurant is pretty small and it was almoxt full when we got there. We were seated quickly but I heard the hostess telling other people that there was a 45 minute wait. The service was pretty good as far as taking our food orders and bringing the soft drinks but then it broke down. We didn’t order anything elaborate yet we waited over 45 minutes for our food to be served. The restaurant that was packed when we were seated was empty by the time we got our food.

While we waited Nancy took the kids to the restrooms and came back to report that there was a cafeteria style restaurant where we could have picked up trays and selected our food from warming stations. We might have gotten served faster there but we had already given our orders.

On the plus side the food was good and it was hot when it came. The kids both ate well as did Nancy and I. Nancy and I both had the scallop roll plate. Alex (7 years old) had a grilled cheese and cup of clam chowder. Dawn (5 years old) had a hamburger and a cup of chicken noodle soup. The soups definitely looked homemade! We rounded the meal out with a platter of onion rings. The french fries were a little soggy but the kids didn’t seem to care and made short work of them. Wow this post is starting to sound like a restaurant review:)

By now it was after 2pm and we still hadn’t been able to get started on the Main Event. We took the kids to the restroom one more time before heading into the exhibit. If we never went any further the atrium then the trip was still worth it. Beautifully decorated with banners and butterfly themed articles, even the stone fireplace had a huge butterfly decoration, it was bright and comfortable with tables and even a butterfly bench.

There was a table with information on having weddings in the conservatory and a gift shop. Can you imagine getting married with butterflys all around! What better way to start a marriage.

Off the atrium was a large coat room. The attendant selling the tickets said it was really warm inside and the best bet was to leave our coats. She assured me it would be perfectly safe so that was what we did.

After taking the kid’s pictures on the butterfly bench and getting our hands stamped it was time to enter the inner sanctum.

More on that in my next post!

Roadside Oddities~Raynham Milk Bottle

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Wednesday would have been a rather routine day except that I got together with a friend that I haven’t seen in a long time. It seems like time just flys by and before you know it, a month has passed, then two and then another and before you know it a year and so on. It doesn’t mean that you like the person less or that you don’t want to spend time with them. You still value that friendship, it’s just that time gets away from you.

I’m lucky because most of the people I consider friends have the same hectic lifestyle as me. In a way it makes the times we  do get to gether to “catch up” all that more precious.

I am on Facebook almost everyday. Part of the reason is to see how my many far-flung friends and relatives are doing. I love to see their comments and stories posted there, a quick snapshot of their lives to help me stay  up to date. Face Book reminds me of birthdays..I’m terrible remembering birthdays…and other special events.

But I’m getting off track. I wanted to say what a nice time I had with my friend Colleen today. Colleen is one of my friends that I don’t see often because we’re both so busy, Colleen with her business and me with life demands in general.  We met for breakfast at the Milk Bottle in Raynham. I’d seen it often enough and even stopped by once or twice but it was always closed. Turns out its only open for breakfast and lunch.

I was interested in it because there is a similar Milk Bottle in Boston at the Children’s Museum. That’s always  been closed when I was there too. I guess I don’t have much luck in that department. Colleen said that was precisely what caught her attention too, it’s similarity to the Milk Bottle in Boston.

Anyway we met there for a “catch up ” breakfast. A lot has happened to both of us since we’d seen each other. We had a nice booth and no one rushed us. We could linger and chat until we had to leave for other appointments. The food was good and quite reasonable. But take note…It is a CASH ONLY business. No debit or credit cards.

There’s a wonderful little court-yard with tables outside. It was cold and raw today but in the summer I can see this as a great place for lunch or a dish of ice cream.

I was curious about the milk bottle architecture so when I got home I did an internet search. I thought I would find something like ” first developed in the 50’s” or something like that but no such luck. I found a lot of pictures of milk bottle buildings but no information on how or when they came into vogue. The various Milk Bottle Buildings I found were almost all  snack or ice cream shops.  Just about all of them had gone through a period of abandonment and been close to demolition before someone purchased them and restored them.

The Boston Milk Bottle at the Children’s Museum was actually brought to its current location by ferry from its original location near the 3 Mile River in Taunton, Ma. That Milk Bottle was acquired by the H.P. Hood Co. who then renovated it and donated it to the Boston Museum. It was shipped in an operation known as the “Great Bottle Sail”.

As a well-known TV character from the 60’s would say “fascinating.”

Turkeys!

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Ah the wildlife you can see on Massachusetts highways! I had left Patriot’s Place  fully intending to head right home. No more stops and between the fresh air, the walk and the early morning wake-up call, I needed a nap. But nature had another surprise for me.

It’s almost as if Mother Nature said “Ok you missed the geese, see what you can do with this!”

I was almost at the turn off for RT 140 when right there on the side of the road was a Tom Turkey and a pair of hens. Now I’ve seen plenty of wild turkeys. We have our own flock at work. They come visit every spring and fall but I still get a thrill seeing any animal in the wild.

I pulled into a little strip mall and grabbed the camera. There was a sidewalk so I just casually started walking along the sidewalk. One of the hens took off and actually flew across the road. I knew turkeys could fly but I don’t think I’ve ever  seen one do it. They are so clumsy. The other hen went the other way into the brush. The Tom didn’t know which way to go so he fluffed up his feathers and displayed for me then he walked into the road! It looked like a suicide mission for sure!

 

My heart was in my throat. I didn’t even think to take any pictures while he made his dangerous trek. I just watched and prayed he’s get across. He was lucky. Everyone stopped for him and he made it safely to the other side. He never hurried.

I was about to turn around and go back to the car when Mr. Tom decided to come back across to my side. I was sure he was going to be road-kill because a big delivery truck was barreling down the road right at him. That silly turkey, instead of hurrying, stopped right in the middle of that lane and fluffed out his feathers again in  display for the truck! He just stood there staring down that vehicle! That’s one Macho turkey. 🙂  Thankfully the driver was able to stop and Mr. Turkey continued to strut his stuff back to my side of the road.

Back where he started he looked around, then headed off after the hen that had slipped away into the brush. They are really ugly-looking birds except for their  feathers.  His head gleamed a bright blue, his body feathers were shades of green, brown and blue in the spring sunlight. I never noticed that coloring on the wild turkeys we see where I work. I watched him for a little while and then headed home. This time for sure:)