National Register of Historic Places

Brookwood Farm

Milton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Listed
September 24, 1980
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
80000655

About this property

Brookwood Farm is a historic farm on Blue Hill River Road in Canton, Massachusetts. Some of its fields, but none of the buildings, are in Milton. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Its oldest building, the Old Barn was built in 1690. The Cape Cod style house located on the street was built in 1800. The larger house, set about 1,500 feet (500m) back from the street, converted from a hunting lodge in 1954, has been considered for a Governor's Mansion. There are also several outbuildings. All of the buildings, except the Old Barn, are suffering from a lack of funding for their upkeep. The farm comprises about 70 acres (30ha), about half in woods and the balance in fields. There are three ponds. It is bounded on the south by Route 128 / I-93, on the east by residences, on the west by property owned by Meditech and on the north by Blue Hill River Road (which is called Hillside Street in Milton). Across Blue Hill River Road is Great Blue Hill. Its historical owner was General Samuel Parker, best known for his role in suppressing the 1919 Boston Police strike. The farm's most recent private owner was Henry Saltonstall Howe, an insurance executive, who bought it in 1951, built the house, and lived there as a bachelor gentleman farmer until his death in 1994. He had donated the property to the state with a life estate in 1976, so on his death it passed to the management of the Metropolitan District Commission which later became the Department of Conservation and Recreation. In 2006, the DCR granted a permit to Brookwood Community Farm, Inc., a non-profit, to organically farm 1-acre (4,000 m2) for food and flowers. That has continued through 2010. The farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 25, 1980. The barn was added separately at the same time. National Register of Historic Places listings in Milton, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places listings in Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Location

Milton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
42.20944, -71.11100

Categories

AGRICULTUREEXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Old Barn
Industrial
0.2 mi
Eliot Memorial Bridge
Industrial
0.2 mi
Great Blue Hill Observation Tower
Industrial
0.2 mi
Great Blue Hill Weather Observatory
Industrial
0.2 mi
Barnard, Parson, House
Industrial
0.4 mi

Nearby Battles

Siege of Boston – Roxbury Lines
1775Revolutionary War
8.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Brookwood Farm listed on the National Register?

Brookwood Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 24, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Brookwood Farm?

Brookwood Farm is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Brookwood Farm?

The period of significance for Brookwood Farm is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Brookwood Farm?

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