A Landscape Changed: Evolution of Land Use in the Middlesex Fells Reservation

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The first mention of the Middlesex Fells region was in 1629 by the Sprague Brothers. Their careful notes on natural resources lead other colonists to this area including the famous Puritan leader John Winthrop. For the next three centuries, this rocky woodland region was part of the evolving New England landscapes. Generations worked farms in fields, pastures and woodlots. Businesses were established and industry took foothold in various forms. In the blink of an eye, this entire of way of life ceased for a higher cause.  The Middlesex Fells was created for the general public to enjoy forever. Come for an evening to revisit the thriving enterprises, and the entrepreneurs, that changed this place, their towns, the Commonwealth and beyond.

The Middlesex Fells in the early twentieth century. Ravine Road near Washington Street in Malden.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Stoneham Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.