By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
10/15/09
The Town Farm, a property that has fueled months of debate involving potential housing versus historic uses, was recently named as one of the state’s most endangered historic resources.
It was so designated by Preservation Massachusetts, a nonprofit entity, which each year chooses endangered sites based on criteria submitted by an application process. Some of the criteria considered include the property’s historic significance, the physical state of the property and the community’s approach to maintaining it. This year, 14 sites were reviewed and eight were selected for inclusion on the list, including the 34-acre Milton farm, once the land belonging to a 17th century Massachusetts governor.
According to Jim Igoe, president of Preservation Massachusetts, “This site is truly an extraordinary and interesting part of the history of Milton.”
Erin Kelly, assistant director of the organization, said she was struck by the farm and by the community’s dedication to maintaining it.
“This site really struck us. There aren’t too many poor farms left throughout Massachusetts,” she said.
Once a wood lot belonging to William Stoughton, who served as Massachusetts Bay Colony governor from 1694 to 1699, the Town Farm contains structures that date back to the 1800s. One of the buildings houses the town’s animal shelter. Another once served to quarantine 19th century smallpox victims.
Left more or less untouched for six decades, the buildings now sit largely in disrepair.
In his 1701 will, Stoughton decreed that his property be used to aid the poor of Milton, under the trust of the Selectmen. The town is studying how the land can best be used under the parameters of Stoughton’s will.
Frank Mulligan, a Gov. Stoughton Lane resident and member of Milton Friends of Town Farm, the group that submitted the application for the listing, said getting the “endangered” designation is a “step in the right direction.”
“[It is a] great opportunity to save an incredible piece of Milton history, which does not mean it can’t be developed. We need town-wide support to preserve the farm from any type of development, other than the restoration of the existing structures and preservation of the 34 acres to benefit the poor of Milton, forever,” he wrote in an e-mail to the Times.
Joe Grogan, a Countryside Lane resident and member of the Friends group, called it “a great achievement for the site.
“This really highlights what the farm is all about,” he said, adding that he believes the farm property
could provide a few affordable housing units in the existing structures and also provide agricultural benefits to the poor.
“It could be a lot of things. The bottom line is we don’t want to see this [property] sold off to a greedy developer,” he said.
The site is currently zoned for one-acre residential lots.
The town and state historical commissions want to see the Town Farm to be included on the National Register of Historic Places. The Friends of Town Farm has applied for that listing.
“The historical designation would make this property eligible for grants to help renovate and repair the existing structures back to income-producing property,” said Mulligan.
John Gillooly, another Friends member who lives on Canton Avenue, said he is “still concerned” the Town Farm open space may not be preserved, even if the physical structures are.
“If you say these structures are historically significant but you ignore the integrity of what the land was left for … that’s a problem,” he said.
Milton Friends of Town Farm formed in response to the Gov. Stoughton land study committee appointed by Selectmen last year, partly due to the open-space concern.
Neighbors have expressed fear the committee will recommend high-density housing for the site, something committee members have denied.
Selectman Kathy Fagan said she sees the committee more as an “information-gathering” entity than
anything.
“Trustees haven’t yet been given the report of the Gov. Stoughton [committee] and could choose to follow a specific recommendation, decide to change or merge recommendations, or could ultimately
choose not to accept any of the recommendations, as these are recommendations only,” she told the Times via e-mail, adding that “This [Preservation Massachusetts designation] suggests that decisions have been made or are close to being made relative to this land. This is not the case.”
The Final Report
The Gov. Stoughton committee has finalized a first draft of its report, which is currently being reviewed by the Selectmen.
Committee members said numbers have been discussed but that the report to Selectmen is not “one specific development plan.”
Meanwhile, residents at the meeting last week questioned whether it was the Gov. Stoughton committee’s role to be proposing financial scenarios.
Committee Chairman Mark Boyle said the committee sought town legal counsel before beginning executive session discussions.
Moreover, Hall said the committee does not plan to recommend anything neighbors “are going to hate.” He also said the report will include recommendations for future impact studies, which the committee doesn’t “have the money” to do itself.
The report will be made public in draft form shortly after the Selectmen complete their review. A public hearing is planned for November.
“This site really struck us. There aren’t too many poor farms left throughout Massachusetts,” she said.
Once a wood lot belonging to William Stoughton, who served as Massachusetts Bay Colony governor from 1694 to 1699, the Town Farm contains structures that date back to the 1800s. One of the buildings houses the town’s animal shelter. Another once served to quarantine 19th century smallpox victims.
Left more or less untouched for six decades, the buildings now sit largely in disrepair.
In his 1701 will, Stoughton decreed that his property be used to aid the poor of Milton, under the trust of the Selectmen. The town is studying how the land can best be used under the parameters of Stoughton’s will.
Frank Mulligan, a Gov. Stoughton Lane resident and member of Milton Friends of Town Farm, the group that submitted the application for the listing, said getting the “endangered” designation is a “step in the right direction.”
“[It is a] great opportunity to save an incredible piece of Milton history, which does not mean it can’t be developed. We need town-wide support to preserve the farm from any type of development, other than the restoration of the existing structures and preservation of the 34 acres to benefit the poor of Milton, forever,” he wrote in an e-mail to the Times.
Joe Grogan, a Countryside Lane resident and member of the Friends group, called it “a great achievement for the site.
“This really highlights what the farm is all about,” he said, adding that he believes the farm property could provide a few affordable housing units in the existing structures and also provide agricultural benefits to the poor.
“It could be a lot of things. The bottom line is we don’t want to see this [property] sold off to a greedy developer,” he said.
The site is currently zoned for one-acre residential lots.
The town and state historical commissions want to see the Town Farm to be included on the National Register of Historic Places. The Friends of Town Farm has applied for that listing.
“The historical designation would make this property eligible for grants to help renovate and repair the existing structures back to income-producing property,” said Mulligan.
John Gillooly, another Friends member who lives on Canton Avenue, said he is “still concerned” the Town Farm open space may not be preserved, even if the physical structures are.
“If you say these structures are historically significant but you ignore the integrity of what the land was left for … that’s a problem,” he said.
Milton Friends of Town Farm formed in response to the Gov. Stoughton land study committee appointed by Selectmen last year, partly due to the open-space concern.
Neighbors have expressed fear the committee will recommend high-density housing for the site, something committee members have denied.
Selectman Kathy Fagan said she sees the committee more as an “information-gathering” entity than anything.
“Trustees haven’t yet been given the report of the Gov. Stoughton [committee] and could choose to follow a specific recommendation, decide to change or merge recommendations, or could ultimately choose not to accept any of the recommendations, as these are recommendations only,” she told the Times via e-mail, adding that “This [Preservation Massachusetts designation] suggests that decisions have been made or are close to being made relative to this land. This is not the case.”
The Final Report
The Gov. Stoughton committee has finalized a first draft of its report, which is currently being reviewed by the Selectmen.
Committee members said numbers have been discussed but that the report to Selectmen is not “one specific development plan.”
Meanwhile, residents at the meeting last week questioned whether it was the Gov. Stoughton committee’s role to be proposing financial scenarios.
Committee Chairman Mark Boyle said the committee sought town legal counsel before beginning executive session discussions.
Moreover, Hall said the committee does not plan to recommend anything neighbors “are going to hate.” He also said the report will include recommendations for future impact studies, which the committee doesn’t “have the money” to do itself.
The report will be made public in draft form shortly after the Selectmen complete their review. A public hearing is planned for November.