Borderland State Park
Yesterday, — on Sunday, June 2 — I went on an adventure to southeastern Massachusetts and visited a few historical places. The first stop was Borderland State Park in Easton and Sharon, MA, which included a stone mansion once owned by the Ames family and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, walking trails, and Smith Farm.
A free, half-hour tour took place at 10:00 a.m on the first floor of the Ames mansion. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside the house. The couple who built the house were Oakes Ames and Blanche Ames Ames; yes, her maiden name and her married name were the same, although the two Ames families were not related. Both were born into wealth. The great-grandfather of Oakes Ames, called “Old” Oliver Ames, had invented the bend in the shovel back in the early 19th century. His mansion is now the grounds of nearby Stonehill College. His two sons, Oliver Jr. and Oakes, ran the family shovel business, which prospered during the California gold rush. This Oakes was also a politician who got in trouble for insider trading. Oakes’ son Oliver served as governor of Massachusetts, and Oliver Ames High School is named in his honor. Finally, the Oliver who built the house was a Harvard professor and orchid expert. He travelled widely discovering new flowers and received an award from the American Orchid Society in 1924.
Blanche came from an an illustrious military family, which veterans from the War of 1812, American Civil War, and Spanish-American War, along with graduates from West Point. Blanche was a talented illustrator and painted many portraits of friends and family, along cataloguing the orchids collected by her husband. In fact, she designed the medal that he received from the American Orchid Society. Additionally, Blanche supported women’s suffrage and illustrated political cartoons for the cause. She and her mother hosted suffrage events at Borderland, while Oakes marched with them in parades. Borderland had a bell originally taken from a plantation in Cuba, which the couple rang every day until the 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920.
Construction of the English style country home had lasted from 1910 to 1912. They had been living in a farmhouse, but after having four children — Pauline, Oliver, Amyas, and Evelyn — they decided they need a larger place. Blache was particular about the design, creating much of the blueprints herself. The building had cement floors for fireproofing. Distinctive features included a chandelier modeled after the Santa Maria, the ship sailed by Christopher Columbus; a music room with a grand piano and many portraits painted by Blanche, and a two-story library with about six thousand seemingly uncatalogued books, a massive rug from India, and stained glass windows. More familiar features included a tiled bathroom, a kitchen with stoves from two different eras and a 1950s refrigerator, and a pantry with shelves of dishes. Apparently, a $10 tour of all three floors of the mansion is offered by Friends of Borderland, the non-profit organization affiliated with the property, on select dates for the warmer half of the year, but this was not mentioned on the DCR website. Most members of the group would have preferred a longer, more in-depth tour.
Besides the brief tour, the park has signage for the gardens outside the mansion. The rock garden served as a restful place for Oakes, while Blanche had a swimming pool, now in ruins. Both played tennis on their home court and enjoyed beating their grandchildren at mixed doubles. Down the hill is the former trout pond where Amyas tried to start his own business by raising trout but had little success. Also near the mansion is a rose garden and a pollinator garden.
The extensive trails in the park allow visitors to enjoy nature and a very different aspect of local history: the story of Smith Farm. Asahel Smith began life as a shoemaker but found a different calling in 1850. Affixing Dr. to the front of his name, as medical schools and medical boards were not well-established at the time, he began practicing as a “clairvoyant physician” and used plants to heal his patients. He reminded me of a small scale Lydia E. Pinkham — with her own exhibit at LynnArts | Lynn Museum & Historical Society; her medical office still used as a clinic in Salem, MA; and her own episode on the podcast Cautionary Tales — whose mass market vegetable compote promoted healing by dubious means, although Pinkham herself appeared to have the best intentions. Smith constructed his farmhouse in 1880 as a spot for him and his patients to relax. Today, the building is being restored in hopes of hosting programs focused on health and wellness.
Borderland State Park was a fun, relaxing, and educational way to spend a sunny Sunday morning. The park is open every day of the week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. While the parking lot was nearly full, the over 1,800 acres of land prevent the park from seeming crowded. Parking is $5 for Massachusetts residents, $20 for out-of-state residents. Borderland also offers disc golf, fishing, mountain biking trails, horseback riding trails, and little docks for canoeing and kayaking. Accessible bathrooms are available at the visitor center.
Abby Epplett’s Rating System
Experience: 7/10
Accessibility: 7/10