Borderland State Park is an American history and nature preserve with public recreational features located in the

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Easton and

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

encompasses surrounding the Ames Mansion, which was built in 1910. The area was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as Borderland Historic District in 1997. It is operated by the

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission is ...

, with an appointed advisory council that participates in policy decision-making.

History

In 1906,

Oakes Ames Oakes Ames (January 10, 1804 – May 8, 1873) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being ...

, a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

(son of Massachusetts governor Oliver Ames and grandson of U.S. Representative

), and his wife

Blanche Ames Ames Blanche Ames Ames (February 18, 1878 – March 2, 1969) was an American artist, political activist, inventor, writer, and prominent supporter of women's suffrage and birth control. Personal life Born Blanche Ames in Lowell, Massachusetts, Am ...

(daughter of Mississippi governor

Adelbert Ames Adelbert Ames (October 31, 1835 – April 13, 1933) was an American sailor, soldier, and politician who served with distinction as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. A Radical Republican, he was military governor, U.S. Senato ...

, but not related to Oakes Ames), an artist and feminist, purchased land on the border of Sharon and Easton. There they built a mansion that includes Blanche Ames' studio, which still stands and created a nature preserve with woodland paths and roadways and man-made ponds. The family's home, a three-story, 20-room stone mansion constructed in 1910, was built largely at the direction of Blanche Ames. Her paintings still hang on the walls and much of the original furnishings are still intact. After it remained in the family for 65 years, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired the Borderland estate in 1971, two years after the death of Blanche Ames, and opened it as a state park.

Activities and amenities

The park has more than of wooded trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Trails include a portion of the

Bay Circuit Trail The Bay Circuit Trail and Greenway or Bay Circuit is a Massachusetts rail trail and greenway connecting the outlying suburbs of Boston from Plum Island in Newburyport to Kingston Bay in Duxbury, a distance of . Landmarks include Henry David ...

and the Quarry Loop to Moyles Quarry which supplied the facing stone for the

Canton Viaduct Canton Viaduct is a blind arcade cavity wall railroad viaduct in Canton, Massachusetts, built in 1834–35 for the Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P). At its completion, it was the longest () and tallest () railroad viaduct in the world; toda ...

in 1835. The park features mansion tours, a visitors center, pond fishing and canoeing, ice skating, sledding, and

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

. Mansion tours are typically held on Sundays during the months of April through May. The mansion is typically not open to the public other than during these tours, and for special events. Borderland is the home course for

Oliver Ames High School Oliver Ames High School is a public high school in Easton, Massachusetts, United States. The school currently enrolls approximately 1200 students in grades 9 through 12 and is named after Oliver Ames, who was the 35th governor of Massachusetts. ...

cross country team. Until 2014, it was the site of the Hockomock League Cross Country championship race. It is also utilized by the

Old Colony League The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is an organization that sponsors activities in thirty-three sports, comprising 374 public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The MIAA is a member of the Na ...

for its annual cross country meet and various invitational meets on the course, and was the site of the World Masters Flying Disc Championships in 1996.

In popular culture

The park has been used in a commercial, a documentary, and the film ''Mermaids''. Scenes from the

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

movie ''Shutter Island'' were shot at the stone lodge next to Leach Pond in 2008. Ames Mansion interiors were used as a filming location for ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...

'' in 2015. A fictionalized version of the park is featured in the novel ''Disappearance at Devil's Rock'' by Paul Tremblay. Interiors, particularly the library, were featured in the 2019

Rian Johnson Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film ''Brick'' (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget. Transition ...

film ''Knives Out'' as the home of mystery writer and murder victim Harlan Thrombey.

Production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

David Crank stated, “The general rule was that both the inside and outside of the house needed to look like the sort of house that Harlan would describe in one of his mysteries. The moment we walked into the mansion we knew right away that it had the personality we needed.”

Parking

Borderland charges a $5 day use fee ($20 for out of state visitors) which can be purchased in the main lot. Season passes can also be purchased. Note that the machines no longer take cash as a form of payment. The primary parking lot is located near 259 Massapoag Ave, in North Easton, MA. Alternate parking can be found by the intersection of Mansfield St. and Massapoag Ave in Sharon, MA, as well as at various locations on Mountain Street in North Easton, MA.

Gallery

File:Borderland P1120149.jpg File:Borderland P1120153.jpg File:Borderland P1120155.jpg File:Borderland P1120158.jpg

References

External links