Mary Cummings Park is a public

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

in Woburn and

Burlington, Massachusetts Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 26,377 at the 2020 census. History It is believed that Burlington takes its name from the English town of Bridlington, Yorkshire, but this has never b ...

located at Babylon and Whispering Hills. The former farm and estate became a park managed by the City of Boston's Park Department in 1930. Mary Cummings left the land to the City under the condition that it be kept "forever open as a public pleasure ground". Since then it has been used for day camps including "Camp Joy", "Kamp for Kidz" and "Camp Wilderness" and as a public garden for school children called "Woburn Gardens". There are also several miles of trails which are open to the public. A radio controlled model airplane club operates their aircraft on one of the open fields which they maintain. An Excerpt from the will of Mary Cummings:

Fourth, To the City of Boston, Massachusetts, I give and devise all the land together with the buildings thereon, in the City of Woburn and Town of Burlington, Massachusetts which was conveyed to me by Charles Fairchilds( by deed dated February 26, 1890, and recorded with Middlesex South District Deeds, Book 1967, Page 131, excepting so much thereof as shall have been conveyed by me in my lifetime or is herein otherwise specifically devised (the same being known as Babylon Hill), but in trust nevertheless for the following purposes and uses: To hold and keep the same forever open as a public pleasure ground, and to maintain and care for the same in a suitable manner in accordance with that purpose.

At , Mary Cummings Park is approximately the 12th largest public park in

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...

inside the I-95/Route 128

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

. Approximately were seized by

eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

by the Federal Government during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

for use as a

nike missile The United States Army's Nike Ajax was the world's first operational guided surface-to-air missile (SAM), entering service in 1954. Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft flying at high subsonic speeds and altitudes above ...

site, which was subsequently bought by

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

for their Burlington Campus. The park is now managed by the Trustees of Reservation.

Past Controversy

A substantial "Care and Maintenance" trust fund was left to the City of Boston along with the land. In a complaint to the Attorney General in 2008 it was alleged that in recent years funds were diverted from that purpose and used to pay for lawyers and real estate agents to prepare the land for sale. It was also alleged that approximately $15 million of the trust fund is unaccounted for.

External links

The Trustees of ReservationsFriends of Mary Cummings ParkCity of BostonWREN
Woburn Residents Environmental Network)
Burlington RC Flyers
a radio controlled model aircraft flying club
Map View

References

{{Woburn, Massachusetts Woburn, Massachusetts Burlington, Massachusetts Parks in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1930 1930 establishments in Massachusetts