Historic landscapes are places that have been created by human interaction with the natural environment that help to define a geographic area and reflect its past. They contain both natural and cultural resources that collectively shape the appearance, function, and uses of a space. Important components of historic landscapes include not only vegetation but also topography, circulation patterns, buildings, structures and other infrastructure, and smaller site furnishings and details. Historic landscapes are places where the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
There are a wealth of different types of historic landscapes through the DCR system - some of the more obvious ones that many quickly think of are the grounds of former estates, such as Maudslay State Park or Borderland State Park.
Others reflect agency history and park specific design, such as the collection of CCC structures buildings, culverts, and picnic spots at the day use area at Chester-Blandford State Forest, or the CCC Administrative complex at Upton State Forest, or core elements of the Metropolitan Park System such as Revere Beach Reservation, the oldest public beach in the U.S.
Former military sites are also numerous within the DCR system. This infrastructure was sited in specific areas based on strategic defense goals. Tactical considerations relating to the surrounding landscape also factored into the establishment of these defensive installations: good access to resources, transportation routes or infrastructure, and unobstructed sight lines. Examples of such sites that are now DCR State Parks include coastal fortifications such as Fort Independence at Castle Island and former Cold War-Era radar sites such as Halibut Point State Park.
Former and current agricultural landscapes are also very visible, the most prominent being the active dairy farm at Great Brook Farm State Park, with other farm fields, barns and other outbuildings evident throughout the DCR system. Remains of former industrial landscapes, areas where the use and control of water to power mills of all kinds, are also abundant in the woods, once you know what to look for, such as at Haywardville, which can be seen in Viginia Wood at Middlesex Fells Reservation. You will also find cemeteries on DCR properties, from small family burial grounds in the woods to the large Quabbin Park Cemetery.
