Middlesex Fells Reservation

The Middlesex Fells Reservation Parkways are the roadways within and bordering on the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a state park in the northern suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. The park includes portions of the towns of Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester. The roads inside the park and around its perimeter have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other portions of some of the roads are covered by more than one listing in the national register; see Fellsway Connector Parkways and Middlesex Fells Reservoirs Historic District. The Middlesex Fells Reservation is one of the oldest and largest of the parks in the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston. The reservation was created in 1894 with a gift of 450 hectares (1,100 acres) of land from The Trustees of Reservations to the Metropolitan Parks Commission, predecessor organization to the Metropolitan District Commission and today's Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). By 1897 the park had been expanded to some 3,000 acres (1,200 ha). This area included some existing roadways, which became internal roadways of the park. The border roads that surround the park followed a principle articulated by landscape designer Charles Eliot, who was instrumental in the preservation of the Fells, that such roads clearly delineated the bounds of the park, and provided its neighbors with pleasing views.

Spot Pond is a lake in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The pond is within the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a Massachusetts state park. It is almost entirely located within the boundaries of Stoneham, Massachusetts. Spot Pond was named in 1632 by colonial governor John Winthrop.The pond contains Great Island (42.45222°N 71.09616°W / 42.45222; -71.09616), a lake island. Great Island is known to contain an old granite marker with the mysterious inscription "Where Shute Fell". It is unknown who installed the marker, and for what reason. Possibly, it is related to a Wrestler from Haywardsville, as many wrestling matches and prizefights were held on the island.Spot Pond lends its name to the Spot Pond Archeological District, the site of the former Hayward Rubber Works and an extinct mill town.Under the Metropolitan Water Supply Commission (1926-1946), Spot Pond was integrated into the Boston area public drinking water supply. Its water level was raised 16 feet, and the stream running into it was diverted, making its sole supply the new East and West Spot Pond Supply mains. Spot Pond water served the northern Low Service zone, and water pumped from Spot Pond to Fells Reservoir served the Northern High Service zone. Spot Pond is no longer part of the public drinking water supply, but the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is building covered storage tanks in the area.

The Middlesex Fells Reservoirs Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by Pond St., Woodland Rd., I-93, and MA 28 in Stoneham and Medford, Massachusetts. It encompasses a portion of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a state park managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The principal features of the district are three reservoirs and their associated gate houses and pumping stations, which were developed by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC, predecessor organization to the DCR) starting in the late 19th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.The most prominent and visible feature of the district is Spot Pond, a large body of water on the east side of Interstate 93 in Stoneham. The pond was used as a passive reservoir by surrounding towns prior to its acquisition by the MDC. The MDC replaced several town pumping stations with a single station (separately listed on the National Register in 1984), and constructed a gate house adjacent. Also found in the same area on the eastern shore of the pond is the John Bottume House, a 19th-century stone house that now serves as the reservation's visitors center. The MDC also enlarged the pond's capacity, and converted it for use as a storage reservoir providing water to the communities north of Boston. There is a second gatehouse on Spot Pond, at the southern end (straddling the Stoneham-Medford line).The MDC also constructed two smaller reservoirs within the Fells. The Bear Hill Reservoir, located just west of I-93 near the summit of Bear Hill, has a capacity of 2 million gallons, and was created in 1902-3 with the construction of two concrete dams and a gatehouse. The Fells Reservoir is located in the southeastern part of the reservation. Because it was sited in existing parkland, it was given a deliberately naturalistic appearance. It was designed by the noted Olmsted Brothers firm, and its gatehouse was built to a design by Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge.

The John Bottume House is a historic house at 4 Woodland Road in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Built c. 1849, this stone house was one of several built along the shore of Spot Pond by a Boston businessman as a retreat, and is the only one to survive. It is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and houses the visitors center for the Middlesex Fells Reservation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The Metropolitan District Commission Pumping House is a historic water pumping station, adjacent to Spot Pond in the Middlesex Fells Reservation, on Woodland Road in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Built in 1901 by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), it is one of Stoneham's finest examples of Renaissance Revival architecture. The building (along with an adjacent gatehouse) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and included in the Middlesex Fells Reservoirs Historic District in 1990.

Boston Regional Medical Center (often abbreviated to "Boston Regional" or "BRMC") was a 187-bed hospital located in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Previously known as New England Sanitarium and Hospital and later New England Memorial Hospital (in both instances a Seventh-day Adventist medical facility), it was located within the Middlesex Fells Reservation along Woodland Road in Stoneham, Massachusetts, until it closed in February 1999 for financial reasons.Before its use as a hospital, the buildings formed the Langwood Hotel, operated during the 1880s by George F. Butterfield.

Stone Zoo is a medium- to small-sized zoo of about 26 acres (11 ha) in Stoneham, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1905, the zoo includes low-lying areas densely developed with smaller exhibits for animals as well as rocky forested hillsides devoted to larger habitats for Species Survival Plan programs. It is operated by the Commonwealth Zoological Corporation, doing business as Zoo New England, which also operates the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. Stone Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The Spot Pond Archeological District is a historic archaeological site near Spot Pond in Stoneham, Massachusetts. It is located in the Virginia Woods section of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a state park. The district encompasses sites along Spot Pond Brook that were mill sites dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. At its height, in the mid-19th century the Hayward Rubber Works was located in the area, giving it the name "Haywardville". One of the park's trails runs through the area, and a park pamphlet provide a self-guided tour joining the major remnants of the industries that once flourished there.The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

In the early 1800s, Nathaniel Hayward bought remodeled shoe mills in Stoneham, Massachusetts from Elisha Converse, founder of the largest rubber shoe manufacturer in the world, the Boston Rubber Shoe Company in Malden, Massachusetts. Straddling Spot Pond Brook, the village was the site of early industrial development which later blossomed into larger factories. The factory grew to be an industrial community that has come to be known as Haywardville. It is here where Hayward and Charles Goodyear invented slickers (canvas and rubber coats) and the process of vulcanization. The factory produced a variety of rubber products including boots, pails and spittoons. There were numerous large factory buildings here during this period, a community of living quarters, some shops - or at least places to barter for goods.

The Edward Braddock House is a historic house in Winchester, Massachusetts. Built in 1893, it is a high-quality example of Colonial Revival architecture with Shingle style elements. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

The Edward A. Brackett House is a historic octagon house at 290 Highland Avenue in Winchester, Massachusetts. Built in the early 1850s by sculptor Edward Augustus Brackett, and based on popular plans described by Orson Squire Fowler, it is Winchester's only octagonal house. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

The Marshall W. Jones House is a historic house in Winchester, Massachusetts. A 2.5-story wood-frame Colonial Revival structure, it was built c. 1901 for Marshall W. Jones, a local businessman and active member of the local Board of Health. The house is sited near the Middlesex Fells Reservation, which had recently been established, making the area attractive to wealthy businessmen. The house has an asymmetrical facade dominated by differently-sized cross gables, which are decorated with half-timbering and vergeboard. There is a port cochere between the gables, supported by Tuscan columns.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.