Maudslay State Park
Encyclopedia
Maudslay State Park is a Massachusetts
state park
located in Newburyport
. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation
. It is available (by permit) for weddings and other programs.
. It features thickets and garden
s, rolling meadows, tall pines, and one of the largest naturally occurring stands of mountain laurel in the Commonwealth. Within the park, visitors can also find numerous ornamental trees, such as azaleas, and rhododendrons.
The park is bordered on the west side by the Artichoke River, which is also the border between Newburyport and West Newbury. Curzon Mill, not currently used as a mill, and neighboring houses at the mouth of the Artichoke, where it flows into the Merrimack, remain in private hands. The bridge over the Artichoke is closed.
on the steep slopes and bluffs of the river, which appear never to have been logged. The laurel forms a continuous thicket along the forest floor around the pines, which are so tall that their tops are not visible in the upper canopy from below. The canopy is a nesting site for bald eagle
s, who from time to time disrupt traffic by perching in isolated pines hanging over the river outside of the park. The stands are found also in the few ravines that lace the park.
, a tidal estuary at its lower end. The main channel of the estuary runs beneath the bluffs of the park. The channel is navigable to small craft and is marked by buoys. The swift currents and high bacteria counts render the waters useless for swimming or bathing, as well as adding an element of danger to the careless boater. Seasonal floods often sweep away the docks, damage the bridges, flood the homes and wash out low-lying roads on the riverbank. Despite these dangers the lower river is home to a substantial industry of facilities for docking, storing and repairing recreational boats.
The return of the eagles to their former habitat is related to the return of their food supply. By 1950 the Merrimack River was for the most part devoid of marine and riverine life, due to chemical effluents from the cloth and paper mills upstream in Haverhill
, Lawrence
, Lowell
, Manchester, New Hampshire
and Concord, New Hampshire
as well as the dumping of raw sewage into the river from every community on it. Since then the industry has moved south, sewage is better treated and environmental laws have gone into effect and have been to some degree enforced in every community. Dams upstream prevent the return of migratory piscines but maritime life on the lower river has improved to the point of supporting a new population of eagles.
and Amesbury
on the left bank of the river. Newbury
, West Newbury and Newburyport were originally the same parcel of land, settled in 1635 by an English party, which landed on the left bank of a river later (1697) renamed the Parker River, after the settlement's spiritual counselor, Rev. Parker. Before long the pine woods on the ridge of the right bank of the Merrimack had been cleared in favor of homesteads. "Country Lane" (High Street) led from Newbury to Bradford Road (Storey Street). The remaining forest between Bradford Road and the river was called the "Upper Woods", of which a small fragment hosts the eagles today.
In 1641 the General Court of Massachusetts appointed George Carr official ferryman of the ferry he had started between Carr's and Ram Islands in the Merrimack to Colchester, settled in 1639 (shortly after renamed to Salisbury), which included today's Amesbury
. Poore's Lane (Woodland Street) connected Country Lane to the ferry. A similar ferry crossed the Parker. The settlers were concerned with getting the links of the original coastal road, now Route 1A, in place.
By 1654 a new settlement had developed around Emesbury Mill on the Powwow River
. It needed a shorter route to Newbury than Carr's Ferry. In 1668 the General Court created Emesbury (Amesbury) and appointed one Mr. Goodwin ferryman of a new ferry to land near the mouth of the Powwow River. Newbury agreed to extend Country Lane past Bradford Road to the ferry. It was perhaps at that time that the future High Street became Ferry Road.
Ferry Road ran along the right bank of the Merrimack to a gap in the bluffs of Upper Woods within the current borders of the park. The site is now forested with second growth. No visible trace of the ferry or the houses remains; however, Old Ferry Road appears there as an overgrown sunken lane between stone walls. Directly across the river is the Amesbury Public Landing. Goodman's Ferry changed hands a number of times, becoming Hook's Ferry at one time. It was discontinued in 1792 with the construction of the Essex Merrimack Bridge.
of 1080. The American ancestor, John, entered Massachusetts Bay Colony
in 1630, taking up residence in Mattapan, the place depopulated by the death of the Massachusetts tribe of native Americans by smallpox. John's descendants were Protestant ministers, missionaries to the natives, lawyers, patriots and soldiers of the Revolutionary War, abolitionists and soldiers of the Civil War. Up until Edward, the first names were all taken from the Old Testament. Edward's grandfather, Ebenezer, married Martha Strong, adding her name to the customary English triad of names. Martha's brother, Caleb, was a Massachusetts governor and served as one of the first senators from Massachusetts in the new federal government. Ebenezer's father, Samuel, had been a parson in Connecticut.
The Moseleys were generally prolific, bearing several children each family. The descendants are widespread, bearing the same sorts of names and tending to the same sorts of businesses, including a line of financier Frederick Strong Moseleys, although the Newburyport estate is no longer in their ownership. One of the sons of Ebenezer and Martha, also Ebenezer, after graduating from Yale
settled in Newburyport in 1805 and had a distinguished career as a lawyer, legislator and officer of the 6th Massachusetts Militia. He helped to found a bank and an insurance company. His son, Edward, went to Yale for a few years, resigned, and became an agent for a Boston merchant in the East India trade, Benjamin Gould, starting as a clerk. He eventually came to own a share in 99 wooden ships built by the Currier shipyard of Newburyport. He was a trustee in a wide variety of organizations, a corporate director of numerous companies, a major philanthropist and especially a successful bank president in Mechanicks National Bank and the Institute for Savings. His special concern was to house and maintain the Newburyport Public Library, founded 1854, in which he was joined by some of his philanthropic friends, such as George Peabody
, merchant, slaver and founder of the public libraries in Danvers, Massachusetts
and Peabody, Massachusetts
, named after him. In 1839 Edward married Charlotte Chapman, a beauty from Newark, New Jersey
, who was also an episcopal minister's daughter. They had many children, only five of which survived to adulthood, including Frederick Strong Moseley, born in 1852, who became a broker in Boston and was a director of the Shawmut Bank there. On Edward's death in 1900, the children inherited a not inconsiderable estate. Frederick proceeded to acquire and improve the Newburyport property, consulting and hiring the best landscape architects in Massachusetts of the day.
Originally named Maudesleigh, the estate was created on agricultural fields by landscape architect
Martha Brookes Hutcheson
, one of the earliest female members of the American Society of Landscape Architects
, who designed the grounds around the main house, entry drive, and formal gardens (1904–1906). Lord and Burnham designed various of the greenhouses. At its peak, about 40 staff serviced the estate's three greenhouse
s, head house, cold frames, espalier
ed fruit trees, winter plant house, 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) formal vegetable and cutting garden, 500 feet (152.4 m) perennial border, Italian garden, rose
garden, and rhododendron
s, azalea
s, and specimen trees, as well as the site's native mountain laurels.
William G. Rantoul, of the Boston firm Jacques and Rantoul, served as the estate's principal architect, creating most of the original architecture in the years 1895-1910. He designed the 72-room main house (demolished 1955) and houses for the coachman, forester, and head gardener. A second large house was built 1939-1941 for Helen Moseley, Frederick's younger daughter. In the early 1950s the privacy and remoteness of the estate were diminished with the construction of Route 95 through the middle of upper woods and the contemporaneous construction of Route 495 at the top of the left bank of the river, both of which became major routes for heavy trucks. Highway noise in the park during business hours is insistent. On the death of the Moseleys the family had the main house torn down. In 1978 Helen's house was destroyed by fire. Today only few of some 30 structures remain.
Department of Environmental Management to become Maudslay State Park. The main gate, the drives, the stone bridges and overlooks have survived, as well as stands of lilac
, rhododendron
and some of the fruit trees. The sites of the grand houses have been leveled. The tops of the foundations are visible in the mowed lawn. The swimming pool of the main house is empty and is choked with thickets. Except for select locations, the gardens and greenhouses have fallen into ruin, the walls scarcely visible on the overgrown hillside. The dairy farm on the property survived and was a working farm in good repair until the early 1980s.
The park service has added a parking lot. A nearby house became the park headquarters. A staff of rangers and grounds employees maintain the meadows and trails and conduct guided tours; however, visitors are welcome to hike the trails, except for areas restricted for ecological purposes. A memorial running course has been delineated. It winds through the meadows and pines. Rest rooms and shower facilities were constructed in the parking lot. Equestrian parties on the larger trails are common. The horses are often brought in privately in trailers, which park in the meadow next to the lot.
Since 1987, Maudslay State Park has been the home of Theater in the Open, which performs three live outdoor shows in the park throughout the year. The theater is also is known for their giant puppet pageant every May called "The Rites of Spring" and their walk in October called "Maudslay is Haunted".
]
On April 3, 2010 around 1:58 P.M., the Coachman's Barn, which was customarily used for the Theater in the Open, caught fire. The Newburyport, Salisbury and Amesbury Fire Departments got the blaze under control around 3:30 P.M. Only the stone foundation and the chimney survived. The chimney has been taken down for safety reasons. The small house next to the barn was largely untouched.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state 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 beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
located in Newburyport
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...
. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation
Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)
The Department of Conservation and Recreation 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. As of May 24, 2011 the Commissioner of the DCR is Edward M. Lambert, Jr...
. It is available (by permit) for weddings and other programs.
Description
Maudslay State Park is a landscaped and decorative park along the right bank of the Merrimack RiverMerrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
. It features thickets and garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s, rolling meadows, tall pines, and one of the largest naturally occurring stands of mountain laurel in the Commonwealth. Within the park, visitors can also find numerous ornamental trees, such as azaleas, and rhododendrons.
The park is bordered on the west side by the Artichoke River, which is also the border between Newburyport and West Newbury. Curzon Mill, not currently used as a mill, and neighboring houses at the mouth of the Artichoke, where it flows into the Merrimack, remain in private hands. The bridge over the Artichoke is closed.
The pines and the eagles
The most striking natural feature of the park is the primeval stands of white pineEastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
on the steep slopes and bluffs of the river, which appear never to have been logged. The laurel forms a continuous thicket along the forest floor around the pines, which are so tall that their tops are not visible in the upper canopy from below. The canopy is a nesting site for bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s, who from time to time disrupt traffic by perching in isolated pines hanging over the river outside of the park. The stands are found also in the few ravines that lace the park.
The river
The park covers approximately 450 acres (182.1 ha) of the right bank of the Merrimack RiverMerrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
, a tidal estuary at its lower end. The main channel of the estuary runs beneath the bluffs of the park. The channel is navigable to small craft and is marked by buoys. The swift currents and high bacteria counts render the waters useless for swimming or bathing, as well as adding an element of danger to the careless boater. Seasonal floods often sweep away the docks, damage the bridges, flood the homes and wash out low-lying roads on the riverbank. Despite these dangers the lower river is home to a substantial industry of facilities for docking, storing and repairing recreational boats.
The return of the eagles to their former habitat is related to the return of their food supply. By 1950 the Merrimack River was for the most part devoid of marine and riverine life, due to chemical effluents from the cloth and paper mills upstream in Haverhill
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
, Lawrence
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
, Lowell
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
and Concord, New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
as well as the dumping of raw sewage into the river from every community on it. Since then the industry has moved south, sewage is better treated and environmental laws have gone into effect and have been to some degree enforced in every community. Dams upstream prevent the return of migratory piscines but maritime life on the lower river has improved to the point of supporting a new population of eagles.
Upper woods
Colonial Newburyport lacked the bridges that currently link Newburyport with SalisburySalisbury, Massachusetts
Salisbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,827 at the 2000 census. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston on the New Hampshire border....
and Amesbury
Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Though it officially became a city in 1996, its formal name remains "The Town of Amesbury." In 1890, 9798 people lived in Amesbury; in 1900, 9473; in 1910, 9894; in 1920, 10,036; and in 1940, 10,862. The population was 16,283 at...
on the left bank of the river. Newbury
Newbury, Massachusetts
Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,666 at the 2010 census. Newbury includes the villages of Old Town , Plum Island and Byfield, home of The Governor's Academy , a private preparatory school.- History :Newbury Plantation was settled and incorporated...
, West Newbury and Newburyport were originally the same parcel of land, settled in 1635 by an English party, which landed on the left bank of a river later (1697) renamed the Parker River, after the settlement's spiritual counselor, Rev. Parker. Before long the pine woods on the ridge of the right bank of the Merrimack had been cleared in favor of homesteads. "Country Lane" (High Street) led from Newbury to Bradford Road (Storey Street). The remaining forest between Bradford Road and the river was called the "Upper Woods", of which a small fragment hosts the eagles today.
In 1641 the General Court of Massachusetts appointed George Carr official ferryman of the ferry he had started between Carr's and Ram Islands in the Merrimack to Colchester, settled in 1639 (shortly after renamed to Salisbury), which included today's Amesbury
Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Though it officially became a city in 1996, its formal name remains "The Town of Amesbury." In 1890, 9798 people lived in Amesbury; in 1900, 9473; in 1910, 9894; in 1920, 10,036; and in 1940, 10,862. The population was 16,283 at...
. Poore's Lane (Woodland Street) connected Country Lane to the ferry. A similar ferry crossed the Parker. The settlers were concerned with getting the links of the original coastal road, now Route 1A, in place.
By 1654 a new settlement had developed around Emesbury Mill on the Powwow River
Powwow River
The Powwow River is a river located in New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the United States. It is a tributary of the Merrimack River, part of the Gulf of Maine watershed.-River course:...
. It needed a shorter route to Newbury than Carr's Ferry. In 1668 the General Court created Emesbury (Amesbury) and appointed one Mr. Goodwin ferryman of a new ferry to land near the mouth of the Powwow River. Newbury agreed to extend Country Lane past Bradford Road to the ferry. It was perhaps at that time that the future High Street became Ferry Road.
Ferry Road ran along the right bank of the Merrimack to a gap in the bluffs of Upper Woods within the current borders of the park. The site is now forested with second growth. No visible trace of the ferry or the houses remains; however, Old Ferry Road appears there as an overgrown sunken lane between stone walls. Directly across the river is the Amesbury Public Landing. Goodman's Ferry changed hands a number of times, becoming Hook's Ferry at one time. It was discontinued in 1792 with the construction of the Essex Merrimack Bridge.
The private estate
The state park was created from the early 20th century estate of Frederick Strong Moseley, the son of Edward Strong Moseley, 1813–1900, a prominent citizen of Newburyport. Moseley is a variant of Maudesley or Maudesleigh, an English name appearing in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1080. The American ancestor, John, entered Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
in 1630, taking up residence in Mattapan, the place depopulated by the death of the Massachusetts tribe of native Americans by smallpox. John's descendants were Protestant ministers, missionaries to the natives, lawyers, patriots and soldiers of the Revolutionary War, abolitionists and soldiers of the Civil War. Up until Edward, the first names were all taken from the Old Testament. Edward's grandfather, Ebenezer, married Martha Strong, adding her name to the customary English triad of names. Martha's brother, Caleb, was a Massachusetts governor and served as one of the first senators from Massachusetts in the new federal government. Ebenezer's father, Samuel, had been a parson in Connecticut.
The Moseleys were generally prolific, bearing several children each family. The descendants are widespread, bearing the same sorts of names and tending to the same sorts of businesses, including a line of financier Frederick Strong Moseleys, although the Newburyport estate is no longer in their ownership. One of the sons of Ebenezer and Martha, also Ebenezer, after graduating from Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
settled in Newburyport in 1805 and had a distinguished career as a lawyer, legislator and officer of the 6th Massachusetts Militia. He helped to found a bank and an insurance company. His son, Edward, went to Yale for a few years, resigned, and became an agent for a Boston merchant in the East India trade, Benjamin Gould, starting as a clerk. He eventually came to own a share in 99 wooden ships built by the Currier shipyard of Newburyport. He was a trustee in a wide variety of organizations, a corporate director of numerous companies, a major philanthropist and especially a successful bank president in Mechanicks National Bank and the Institute for Savings. His special concern was to house and maintain the Newburyport Public Library, founded 1854, in which he was joined by some of his philanthropic friends, such as George Peabody
George Peabody
George Peabody was an American-British entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the Peabody Trust in Britain and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, and was responsible for many other charitable initiatives.-Biography:...
, merchant, slaver and founder of the public libraries in Danvers, Massachusetts
Danvers, Massachusetts
Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, Danvers is most widely known for its association with the 1692 Salem witch trials, and for its famous asylum, the Danvers State Hospital.-17th century:The land...
and Peabody, Massachusetts
Peabody, Massachusetts
Peabody is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population is about 53,000. Peabody is located in Boston's North Shore suburban area.- History :...
, named after him. In 1839 Edward married Charlotte Chapman, a beauty from Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, who was also an episcopal minister's daughter. They had many children, only five of which survived to adulthood, including Frederick Strong Moseley, born in 1852, who became a broker in Boston and was a director of the Shawmut Bank there. On Edward's death in 1900, the children inherited a not inconsiderable estate. Frederick proceeded to acquire and improve the Newburyport property, consulting and hiring the best landscape architects in Massachusetts of the day.
Originally named Maudesleigh, the estate was created on agricultural fields by landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
Martha Brookes Hutcheson
Martha Brookes Hutcheson
Martha Brookes Hutcheson was an American landscape architect, lecturer, and author, active in New England, New York, and New Jersey....
, one of the earliest female members of the American Society of Landscape Architects
American Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association representing landscape architects, with more than 17,000 members in 48 chapters, representing all 50 states, U.S. territories, and 42 countries around the world, plus 68 student chapters...
, who designed the grounds around the main house, entry drive, and formal gardens (1904–1906). Lord and Burnham designed various of the greenhouses. At its peak, about 40 staff serviced the estate's three greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
s, head house, cold frames, espalier
Espalier
Espalier is the horticultural and ancient agricultural practice of controlling woody plant growth by pruning and tying branches so that they grow into a flat plane, frequently in formal patterns, against a structure such as a wall, fence, or trellis, and also plants which have been shaped in this...
ed fruit trees, winter plant house, 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) formal vegetable and cutting garden, 500 feet (152.4 m) perennial border, Italian garden, rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
garden, and rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
s, and specimen trees, as well as the site's native mountain laurels.
William G. Rantoul, of the Boston firm Jacques and Rantoul, served as the estate's principal architect, creating most of the original architecture in the years 1895-1910. He designed the 72-room main house (demolished 1955) and houses for the coachman, forester, and head gardener. A second large house was built 1939-1941 for Helen Moseley, Frederick's younger daughter. In the early 1950s the privacy and remoteness of the estate were diminished with the construction of Route 95 through the middle of upper woods and the contemporaneous construction of Route 495 at the top of the left bank of the river, both of which became major routes for heavy trucks. Highway noise in the park during business hours is insistent. On the death of the Moseleys the family had the main house torn down. In 1978 Helen's house was destroyed by fire. Today only few of some 30 structures remain.
The state park
In 1985 the property was acquired by the MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Department of Environmental Management to become Maudslay State Park. The main gate, the drives, the stone bridges and overlooks have survived, as well as stands of lilac
Lilac
Syringa is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family , native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere....
, rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
and some of the fruit trees. The sites of the grand houses have been leveled. The tops of the foundations are visible in the mowed lawn. The swimming pool of the main house is empty and is choked with thickets. Except for select locations, the gardens and greenhouses have fallen into ruin, the walls scarcely visible on the overgrown hillside. The dairy farm on the property survived and was a working farm in good repair until the early 1980s.
The park service has added a parking lot. A nearby house became the park headquarters. A staff of rangers and grounds employees maintain the meadows and trails and conduct guided tours; however, visitors are welcome to hike the trails, except for areas restricted for ecological purposes. A memorial running course has been delineated. It winds through the meadows and pines. Rest rooms and shower facilities were constructed in the parking lot. Equestrian parties on the larger trails are common. The horses are often brought in privately in trailers, which park in the meadow next to the lot.
Since 1987, Maudslay State Park has been the home of Theater in the Open, which performs three live outdoor shows in the park throughout the year. The theater is also is known for their giant puppet pageant every May called "The Rites of Spring" and their walk in October called "Maudslay is Haunted".
]
On April 3, 2010 around 1:58 P.M., the Coachman's Barn, which was customarily used for the Theater in the Open, caught fire. The Newburyport, Salisbury and Amesbury Fire Departments got the blaze under control around 3:30 P.M. Only the stone foundation and the chimney survived. The chimney has been taken down for safety reasons. The small house next to the barn was largely untouched.
Recreational opportunities
- Cross Country Running (Home course of Newburyport High School team)
- Educational/interpretive programs
- Group day use
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Horseback riding trails
- Live theater
- Picnicking
- Restrooms
- Scenic viewing area
- Skiing (cross-country)
- Walking trails
External links
- Maudslay State Park, SeacoastNH.com site.
- Trail Map
- Theater in the Open
- Pictures of Maudslay
- Moulton Castle
